Moucheron’s firm — the commercial house of the Zeeland merchant Balthasar de Moucheron of Middelburg — was the principal Zeeland voorcompagnie of the early Dutch-Atjeh trade, the outfitting firm of the Houtman brothers’ voyage of 1599 on the ships De Leeuw and De Leeuwin and of the Spilbergh voyage of 1601-1602 with three ships and the yacht *‘t Lam. The firm is the principal Zeeland commercial actor of Van der Woude’s chapter “Atjeh. Djohor. Malaka.” in his Van der Woude (1948).
The Houtman brothers’ voyage of 1598-1599
The Houtman brothers’ voyage — the first Dutch voyage to Atjeh — was outfitted by Moucheron’s firm. After Cornelis de Houtman’s return from the first Dutch voyage to Bantam in 1597 and the subsequent legal disputes, Moucheron — who “waarschijnlijk, en tot zijn nadeel, geen geloof sloeg aan de geruchten over en processen tegen hem” — gave Houtman command of two ships, De Leeuw and De Leeuwin, which left Vlissingen on 25 March 1598 with the English pilot John Davis as stuurman. The ships anchored off Atjeh on 24 June 1599. The voyage ended in the ambush of 11 September 1599 in which Cornelis was killed and Frederik taken captive.
The Spilbergh fleet of 1601-1602
Moucheron’s firm then outfitted the fleet of three ships and the yacht *‘t Lam under Joris van Spilbergen, which left Middelburg on 5 May 1601. Near the Comoros the yacht became separated from the others and was so damaged that Cornelis Spex put in at Atjeh in early September 1602 and placed himself under James Lancaster’s command. Spilbergh himself arrived a few days later with the other two ships, having called at Ceylon on the way. Spilbergh joined Lancaster in the capture of the Portuguese carrack of 3 October 1602 for an eighth of the prize.
The absorption into the VOC (1602)
With the founding of the VOC on 20 March 1602, Moucheron’s firm was wound up and its assets and personnel absorbed into the Zeeland chamber of the united company. Balthasar de Moucheron became one of the founding Bewindhebbers of the Zeeland chamber, listed in the charter of 20 March 1602 alongside Adriaen Hendircxsz. ten Haeff, Jacob Boreel, and the other Zeeland merchants. The absorption marked the institutional end of the pre-VOC Zeeland East India trade and the beginning of the unified Dutch-Indies enterprise.
Significance
Moucheron’s firm is, in Van der Woude’s narrative, the principal Zeeland voorcompagnie of the early Dutch-Atjeh trade and the principal commercial actor of the pre-VOC Zeeland East India trade. The Houtman voyage of 1599 — the first Dutch visit to Atjeh — was outfitted by the firm; the Spilbergh voyage of 1601-1602 — the closing Dutch visit to Atjeh of the pre-VOC period — was also outfitted by the firm. The firm’s absorption into the Zeeland chamber of the VOC in 1602 marked the institutional end of the pre-VOC period and the beginning of the unified Dutch-Indies trade. Moucheron’s role in the early Dutch-Atjeh relationship — outfitting both the opening and the closing Dutch voyages of the pre-VOC period — frames the firm as both foundational and transitional: it opened the trade and shepherded it into the unified company that would carry it forward.
See Also
- Balthasar de Moucheron
- Houtman brothers’ visit to Atjeh (1599)
- Cornelis de Houtman
- Frederik de Houtman
- Joris Spilbergh
- Joris Spilbergh’s Atjeh visit (1602)
- Cornelis Spex
- John Davis
- Capture of the Portuguese carrack off Atjeh (October 1602)
- Middelburgsche Compagnie
- Nieuwe Brabantsche Compagnie
- Founding of the VOC (1602)
- Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie
- Acheh
- 1598
- 1599
- 1601
- 1602
Source
Coen, Koopman van Heeren Zeventien. Geschiedenis van den Hollandshen Handel in Indië (1598-1614), by Johan van der Woude (Amsterdam: C.V. Uitgeverij v/h C. De Boer Jr., 1948), Hoofdstuk V “Voorgangers, Hollanders en mededingers tot 1614. Atjeh. Djohor. Malaka.” (pp. 109-110, 117-119), and Bijlage I (p. 369).
Balthasar de Moucheron, by J. H. de Stoppelaar (‘s Gravenhage, 1901).
Moucheron’s firm — the commercial house of the Zeeland merchant Balthasar de Moucheron of Middelburg — was the principal Zeeland voorcompagnie of the early Dutch-Atjeh trade, the outfitting firm of the Houtman brothers’ voyage of 1599 on the ships De Leeuw and De Leeuwin and of the Spilbergh voyage of 1601-1602 with three ships and the yacht *‘t Lam. The firm is the principal Zeeland commercial actor of Van der Woude’s chapter “Atjeh. Djohor. Malaka.” in his Van der Woude (1948).
The Houtman brothers’ voyage of 1598-1599
The Houtman brothers’ voyage — the first Dutch voyage to Atjeh — was outfitted by Moucheron’s firm. After Cornelis de Houtman’s return from the first Dutch voyage to Bantam in 1597 and the subsequent legal disputes, Moucheron — who “waarschijnlijk, en tot zijn nadeel, geen geloof sloeg aan de geruchten over en processen tegen hem” — gave Houtman command of two ships, De Leeuw and De Leeuwin, which left Vlissingen on 25 March 1598 with the English pilot John Davis as stuurman. The ships anchored off Atjeh on 24 June 1599. The voyage ended in the ambush of 11 September 1599 in which Cornelis was killed and Frederik taken captive.
The Spilbergh fleet of 1601-1602
Moucheron’s firm then outfitted the fleet of three ships and the yacht *‘t Lam under Joris van Spilbergen, which left Middelburg on 5 May 1601. Near the Comoros the yacht became separated from the others and was so damaged that Cornelis Spex put in at Atjeh in early September 1602 and placed himself under James Lancaster’s command. Spilbergh himself arrived a few days later with the other two ships, having called at Ceylon on the way. Spilbergh joined Lancaster in the capture of the Portuguese carrack of 3 October 1602 for an eighth of the prize.
The absorption into the VOC (1602)
With the founding of the VOC on 20 March 1602, Moucheron’s firm was wound up and its assets and personnel absorbed into the Zeeland chamber of the united company. Balthasar de Moucheron became one of the founding Bewindhebbers of the Zeeland chamber, listed in the charter of 20 March 1602 alongside Adriaen Hendircxsz. ten Haeff, Jacob Boreel, and the other Zeeland merchants. The absorption marked the institutional end of the pre-VOC Zeeland East India trade and the beginning of the unified Dutch-Indies enterprise.
Significance
Moucheron’s firm is, in Van der Woude’s narrative, the principal Zeeland voorcompagnie of the early Dutch-Atjeh trade and the principal commercial actor of the pre-VOC Zeeland East India trade. The Houtman voyage of 1599 — the first Dutch visit to Atjeh — was outfitted by the firm; the Spilbergh voyage of 1601-1602 — the closing Dutch visit to Atjeh of the pre-VOC period — was also outfitted by the firm. The firm’s absorption into the Zeeland chamber of the VOC in 1602 marked the institutional end of the pre-VOC period and the beginning of the unified Dutch-Indies trade. Moucheron’s role in the early Dutch-Atjeh relationship — outfitting both the opening and the closing Dutch voyages of the pre-VOC period — frames the firm as both foundational and transitional: it opened the trade and shepherded it into the unified company that would carry it forward.
See Also
- Balthasar de Moucheron
- Houtman brothers’ visit to Atjeh (1599)
- Cornelis de Houtman
- Frederik de Houtman
- Joris Spilbergh
- Joris Spilbergh’s Atjeh visit (1602)
- Cornelis Spex
- John Davis
- Capture of the Portuguese carrack off Atjeh (October 1602)
- Middelburgsche Compagnie
- Nieuwe Brabantsche Compagnie
- Founding of the VOC (1602)
- Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie
- Acheh
- 1598
- 1599
- 1601
- 1602
Source
Coen, Koopman van Heeren Zeventien. Geschiedenis van den Hollandshen Handel in Indië (1598-1614), by Johan van der Woude (Amsterdam: C.V. Uitgeverij v/h C. De Boer Jr., 1948), Hoofdstuk V “Voorgangers, Hollanders en mededingers tot 1614. Atjeh. Djohor. Malaka.” (pp. 109-110, 117-119), and Bijlage I (p. 369).
Balthasar de Moucheron, by J. H. de Stoppelaar (‘s Gravenhage, 1901).