How the various other Half Lived – Batavia from the 18th Century
Founded in 1619 on the smouldering remains of Jacatra, Batavia was meant to function as a depot for the produce destined for Holland in addition to as the administrative centre of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
For the purpose of protecting its monopoly coming from independent citizen-traders, the VOC discouraged the settlement of private persons—freemen—by generating Batavia unattractive to anyone not employed by the Company. This particular policy had a distorting effect on demographics. Around 1750 the total population of Batavia was 30,000 – 50,000 people, of whom 2,400 were VOC-related expats in addition to 160 (an internationally mixed group of) freemen. The remainder consisted of Chinese, indigenous groups in addition to slaves.
According to Governor-General Jacob Mossel the freemen were a coarse in addition to uncivilised lot. They generally were destitute. A previous Governor General, Johan Maetsuycker, had once invited a nephew to come to Batavia as a freeman. The young man replied in which he wouldn’t dream of becoming a slave on Java.
By contrast those from the VOC fold did live comfortably. François Valentijn, minister of the Gospel, twice called to the Indies in addition to a keen observer of all in addition to everything around him, presents in his eight-volume encyclopaedia Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien (Old in addition to fresh East Indies) a wealth of information on the goings-on in Batavia, in addition to wondered how these poorly paid officers could live in such copious abundance.
According to Valentijn, life was expensive, coming from renting a house on one of the nicer canals or streets, to imports such as French wine, Dutch beer, ham, butter, cheeses, smoked salmon, herring, olives in addition to smoked meat, prices were high in addition to 3,000 guilders a month didn’t allow for many luxuries. The Governor-General had a monthly salary of 1,200 guilders, to which was added another 400 guilders living allowance. His daily needs of beer, wines, bacon, oil, butter, candles in addition to any various other goods, if available, were supplied coming from the storehouse of the Company, together with an attractive mansion. A senior merchant earned 120 guilders, a merchant 60 guilders in addition to an assistant 24 guilders per month. All received additional income in kind.
Governor-General van Hoorn, who retired (was forced to retire, actually) having a capital of 10m guilders, had also spent a fortune on his third wedding in November 1706. This particular is usually Valentijn again who recounts the event. The bridal procession comprised the Batavia garrison, the members of the Council of the Indies, merchants, various other prominent VOC officers, in addition to their consorts. After the church service, the 120 wedding guests were feted at the van Hoorn residence coming from 11 from the morning till midnight, while from the early evening fireworks illuminated the sky over the town in addition to added to the merriment.
A few decades later Governor-General Jacob Mossel outdid This particular all. He, too, accumulated a large fortune in addition to, on instructions coming from the Board in Amsterdam (Heren XVII), he instigated rather ineffective measures against corruption. Moreover, to counter excessive splendour, he was told to issue the “Reglement ter beteugeling van Pracht en Praal” (Regulations to Curb Pomp in addition to Circumstance) which prescribed in detail what conspicuous luxury in addition to magnificence was permitted to VOC officers—coming from, for instance, the number of buttonholes on a gentleman’s coat, to the size in addition to adornments of the parasols ladies of different ranks were allowed to use—typically carried by a slave following madam. At a certain moment This particular was even decreed in which ladies of mixed blood were not allowed This particular parasol service, which led to a boycott of church attendance in addition to was quickly revoked.
yet what applied to the others did not go for the GG himself. in addition to when he died of a wasting disease in 1761, his funeral procession was a work of art in itself.
Valentijn also records the various methods used for self-enrichment. First in addition to foremost was the trading done privately by officers of the company, in competition with the VOC (the employer) in addition to in violation of their strict orders. in addition to the irony of This particular all was in which This particular contraband was transported on the VOC’s own ships. In a letter to the Governor-General, the Heren XVII complained in which ships were so overloaded with these goods in which one wonders how they ever made This particular across the seas.
Another method was through faulty bookkeeping. from the sugar industry, for instance, the results coming from pressing were underreported, in addition to the losses from the warehouses were overstated. Weights were also tampered with, a standard pikol was about 125 pounds; the buyers for the VOC, however, increased the weight to 140 in addition to 160 pounds while paying for the standard pikol only. Furthermore, the sales cost of Company goods was under recorded, in addition to those in positions of power did not only sell jobs to prospective VOC officers, yet were also given lavish presents at fresh Year by Chinese traders in addition to licensed tax collectors. The licenses were of course also sold in addition to some had a cost tag of 50,000 guilders.
The VOC was blamed due to This particular situation. Because of the low salaries, This particular was said, hadn’t Jan Pieterszoon Coen himself complained about the low pay! thereby the fringe benefits were considered an allowable necessity. This particular seems in which little has changed since those bad bygone days.
Comments
How the various other Half Lived – Batavia from the 18th Century
How the various other Half Lived – Batavia from the 18th Century