12 - Private Income: Regulations for the outward voyage – A glimpse of private trade on the voyage out –Regulations for the voyage home – Transfers of money from Asia to the Republic – Caught and punished – Earning money in Asia and a few big earners

Summary

In the first part of the book, many references were made to the private trade pursued by the commanders and their officers. This sort of commerce was a perfectly normal practice. The official rules and regulations pertaining to this trade, the transfers of money to the Republic, punishment of violations and the earning of considerable amounts of money overseas are the themes of this chapter.

It was very common indeed for Company commanders and others to have large amounts of porcelain in cabinets in their houses. Commanders of the Enkhuizen and Delft Chambers have been cited as examples of men who had large quantities of tableware and other pieces at home. They or their wives sold some of the pieces on to fellow townspeople or merchants. Many other pieces of porcelain were auctioned by the Company and consequently disappeared from sight.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory picture of the way in which such private commercial activities were conducted. If a commander had sufficient amounts of ready money at his disposal, he was not required to register his purchase of goods. However, it was a different story if he bought such goods on credit, since his suppliers then set down in a contract how much and when he would pay the money he had borrowed from them – for instance, after arrival in Batavia and at an interest rate of half a per cent per month. Drawing up a contract required the services of a notary. Before Willem Klump sailed on his fatal voyage on the Amsterdam, he borrowed a total of f. 12,020 from four different creditors in the autumn of 1748. He undertook to repay this sum in Cape Town and in Batavia. In this case, the amount concerned was the equivalent of at least twelve years’ stipend. The notarial deeds drawn up on behalf of the Van Brattem brothers of the Rotterdam Chamber have already allowed a glimpse of their transactions. By using proxies taken out in the names of shipmates, the crew were able to ensure, as far as it was possible to do so, that one or other of these proxies would take care of their estate should they happen to die. An example of this practice is provided by Commander Koenraad van der Poel.