In the Shadow of the Company: The Dutch East India Company and Its Servants in the Period of Its Decline (1740-1796)

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Chris Nierstrasz' In the Shadow of the Company, offers us an insight into the relation between the Dutch East India Company and its servants as it slipped into decline. This relationship altered dramatically in the eighteenth century under internal and external pressures. In the Shadow of the Company Copyright Dedication Foreword Contents Acknowledgements Glossary Maps Introduction The decline of the VOC Answers to its decline A new approach to decline Literature and archives Case studies Comparisons PART ONE: POWER AND TRADE Chapter One: Power and Trade Europe and expansion Military expansion Asia and expansion Asian factors The debate on Imperialism Company and servant The Company servants as portfolio capitalists Chapter Two: India, the Fight for Dominance The Indian battlefield: a land of opportunity The Anglo–French struggle for power An unresponsive VOC A furtive response to fundamental dangers A failed design to emulate Negotiating with indigenous rulers Chapter Three: Ceylon, a Cinnamon Paradise in Jeopardy Enforcing a Monopoly Status quo Estrangement and conflict Negotiating internal conflict Increasing pressure on the king External factors Solving dilemmas by war Military intervention A new status quo PART TWO: MONOPOLY AND PRIVATE TRADE Chapter Four: Monopoly and Private Trade A definition of the VOC monopoly The monopoly: its success and its limitations Plans for private trade Institutionalization of private trade The continuity of private trade Freedom of trade and decline Chapter Five: Private Trade with Batavia Private trade to Batavia Negotiating private trade privileges Guaranteed profit and extended benefits Huijsgebruijck Remittances Private trade from Batavia to the Coromandel Coast Protecting privileges Social exclusion Chapter Six: Country Trade on the Coromandel Coast Imports from Batavia Institutional advantages Unregulated control Use of VOC facilities Long-distance country trade Financing trade An international community of trade PART THREE: PROFITS AND FORTUNES Chapter Seven: Profits and Fortunes Structural use of fortunes Priorities in organization Balancing interests The paradox of less to offer but more to take Hierarchy as a tool of control Personal interest in appointments From nepotism to redistribution of wealth Chapter Eight: Remuneration and Corruption A troubled relationship A legal share Down the hierarchy Corruption Up the hierarchy Chapter Nine: Promotions and Patronage The supremacy of the Republic Investing in ‘friendship’ Persuading patronage in Asia Social reproduction Balancing personal interests Distribution of wealth PART FOUR: DUTCH DECLINE AND BRITISH DOMINANCE Chapter Ten: Dutch Decline and British Dominance Monopolies and private trade Empire and private trade Profits and fortunes Power and trade Conclusion Power and Trade Monopoly and Private Trade Profits and Fortunes Dutch Decline and British Dominance Notes Bibliography Index List of maps 1. European activity on the Coromandel Coast and in Bengal,c. 1760 2. The private trade presence of Van Eck in a larger perspective, c. 1760 3. The political situation in Ceylon, before and after the peace treaty of 1766