Cover Page The handle

(1)

Cover Page

The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/65503 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation.

Author: Ekama, K.J.

Title: Courting conflict : managing Dutch East and West India Company disputes in the Dutch Republic

Issue Date: 2018-09-13

(2)

C OURTING C ONFLICT

(3)

ISBN: 978-94-92679-54-3 Printed by: Print Service Ede

Cover images: Photograph of archival manuscript document: NL-HaNA, Hoge Raad Holland en Zeeland, 3.03.02, inv.nr. 778 (1686), Geextendeerde sententies, f. xxxiiii r;

High Court judges: Detail from De begrafenisstoet van Frederik Hendrik. Pieter Nolpe after Pieter Jansz Post, 1651. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

(4)

Courting Conflict

Managing Dutch East and West India

Company disputes in the Dutch Republic

PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,

op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties

te verdedigen op 13 september 2018 klokke 10:00 uur

door Kate Jean Ekama

geboren te Kaapstad, Zuid-Afrika op 24 october 1986

(5)

Promotor: Prof. dr. Cátia Antunes

Co-promotor: Dr. Karwan Fatah-Black

Promotiecommisie: Prof. dr. Michiel van Groesen Prof. dr. Egbert Koops

Dr. Justyna Wubs-Mrozewicz, University of Amsterdam Dr. Bram van Hofstraeten, Maastricht University

(6)

i

Acknowledgements

The most memorable part of my first day as a PhD candidate was my supervisor’s encouragement to always be academically generous. While working on my dissertation I benefitted enormously from others who were exactly that – generous with their time, skills, insight, and support. I am immensely grateful to numerous people who were involved in various ways.

While working on my thesis I had the opportunity to participate in conferences and workshops in the Netherlands and abroad. The questions and comments which I received on those occasions helped me to refine and shape my ideas and for that I thank the many participants who freely offered their thoughts.

Thanks to the staff of archives of libraries for the work that they do to facilitate historical research. Having unearthed the sources I needed, I then enjoyed expert assistance from Lodewijk Wagenaar, Harry Dondorp and Ton Harmsen who taught me how to decipher them. I am grateful for the time you dedicated to teaching me.

Researching and writing this dissertation was a task which, thankfully, I did not have to tackle alone. Joris and Erik in the VIDI team, and Bram our adopted VIDI brother;

Eli, Edgar, Julie, Kaarle and Hasan; Byapti and Noelle; Jeannette, Sanne and Marion; thank you all for your encouragement, constructive comments and suggestions which improved my thinking and writing. You have been excellent colleagues, and beyond that, great friends. Being a part of the Institute for History was a great experience, and for that I thank my colleagues in multiple sections.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to my supervisors, Cátia and Karwan. Thank you for the many hours you spent discussing my ideas, reading and rereading drafts, offering guidance and suggestions.

My heartfelt thanks to close friends in faraway places. Your friendship is a joy and treasure. Thank you for sharing the peaks and troughs of PhD life with me.

When I started my PhD my father told me that it was a test of character and perseverance. He was right. I have come through that test in no small part thanks to the patience, steadfast love and unwavering support of my parents (and their unrivalled proof-reading skills!). Thank you, Mom and Dad.

(10)

v

List of Abbreviations

NL-HaNA National Archive, The Hague

SAA Stadsarchief Amsterdam; City Archive Amsterdam

TASTD Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database

(11)

vi

List of tables and figures

Table 1: Chamber directors and the Gentlemen Seventeen 184

Table 2: Chamber directors and the Gentlemen Nineteen 186

Figure 1: Painting of the president and councillors of the High Court

and the Court of Holland 7

Figure 2: The legal framework of Holland and Zeeland 10

Figure 3: Company courts and the courts in the Republic 39

Figure 4: Distribution of VOC and WIC sentences by decade 47

Figure 5: Map of the VOC charter area 62

Figure 6: Map of the Northern Atlantic 63

Figure 7: Map of the world 63

Figure 8: Portrait of Olivier van Noort 75

Figure 9: Portrait of Jacob Le Maire 85

Figure 10: The Bartolotti House 197