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88-782: GWC may refer to: Dutch West India Company (Dutch: Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie ) Gambian Workers' Confederation , a Gambian trade union General Watch Co , a defunct Swiss watchmaker George Watson's College , in Edinburgh, Scotland George Whitefield College , in Cape Town, South Africa George Wythe College , now George Wythe University, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Global Wildlife Center ,

176-648: A British squadron of about equal strength under Admiral Hyde Parker in the Battle of Dogger Bank , which ended in a tactical draw. Another promising venture seemed to be what has become known as the Brest Affair . In September 1782, after the Dutch politicians had hesitantly agreed to coordinate their actions with the French, acting "in concert", an opportunity seemed to exist to combine a Dutch squadron of 10 ships of

264-676: A Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer, and clergyman, they sought for a northeastern or northwestern access to Asia to circumvent the VOC monopoly. In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson , in employment of the VOC, landed on the coast of New England and sailed up what is now known as the Hudson River in his quest for the Northwest Passage to Asia. However, he failed to find a passage. Consequently, in 1615, Isaac Le Maire and Samuel Blommaert , assisted by others, focused on finding

352-622: A French squadron under Admiral Picquet de la Motte . The French did not return the goods to the Dutch, however. Though an attempt was made to likewise capture the Dutch Leeward Antilles , these remained in Dutch hands, as did Suriname , though neighbouring Berbice , Demerara , and Essequibo were rapidly taken by the British early in 1781. These were retaken by the French captain Armand de Kersaint in 1782, and restored to

440-562: A conservation charity Gnome Wave Cleaner , audio software Golden West College , in Huntington Beach, California, United States Government Wine Cellar , of the government of the United Kingdom Great Wall of China , a series of fortifications Great West Conference , an American college athletic conference The Great Western Chorus of Bristol , a British choir Green–white–checker finish ,

528-587: A disaster for the Netherlands, particularly economically. It also proved to be confirmation of the weakening of Dutch power in the 18th century. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the bad result was blamed on the stadholder's mismanagement (if not worse) by his opponents, who coalesced into the Patriot party . These managed for a while to roll back a number of the reforms of the revolution of 1747 , strongly diminishing his powers. However, this Patriot revolt

616-700: A formal military alliance with France and her allies before the end of the war. A treaty of amity and commerce was, however, concluded with the Americans in October 1782, after John Adams, who succeeded Henry Laurens, had managed to obtain diplomatic recognition of the American republic from the States General in April 1782. The republic was the second European power (after France, but before Spain) to recognise

704-569: A galleon from Honduras with cacao, indigo, and other valuable goods. Privateering was its most profitable activity in the late 1620s. Despite Heyn's success at plunder, the company's directors realized that it was not a basis to build long-term profit, leading them to renew their attempts to seize Iberian territory in the Americas. They decided their target was Brazil. ( Recapture of Bahia ) There were conflicts between directors from different areas of The Netherlands, with Amsterdam less supportive of

792-469: A happenstance battle in the Cape Verde Islands , Suffren was able to arrive before Johnstone, and the strength of French troops he left dissuaded Johnstone from attacking the colony. After capturing a number of VOC ships in the nearby Saldanha Bay , he returned to North Atlantic waters. Suffren had continued on to Isle de France (now Mauritius ) and then India. There, he arrived and fought

880-534: A low level while they lasted. The British government also made overtures to the Dutch to come to a speedy conclusion of hostilities, especially after the cabinet of Lord North had been replaced by that of Rockingham and Fox in March 1782. Fox immediately proposed a separate peace on favourable conditions to the Dutch government. Unfortunately for the Dutch, they had just bound themselves closer to France by agreeing to act "in concert" with France in naval actions, so

968-642: A minor role, but expanded during the period of the Dutch in Brazil. Emigrant Calvinists from the Spanish Netherlands did make significant investments in the GWC. Investors did not rush to put their money in the company in 1621, but the States-General urged municipalities and other institutions to invest. Explanations for the slow investment by individuals were that shareholders had "no control over

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1056-662: A number of actions against Hughes. Suffren attempted to take the Dutch port of Negapatam ( taken by the British in 1781 ), but was frustrated by Hughes . In August, the French recaptured Trincomalee , and Suffren fought Hughes to a standstill in a naval battle several days later. The two fleets withdrew and the British repaired in Bombay while the French refitted in the Dutch colony of Sumatra . Hughes and Suffren met again in 1783, but news of preliminary peace between France and Britain ended hostilities in India. In August 1781, word of

1144-836: A procedure in North American auto racing Green Worker Cooperatives , a worker cooperative incubator in New York City Kalami language , spoken in Pakistan Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title GWC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GWC&oldid=1224920099 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Dutch-language text Short description

1232-472: A resurgence of the republic as a major power because of what many in the republic saw as the mismanagement of the stadtholderian regency during the minority of stadtholder William V , and subsequently during his own reign. Instead, the republic remained stubbornly neutral during the Seven Years' War , which enabled it to greatly neglect both its army and navy. The stadtholderian regime was pro-British, with

1320-496: A separate peace was no longer an option. A real military alliance with France was, however, still blocked by the stadtholder, despite the fact that many in the republic favoured it. The war, as far as it went, was fought in three main theatres. Britain blockaded Dutch ports in Europe, and embarked on expeditions to seize Dutch colonial properties throughout the world. These were almost entirely successful; only an attempt to capture

1408-431: A south-westerly route around South America's Tierra del Fuego archipelago in order to circumvent the monopoly of the VOC. One of the first sailors who focused on trade with Africa was Balthazar de Moucheron . The trade with Africa offered several possibilities to set up trading posts or factories , an important starting point for negotiations. It was Blommaert, however, who stated that, in 1600, eight companies sailed on

1496-700: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Dutch West India Company The area where the company could operate consisted of West Africa (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Cape of Good Hope ) and the Americas, which included the Pacific Ocean and ended east of the Maluku Islands , according to the Treaty of Tordesillas . The intended purpose of

1584-732: The Danish West India Company , an undercover Dutch enterprise, was founded. (In 1660 the Royal African Company was founded, led by the Duke of York .) In 1662, the GWC obtained several asiento subcontracts with the Spanish Crown , under which the Dutch were allowed to deliver 24,000 enslaved Africans. The GWC made Curaçao a centre of the Atlantic slave trade , bringing slaves from West Africa to

1672-509: The Holy Roman Empire , Denmark–Norway , England and other European countries. In 1649, a competing Swedish Africa Company was founded; the GWC obtained a monopoly on gold and enslaved Africans with the kingdom of Accra (present-day Ghana ). Elmina Castle was the main port. In 1654 the Dutch were thrown out of Brazil after the recapture of Recife . In 1656, the company signed the Treaty of Butre ( Dutch Gold Coast ). In 1659

1760-725: The American agent in Aix-la-Chapelle , William Lee , with the connivance of the Amsterdam pensionary Van Berckel , and found among the effects of Henry Laurens , an American diplomat who had been apprehended by the British cruiser HMS Vestal in September 1780, on the high seas. He had been sent by the Continental Congress to establish diplomatic relations with the Dutch Republic. The draft treaty

1848-580: The Americas, fur (North America) and sugar (South America) were the most important trade goods, while African settlements traded the enslaved (mainly destined for the plantations on the Antilles and Suriname), gold, copper and ivory. In North America, the settlers Albert Burgh , Samuel Blommaert, Samuel Godijn , Johannes de Laet had little success with populating the colony of New Netherland, and to defend themselves against local Amerindians. Only Kiliaen Van Rensselaer managed to maintain his settlement in

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1936-548: The British Navigation Acts ) and re-exported to Europe. For their return cargo, the Americans purchased arms, munitions, and naval stores brought to the island by Dutch and French merchants. In 1776 the governor of the island, Johannes de Graeff , was the first to salute the flag of the United States , leading to growing British suspicions of the Dutch. In 1778, the Dutch refused take Britain's side in

2024-596: The British embargo . The British then unilaterally declared naval stores to be contraband and enforced their embargo by arresting Dutch and other neutral ships on the high seas. This led to strong protests by the affected Dutch merchants, who demanded institution of convoys escorted by the Dutch States Navy , to protect them against the Royal Navy and British privateers . According to customary international law, such convoys were (and still are) exempt from

2112-462: The British prize courts , in wars in which the Dutch remained neutral. According to the treaty naval stores , including ship's timbers, masts, spars, canvas, tar, rope, and pitch, were not contraband and the Dutch, therefore, were free to continue their trade with France in these goods. Because of the still-important role of the Dutch in the European carrying trade, this opened up a large loophole in

2200-635: The British. During the Second Stadtholderless Period , the Dutch Republic had more or less abdicated its pretences as a major power and this became painfully evident to the rest of Europe during the War of the Austrian Succession . Near the end of that war in 1747, an Orangist revolution restored the stadtholderate with vastly increased powers for the stadtholder and made the stadtholderate hereditary. This did not lead to

2288-729: The Dutch Elmina Castle on the Africa's Gold Coast (modern Ghana ) failed. While many Dutch territories in the West Indies were taken by the British, some, like Curaçao , were not attacked due to their defensive strength. As far as the Dutch were concerned, the war in the West Indies was over almost before it had begun. Admiral Rodney , the commander of the Leeward Islands station of the Royal Navy, attacked

2376-526: The Dutch Republic would withdraw from trading with Asia and America. Spain refused to sign the peace treaty if a West Indian Company would be established. At this time, the Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic was occurring. Grand Pensionary Johan van Oldenbarnevelt offered to suspend trade with the West Indies in exchange for the Twelve Years' Truce . He took

2464-411: The Dutch Republic, making it the second European country to diplomatically recognise the Continental Congress in April 1782. In October 1782, a treaty of amity and commerce was concluded as well. Most of the war consisted of a series of British operations against Dutch colonial economic interests, although British and Dutch naval forces also met once off the Dutch coast . The war ended disastrously for

2552-573: The Dutch after the war. Admiral Hartsinck at first proved himself highly reluctant to risk his fleet. However, political pressure to venture outside the safety of the Texel roadstead mounted and several cautious attempts were made to capture British convoys, or escort Dutch convoys. In one of those forays, an unusually strong squadron, under Admiral Johan Zoutman and his second-in-command, Rear Admiral Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen , encountered in August 1781

2640-647: The Dutch and The Spanish renewed truce talks in 1633. In 1629, the GWC gave permission to a number of investors in New Netherlands to found patroonships , enabled by the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions which was ratified by the Dutch States General on 7 June 1629. The patroonships were created to help populate the colony, by providing investors grants providing land for approximately 50 people "upwards of 15 years old", per grant, mainly in

2728-647: The Dutch and exposed the weakness of the political and economic foundations of the republic. The war settled the decline of the Dutch Empire and further cemented Great Britain as the leading commercial power . Although Great Britain and the Dutch Republic had been allies since the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Dutch had become very much the junior partner in the alliance and had slowly lost their former dominance of world trade to

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2816-669: The Dutch coast could not be used against the French, Americans, and Spaniards in other theatres of war. This may have contributed to a number of the naval defeats the British suffered after 1781. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) had been responsible for defending its own colonies east of the Cape Colony , but for the first time, had to request assistance from the Dutch navy. However, ships were lacking at first and what naval forces were available were unable to prevent Britain from taking full control of Dutch India . In early 1782 British Admiral Sir Edward Hughes captured Trincomalee on

2904-462: The Dutch colonies in that part of the Caribbean : St. Eustatius, Saba , and Saint Martin , as soon as he had received word of the declaration of war, in the process surprising a number of Dutch naval and merchant ships, which were still unaware of the start of hostilities. St. Eustatius ( captured on 3 February 1781 ), that had played such a large role in the supply of the American rebels with arms,

2992-503: The Dutch fleet, the blockade itself exacted its toll on the British seamen, who were at sea for long times at a stretch (which even exposed them to the danger of scurvy ) and the ships that suffered from severe wear and tear. Also, because an appreciable number of ships had to be detached to maintain naval superiority in the North Sea, the already overstretched Royal Navy was even more strained after 1781. Ships that were needed to blockade

3080-499: The Dutch naval commanders, especially Vice Admiral Andries Hartsinck, who commanded the Texel squadron, to keep the fleet at anchor, thereby ceding dominance of the North Sea to the blockading British fleet. Within a few weeks of the beginning of the war, more than 200 Dutch merchantmen, with cargo to the amount of 15 million guilders, had been captured by the British and 300 more were locked up in foreign ports. Another reason for

3168-718: The East India company.) The institutional structure of the GWC followed the federal structure, which entailed extensive discussion for any decision, with regional representation: 8 from Amsterdam ; 4 from Zeeland , 2 each from the Northern Quarter ( Hoorn and Enkhuizen ), the Maas ( Rotterdam , Delft , and Dordrecht ), the region of Groningen , and one representative from the States General . Each region had its own chamber and board of directors. The validity of

3256-556: The Eguafo Kingdom along the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. The Komenda Wars drew in significant numbers of neighbouring African kingdoms and led to the replacement of the gold trade with enslaved Africans. Calabar was the largest slave trading place in Africa. Sint Eustatius (Dutch Caribbean) became the most profitable asset of the GWC and a transit point for enslaved Africans in the transatlantic slave trade . After 1734

3344-471: The French and their allies went ahead with the signing of the general peace. The Dutch, therefore, were forced to sign a preliminary peace just before that general treaty was signed. The republic joined the armistice between Britain and France in January 1783. The signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783–1784) made Negapatnam , in India, a British colony. Ceylon was restored to Dutch control. The British gained

3432-439: The GWC came under the rule of the States General of the Netherlands . A directorate Ad-Interim took over the administration. A Council of Colonies was established as administrator over the affairs of the GWC until 1795. Around 1800 there was an attempt to create a third West India Company, but without success. Fourth Anglo-Dutch War The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ( Dutch : Vierde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog ; 1780–1784)

3520-514: The GWC could not repay its debts in 1674, the company was dissolved. But due to continued high demand for trade between West Africa and the Dutch colonies in the Americas (mainly slave trade ), a second West India Company known as the New West India Company was chartered that same year. This new company controlled the same trade area as the first but privateering was no longer an asset. All ships, fortresses, etc. were taken over by

3608-613: The GWC reorganized and a new charter was granted in 1675, largely on the strength in the Atlantic slave trade. This "new" version lasted for more than a century, until after the Fourth Anglo–Dutch War , during which it lost most of its assets. When the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded in 1602, some traders in Amsterdam did not agree with its monopolistic policies. With help from Petrus Plancius ,

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3696-571: The GWC was primarily engaged in facilitating the slave trade, and only responsible for the supply of slaves until 1738. The company then began to outsource the slave trade and left it to private enterprise , especially in Middelburg, Zeeland . In 1750 Thomas Hope was elected in the board of the company, but preferred the Heren XVII after two years; he was succeeded by Nicolaas Geelvinck in 1764. In 1773, when drinking coffee and cocoa

3784-611: The States General to refuse the British request. More importantly, Dutch merchants, especially those from Amsterdam, became involved in the supply of arms and munitions to the American rebels soon after the outbreak of American Revolutionary War. This trade was mainly conducted via the Caribbean entrepôt of St. Eustatius , an island colony of the Dutch West India Company . There, American colonial wares, such as tobacco and indigo, were imported (in contravention of

3872-402: The United States. Adams also succeeded in raising a substantial loan for the Americans on the still-significant Dutch capital market. The republic involved itself in the peace congress that the French foreign minister, Vergennes , organised, negotiating separately with the British commissioners. The Dutch demands were not supported by the French, and this put them into an untenable position when

3960-749: The West Indian Company could be established. The West India Company received its charter from the States-General in June 1621, granting it a 24-year monopoly on trade and colonization that included the American coast between Newfoundland and the Straits of Magellan. One of the promotors was Reynier Pauw , who went on to appoint two of his sons as the first managers in 1621; both Pieter and Michiel Reyniersz Pauw were in place for fifteen years. Reynier Pauw II, Cornelis Bicker , and Samuel Blommaert were appointed in 1622. The Dutch West India Company

4048-432: The West Indies because they were unaware the war had started. A convoy under Rear Admiral Willem Krul was lost this way near St. Eustatius in February 1781, and the admiral was killed in the short action; in a different action, Captain Bylandt (a nephew of the admiral of the same name) surrendered his ship. The pronounced inferiority of the Dutch fleet, and its state of "unreadiness" was a frequently reiterated excuse for

4136-423: The alleged state of "unreadiness" themselves). The opponents of the stadtholder demanded an investigation that was, however, very long drawn out, and quietly terminated after the stadtholder was restored in his full powers after 1787, long after the end of the war. Though, except for the Dogger-Bank skirmish, no major battles were fought in European waters, and the British blockade encountered little opposition from

4224-444: The armed support of the other members of the league to maintain their neutral status. The British government saw the danger of this move (it might embroil Great Britain in war with Russia and the Nordic powers Sweden and Denmark–Norway also), so declared war on the republic shortly after it announced its intentions in December 1780. To forestall Russia from coming to the aid of the Dutch (something Empress Catherine II of Russia

4312-526: The blockade by the Royal Navy (France being the weaker naval power in that conflict). The Dutch were privileged by a concession obtained after their victory in the Second Anglo-Dutch War , known as the principle of "free ship, free goods", which was enshrined in the Anglo-Dutch Commercial Treaty of 1668, reconfirmed in the Treaty of Westminster (1674) . This early formulation of the principle of Freedom of Navigation exempted all but narrowly defined " contraband " goods carried in Dutch ships from confiscation by

4400-415: The charter was set at 24 years. Only in 1623 was funding arranged, after several bidders were put under pressure. The States General of the Netherlands and the VOC pledged one million guilders in the form of capital and subsidy. Although Iberian writers said that crypto-Jews or Marranos played an important role in the formation of both the VOC and the GWC, research has shown that initially they played

4488-510: The charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese, between the various trading posts established by the merchants. The company became instrumental in the largely ephemeral Dutch colonization of the Americas (including New Netherland ) in the seventeenth century. From 1624 to 1654, in the context of the Dutch–Portuguese War , the GWC held Portuguese territory in northeast Brazil, but they were ousted from Dutch Brazil following fierce resistance. After several reversals,

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4576-427: The coast of Africa, competing with each other for the supply of copper, from the Kingdom of Loango . Pieter van den Broecke was employed by one of these companies. In 1612, a Dutch fortress was built in Mouree (present day Ghana), along the Dutch Gold Coast . Trade with the Caribbean, for salt, sugar and tobacco, was hampered by Spain and delayed because of peace negotiations. Spain offered peace on condition that

4664-444: The company made losses and paid no dividend . After the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War , it became apparent that the GWC was no longer capable of defending its own colonies, as Sint Eustatius , Berbice , Essequibo , Demerara , and some forts on the Dutch Gold Coast were rapidly taken by the British. In 1791 it was decided not to renew the patent to the GWC and to dissolve the company. All stocks were sold and territories previously held by

4752-522: The company. Non-maritime cities, including Haarlem , Leiden , and Gouda , along with Enkhuizen and Hoorn were enthusiastic about seizing territory. They sent a fleet to Brazil, capturing Olinda and Pernambuco in 1630 in their initial foray to create a Dutch Brazil, but could not hold them due to a strong Portuguese resistance. Company ships continued privateering in the Caribbean, as well seizing vital land resources, particularly salt pans. The company's general lack of success saw their shares plummet and

4840-518: The directors' policy and the handling of ordinary investors' money," that it was a "racket" to provide "cushy posts for the directors and their relatives, at the expense of ordinary shareholders". The VOC directors invested money in the GWC, without consulting their shareholders, causing dissent among a number of shareholders. In order to attract foreign shareholders, the GWC offered equal standing to foreign investors with Dutch, resulting in shareholders from France, Switzerland, and Venice. A translation of

4928-408: The eastern coast of Dutch Ceylon , considered to be the finest harbour in the Bay of Bengal . In March 1781, British Admiral George Johnstone was sent to capture the Cape Colony. France, which had already planned to send a fleet to India, received intelligence of this, and directed its commander, the Bailli de Suffren , to try to reach the Cape before Johnstone. After Johnstone and Suffren met in

5016-403: The first capital. Other settlements were established on the Netherlands Antilles , and in South America, in Dutch Brazil, Suriname and Guyana . In Africa, posts were established on the Gold Coast (now Ghana ), the Slave Coast (now Benin ), and briefly in Dutch Loango-Angola . It was a neo- feudal system , where patrons were permitted considerable powers to control the overseas colony. In

5104-433: The fleet, and with 100 company soldiers sailed for Padang . On 18 August, Jacob van Heemskerk, the VOC chief resident at Padang, surrendered all of the west coast outposts without a fight, unaware that Botham's force was relatively weak. The capture netted the British 500,000 florins in goods and money. The fortress at Padang was destroyed before the town was returned to VOC control in 1784. The republic did not form

5192-402: The funds for such a naval-construction program, it progressed but slowly. Another reason for the slow expansion of the Dutch fleet was a lack of suitable recruits—the Dutch navy paid lower wages than the merchant marine and did not use impressment like the Royal Navy. The number of available ships was diminished even more at the start of the war when several ships were captured by the British in

5280-405: The humiliating Affair of Fielding and Bylandt on 31 December, which enraged Dutch public opinion and further undermined the position of the stadtholder. The incident motivated the Dutch to seek admission to the First League of Armed Neutrality , which espoused the principle of "free ship, free goods", especially after Britain formally abrogated the Commercial Treaty of 1668. The Dutch hoped to gain

5368-496: The island, before selling them elsewhere in the Caribbean and Spanish Main . The influence of the GWC in Africa was threatened during the Second and Third Anglo–Dutch Wars , but English efforts to displace the Dutch from the region ultimately proved unsuccessful. The first West India Company suffered a long agony, and its end in 1674 was painless. The reason that the GWC could drag on for 27 years seems to have been its valuable West African possessions, due to its slaves. When

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5456-489: The lack of activity of the Dutch navy was the fact that diplomatic activity never ceased and gave the Dutch government the illusion that the war would be of only short duration. Empress Catharine, though she refused to come to the aid of the Dutch, was very active in offering her services to mediate the dispute. Both the British and the Dutch, with varying amounts of sincerity, cooperated in these diplomatic manoeuvres, which came to nothing, but helped to keep military activities at

5544-436: The line with the French squadron at Brest , as the British fleet in the channel had suddenly sailed south. However, Hartsinck, as usual, made objections, based on intelligence that British ships lay in ambush. When this proved false, the stadtholder ordered him to send the squadron, under command of Vice Admiral Count Lodewijk van Bylandt to Brest. However, as had happened countless times before, Bylandt, after having inspected

5632-430: The major goals within the GWC. The arming of merchant ships with guns and soldiers to defend themselves against Spanish ships was of great importance. On almost all ships in 1623, 40 to 50 soldiers were stationed, possibly to assist in the hijacking of enemy ships. It is unclear whether the first expedition was the expedition by Jacques l'Hermite to the coast of Chile, Peru and Bolivia, set up by Stadtholder Maurice with

5720-454: The meantime, the war demanded so many of its forces that the company had to operate under a permanent threat of bankruptcy. In fact, the GWC went bankrupt in 1636 and all attempts at rehabilitation were doomed to failure. In 1636, the Dutch West India Company took possession of St. Eustatius , Sint Maarten , and Saba which all fell under Dutch control. A commander was stationed on St. Eustatius to govern all three islands by 1678. Because of

5808-416: The new company. Nobody was fired, but the number of directors was reduced from 19 to 10, and the number of governors from 74 to 50. By 1679, the new GWC had slightly more than 6 million guilders which was largely supplied by the Amsterdam Chamber. In 1687, due to the Asiento possessed by Balthasar Coymans , the company paid the highest dividend. From 1694 until 1700, the GWC waged a long conflict against

5896-423: The north along the Hudson. Blommaert secretly tried to secure his interests with the founding of the colony of New Sweden on behalf of Sweden on the Delaware in the south. The main focus of the GWC now went to Brazil. The West India Company managed to conquer parts of Brazil from Portugal in 1630. That same year, the colony of New Holland was founded, with a capital in Mauritsstad (present-day Recife ). In

5984-520: The ongoing war in Brazil, the situation for the GWC in 1645, at the end of the charter, was very bad. An attempt to compensate the losses of the GWC with the profits of the VOC failed because the directors of the VOC did not want to. In 1645, the main participants in the GWC were members of the Trip family . Merging the two companies was not feasible. Amsterdam was not willing to help out, because it had too much interest in peace and healthy trade relations with Portugal. This indifferent attitude of Amsterdam

6072-434: The original 1621 charter appeared in English, Orders and Articles granted by the High and Mightie Lords the States General of the United Provinces concerning the erecting of a West-Indies Companie, Anno Dom. MDCXII . by 1623, the capital for the GWC at 2.8 million florins was not as great the VOC's original capitalization of 6.5 million, but it was still a substantial sum. The GWC had 15 ships to carry trade and plied

6160-417: The proposal of founding a West-India Company off table. The result was that, during a few years, the Dutch sailed under a foreign flag to South America. However, ten years later, Stadtholder Maurice of Orange , proposed to continue the war with Spain, but also to distract attention from Spain to the Republic. In 1619, his opponent Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was beheaded, and when in April 1621 the truce expired,

6248-413: The rebellion in their North American Thirteen Colonies . They attempted to "borrow" the mercenary Scots Brigade of the Dutch States Army for use in the Americas, in a similar manner to the Hessian and Brunswicker contingents they hired and deployed. This was strongly opposed by the Dutch sympathizers of the American Revolution, led by Baron Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol , who managed to convince

6336-439: The region of New Netherland. Patroon investors could expand the size of their land grants as large as 4 miles, "along the shore or along one bank of a navigable river..." Rensselaerswyck was the most successful Dutch West India Company patroonship. The New Netherland area, which included New Amsterdam , covered parts of present-day New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey, with Manhattan and Fort Amsterdam serving as

6424-557: The right of Visit and Search by belligerents. Initially, the stadtholder managed to prevent this, but strong diplomatic pressure by France, that selectively applied economic sanctions to Dutch cities supporting the stadtholder in this policy, forced his hand in November 1779. The States General now ordered him to provide the escorts and the first convoy, under command of Rear Admiral Lodewijk van Bylandt , sailed in December. This led to

6512-609: The right of free trade with part of the Dutch East Indies , which had been a major war aim for British merchants. The French also returned the other Dutch colonies they had recaptured from the British, including the ones in the West Indies (like St. Eustatius that had been taken by Admiral Rodney in February 1781, but was retaken by the French Admiral De Grasse on 27 November 1781). The war proved

6600-430: The ships, declared them "unready" to put out to sea. In this refusal, he was supported by the other flag officers. The incident caused a political storm that threatened to engulf the stadtholder himself, as he was responsible as commander-in-chief for both the state of readiness of the fleet and its strategic decisions (though the officers were tactically and operationally responsible, and could not decline responsibility for

6688-460: The stadtholder being a grandson of King George II of Great Britain , but his opponents for this reason favoured France, and those opponents were strong enough in the States General of the Netherlands (the governing body of the Republic whose "first servant" the stadtholder was) to keep Dutch foreign policy neutral. Initially, the British considered the Dutch allies in their attempt to stamp out

6776-488: The support of the States General and the VOC. The company was initially a dismal failure, in terms of its expensive early projects, and its directors shifted emphasis from conquest of territory to pursue plunder of shipping. The most spectacular success for the GWC was Piet Heyn's seizure of the Spanish silver fleet , which carried silver from Spanish colonies to Spain. He had also seized a consignment of sugar from Brazil and

6864-455: The war against France. The British invoked a number of old treaties (1678, 1689, 1716) to have the republic support them militarily, but as in the Seven Years' War , the Dutch government refused. After the French declared war on Britain, Amsterdam merchants also became heavily involved in the trade in naval stores with France. The French needed those supplies for their naval construction, but were prevented from obtaining those themselves, due to

6952-426: The war reached Sumatra, where both the Dutch and British companies had trading outposts. The directors of the British company at Fort Marlborough received instructions from Bombay to destroy all of the Dutch outposts on the west coast of Sumatra. Quite fortuitously, a fleet of five East Indiamen arrived not long after, and the directors seized the opportunity for action. Henry Botham, one of the directors, commandeered

7040-531: The west African coast and Brazil. Unlike the VOC, the GWC had no right to deploy military troops. When the Twelve Years' Truce in 1621 was over, the Republic had a free hand to re-wage war with Spain. A Groot Desseyn ("grand design") was devised to seize the Portuguese colonies in Africa and the Americas, so as to dominate the sugar and slave trade. When this plan failed, privateering became one of

7128-472: Was suppressed in 1787 by Prussian and British intervention. The Patriots were driven abroad, but returned in 1795 with the help of the French revolutionary armies and established a Batavian Republic in place of the old Dutch Republic. The Low Countries remained central to British strategic thinking, and they sent expeditionary forces to the Netherlands in 1793, 1799, and 1809. The war caused severe damage to

7216-641: Was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic . The war, contemporary with the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that war. Although the Dutch Republic did not enter into a formal alliance with the rebelling American colonies and their allies, American ambassador (and future president ) John Adams managed to establish diplomatic relations with

7304-524: Was cited as proof by the British of the non-neutral conduct of the Dutch. Dutch naval power had been in decline since 1712. The fleet had been long neglected, and the Dutch navy, having only 20 ships of the line at the start of the conflict, was no match for the British Royal Navy . Although the States General had decided on a substantial expansion of the fleet in 1779, just before the fateful decision to offer limited convoys, and had even voted

7392-526: Was completely devastated by him. He proved himself especially vengeful against the Jewish merchants on the island. All goods on the island were confiscated and all merchants, Dutch, American, French, even British, deported. Part of the loot was auctioned off on the spot, but an appreciable amount was put on a convoy destined for Britain. However, much of the convoy was captured in the English Channel by

7480-399: Was not keen on, either), the British government cited a number of grievances that were ostensibly unrelated to the Dutch accession to the league. One of these was the shelter the Dutch had (reluctantly) given to the American privateer John Paul Jones in 1779. More importantly, much was made of a draft treaty of commerce, secretly negotiated between the Amsterdam banker Jean de Neufville and

7568-666: Was organized similarly to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Like the VOC, the GWC had five offices, called chambers ( kamers ), in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hoorn, Middelburg and Groningen, of which the chambers in Amsterdam and Middelburg contributed most to the company. The board consisted of 19 members, known as the Heeren XIX (the Nineteen Gentlemen, as opposed to the Heeren XVII who controlled

7656-533: Was popular almost everywhere, the family Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck sold its property in the colony of Surinam . The GWC participated in a bigger share together with the Society of Suriname . Many planters in Surinam and the Caribbean came into financial trouble because of the mortgages ( Crisis of 1772 ); the demand for slaves dropped. In 1775, the last slave ship entered the port of Willemstad . From 1780 on

7744-550: Was the main cause of the slow, half-hearted policy, which would eventually lead to losing the colony. In 1647, the company made a restart using 1.5 million guilders, capital of the VOC. The States General took responsibility for the warfare in Brazil. Due to the Peace of Westphalia , the attacks on Spanish shipping were forbidden to the GWC. The Portuguese succeeded in the recapture of Angola . Many merchants from Amsterdam and Zeeland decided to work with marine and merchants from

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