Archief van de Oude West-Indische Compagnie (Oude WIC)
Item
Country
NL
Name of institution (English)
National Archives
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
dut
Contact information: postal address
Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 20, 2595 BE The Hague
Contact information: phone number
0031 703315400
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
Reference number
1.05.01.01
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Archives of the Old West India Company (Old WIC)
Title (official language of the state)
Archief van de Oude West-Indische Compagnie (Oude WIC)
Language of title
dut
Creator / accumulator
West-Indische Compagnie (WIC)
Date(s)
1621/1711
Language(s)
dut
Extent
7.20 linear meters (99 inventory numbers)
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Poor
Scope and content
The Archief van de Oude West-Indische Compagnie comprises documentation from the first Dutch West India Company (1621-74). It is organised in eight series according to the company's structure (Heren XIX, Kamer Amsterdam, Kamer Zeeland, Kamer Delft, Kamer op de Maze, and Kamer Noorderkwartier), and includes a series with documents from the Haags Besoigne (joint consultation at The Hague of the various kamers) and another with miscellaneous records (Overige Stukken). The largest part of the archive contains documents from the Kamer Zeeland (Zeeland Chamber), including an important collection of papers from Dutch Brazil (1630-54), which also contains some records on Curaçao. This collection is particularly rich in information on the Sephardic community based in Recife, as well as on Sephardic and converso trading networks in the Dutch Atlantic. Some examples are the following:
55, no. 241: Copy of a petition presented to the governor-general and councils by a number of Christians in Brazil demanding measures against the Jews. 1641.
60, no. 160. Deed of protest of Moses Navarro, a Jewish merchant in Recife, delivered by the notary François Montanier to the high councils, concerning his contract for the collection of the tithes of the sugar. September 7, 1645. See also no. 184.
61, no. 8: List of the silver given to skipper Jan Claessen Jes of the ship Elias, to be handed over to the directors of the Kamer Amsterdam. Among the consignors and the consignees, there are several Portuguese Jews, such as Joseph Francês, David and Aaron Dias, or David Attias. February 26, 1646.
61, no. 44: Letter in Portuguese from David Torres at Paraíba, to the directors of the Kamer Zeeland, with reference to a number of bills of lading for sugar. December 30, 1645.
63: Includes several reports of interrogations of Jews, such as Jacob Navarro (no. 110), Abraham Martenssen Cohen (no. 114), and Abraham de Jeosua Aboas (no. 133). February 1647.
65, no. 184: Copy of deed of agreement between Moses Navarro, contractor of the weighing house of Recife, and the high government of Brazil, representing the West India Company. April 20, 1649.
67, no. 43: Report of the interrogation of the Jew Jacob Fundão. November 5, 1652.
67, no. 91: Copies of two contracts between Abraham Cohen and the Supreme Government of Brazil. May 28 and July 1, 1652.
See also the so-called "Notulen van Brasilie", the minutes of the Supreme and Secret Councils of Brazil, the Governor, and Councils of Brazil, and the Supreme Government of Brazil from 1635 to 1654 (68 to 75).
In addition, this fonds also includes information on Sephardic Jews settled in other Dutch colonies in West Indies and America. It is the case, for instance, of a contract of the Kamer Zeeland and the cities of Middelburg, Vlissingen, and Veere with some Jewish merchants on the supply of enslaved people for the colonisation of the Wild Coast (north coast of South America) on November 26, 1657 (41).
55, no. 241: Copy of a petition presented to the governor-general and councils by a number of Christians in Brazil demanding measures against the Jews. 1641.
60, no. 160. Deed of protest of Moses Navarro, a Jewish merchant in Recife, delivered by the notary François Montanier to the high councils, concerning his contract for the collection of the tithes of the sugar. September 7, 1645. See also no. 184.
61, no. 8: List of the silver given to skipper Jan Claessen Jes of the ship Elias, to be handed over to the directors of the Kamer Amsterdam. Among the consignors and the consignees, there are several Portuguese Jews, such as Joseph Francês, David and Aaron Dias, or David Attias. February 26, 1646.
61, no. 44: Letter in Portuguese from David Torres at Paraíba, to the directors of the Kamer Zeeland, with reference to a number of bills of lading for sugar. December 30, 1645.
63: Includes several reports of interrogations of Jews, such as Jacob Navarro (no. 110), Abraham Martenssen Cohen (no. 114), and Abraham de Jeosua Aboas (no. 133). February 1647.
65, no. 184: Copy of deed of agreement between Moses Navarro, contractor of the weighing house of Recife, and the high government of Brazil, representing the West India Company. April 20, 1649.
67, no. 43: Report of the interrogation of the Jew Jacob Fundão. November 5, 1652.
67, no. 91: Copies of two contracts between Abraham Cohen and the Supreme Government of Brazil. May 28 and July 1, 1652.
See also the so-called "Notulen van Brasilie", the minutes of the Supreme and Secret Councils of Brazil, the Governor, and Councils of Brazil, and the Supreme Government of Brazil from 1635 to 1654 (68 to 75).
In addition, this fonds also includes information on Sephardic Jews settled in other Dutch colonies in West Indies and America. It is the case, for instance, of a contract of the Kamer Zeeland and the cities of Middelburg, Vlissingen, and Veere with some Jewish merchants on the supply of enslaved people for the colonisation of the Wild Coast (north coast of South America) on November 26, 1657 (41).
Archival history
Most of the original archive of the West-Indische Compagnie was lost, including through sale as scrap paper in 1821 and a fire in 1844. The most important part of the remaining archive comes from the Kamer Zeeland (Zeeland Chamber). The advantage here is that correspondence from the colonies to the Netherlands had to be copied in quintuplicate (one copy for each chamber). Since the Kamer Zeeland acted as presiding chamber by rotation with Amsterdam for a period of two years, the collection even contains the original missives from Brazil for those periods.
Administrative / Biographical history
The West-Indische Compagnie (WIC), the Dutch West India Company, was founded in 1621 mainly to carry on economic warfare against Spain and Portugal by striking at their colonies in the West Indies and South America and on the west coast of Africa.
The WIC was governed by a board composed of 19 members (the Heerem XIX) and had five offices (Kamers) corresponding to the various regions of the Netherlands. Having the monopoly of trade with the Americas, Africa, and the Atlantic regions between them, the WIC was militarily and financially supported by the States General (the Dutch national assembly).
Its zenith was reached during the administration of Count John Maurice (1636-44) with the conquest of the northeastern region of Brazil and the foundation of New Holland, which ended up capitulating to the Portuguese in 1654. Between 1634 and 1648, the WIC also established several colonies in the West Indies and Guyana, including Aruba, Curaçao, and Saint Martin, but later lost many of them to the French. New Netherland, the Dutch colony in North America, became a province of the WIC in 1623 and remained so until 1667, when it was ceded to the English.
The loss of Brazil to the Portuguese and later of other colonies to the French and the English reflected the decline of the WIC. The Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars also threatened its influence on the west coast of Africa. Deeper in debt, the WIC was dissolved in 1674 and, in the same year, created a new company, the Tweede West-Indische Compagnie, which lasted until 1794.
The WIC was governed by a board composed of 19 members (the Heerem XIX) and had five offices (Kamers) corresponding to the various regions of the Netherlands. Having the monopoly of trade with the Americas, Africa, and the Atlantic regions between them, the WIC was militarily and financially supported by the States General (the Dutch national assembly).
Its zenith was reached during the administration of Count John Maurice (1636-44) with the conquest of the northeastern region of Brazil and the foundation of New Holland, which ended up capitulating to the Portuguese in 1654. Between 1634 and 1648, the WIC also established several colonies in the West Indies and Guyana, including Aruba, Curaçao, and Saint Martin, but later lost many of them to the French. New Netherland, the Dutch colony in North America, became a province of the WIC in 1623 and remained so until 1667, when it was ceded to the English.
The loss of Brazil to the Portuguese and later of other colonies to the French and the English reflected the decline of the WIC. The Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars also threatened its influence on the west coast of Africa. Deeper in debt, the WIC was dissolved in 1674 and, in the same year, created a new company, the Tweede West-Indische Compagnie, which lasted until 1794.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The fonds is organised by institutions. In lower levels, records are arranged geographically and chronologically.
Access, restrictions
The archive has limitations for consulting documents due to poor material condition.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Kevin Soares, 2022
Bibliography
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Nationaal Archief | Collections (official language of the state) |
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