A coin from when companies colonised.

Dutch East Indies

Map of the East Indies. From Britannica).

Archeological findings trace the history of modern-day Jakarta, Indonesia, back to the fifth century. By the 16th century, it was a thriving port city known as Sunda Kelapa. At that time, the Hindu kingdom of Pajajaran ruled the area from a place now known as Bogor, in the hills outside Jakarta.

Among the first foreigners to set foot in Sunda Kelapa were the Portuguese. In 1522, they made a mutually beneficial agreement with the Pajajaran Kingdom. In return for access to valuable spices, the Portuguese defended the Hindus from the Islamic sultanate of Demak.

Nevertheless, on 22 June 1527, the Javanese Prince Fatahillah, of the Demak Sultanate, successfully defeated the Portuguese armed forces at the site of the Sunda Kelapa. The city was then renamed Jayakarta, meaning “a glorious victory”.

In 1595 a small Dutch fleet under Cornelis Houtman had set sail for the Indies.

“The Indies” means “India and adjacent regions and islands”. The term was coined in the 1550s, from “Ynde”, the usual word in Middle English (from the early 13th Century) for “India”, which came from the Old French form of Latin India (see India). Commonly applied to Asia and the East generally; later in a time of geographical confusion, it was applied to the Caribbean basin, which was distinguished from Asia proper by being called the West Indies.

The 1595 expedition had proved that there was no need for the Dutch to depend on Portugal for their trade with the East. Many more voyages followed and in 1596 the Dutch settled in Bantam. Several companies were formed.

VOC

(VOC Flag from crwflags.com)

The Dutch East India Company, chartered on 20 March 1602 by the States-General of the Netherlands, was formed to expand trade and assure close relations between the government and its colonial enterprises in Asia. The company was granted a monopoly on Dutch trade East of the Cape of Good Hope and West of the Strait of Magellan.  For much of its history it was the world’s largest trading company, owning, at the height of its wealth and power, more than half the world’s sea-going shipping.

It was known internationally by its distinctive VOC monogram, the initials standing for ‘Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie’ – or simply the United East India Company. Those who organized it did not find it necessary to add that it was ‘Dutch’ – in the commercial world of its time no-one needed to be told that, and indeed, at the beginning of the seventeenth century ‘Dutch’ was only beginning to be identified with an independent state.

The Dutch used a range of ships to carry out their operations. Pictured is a “Fluyt”, a highly maneuverable medium-sized vessel that the Dutch had ingeniously manufactured to be of lightweight durability capable of sailing the rigorous course around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope and up to the tropic waters of the Indian Ocean. Its large interior volume allowed much cargo to be stored, perfect for maritime shipping. And it possessed a flexibility for refiture, which enabled some of the vessels to be converted into light warships

In 1798 the VOC was formally declared bankrupt and dissolved. Its debts and possessions were taken over by the Batavian Republic. That was a client state of France in what is now the Netherlands – but that is a story for another coin… Meanwhile, I barely touched on the whole story of the VOC, so please do read the Hubert-Herald page on the VOC for more details.

Obverse

The obverse contains the “Crowned Utrecht arms with flat shield top”. One thing I quite like about this one is that it is anepigraphic – it doesn’t have any text on this side.

From 1588 until 1795, the States-General were the assembly of the Seven United Provinces constituting the Dutch Republic. These were:

• Gelderland
• Holland
• Zeeland
• Utrecht
• Friesland
• Overijssel
• Groningen

During this period, the States-General acted as the de facto federal government of the Dutch Republic. The States General also ruled the so-called Generality Lands (territories that did not belong to any province) and they exercised supervision over the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the West India Company (WIC).

Reverse

The reverse contains the “VOC monogram in middle, privy mark (small shield) at top between dots, date below”.

These were minted at the Royal Dutch Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt), Utrecht, which has been operating since 1010 AD.

The currency in use at the time was the Gulden. 1 Gulden = 20 Stuivers, and 1 Stuivers = 4 Duits. Our 1/2 Duit then, was worth 1 / 160th of a Gulden. This copper coin weighs around 1.36g and is 17.51mm diameter. A full duit was also copper, weighing around 3.1g and being 22mm diameter.