6/26/2019

ItisahardknocklifeAmusementsandPastimeActivitiesonBoardoftheDutchEastIndiaCompany’sShips

MasterThesisColonia landGlobalHistory,20ECTS

LeidenUnivers ity

LizedeKlerk

StudentNumber:1545493

lizedeklerk@hotmail.com

Dr.A.M.C.vanDissel

Words:17.957

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TableofContents

Introduction......................................................................................................................3Historiography...........................................................................................................................4Methodology.............................................................................................................................7

Chapter1InstitutionalizedRitualsoftheVOC.................................................................10Signallingandcommunication..................................................................................................12SeaBaptism.............................................................................................................................17

Chapter2TrialsandRewardsonBoard...........................................................................22Theatricalityofpunishments....................................................................................................23Rewards...................................................................................................................................28

Chapter3ReligiousRitualsoftheSeafaringPersonnel....................................................31InstitutionalizedReligion..........................................................................................................32ExceptionalReligiousRituals....................................................................................................36

Chapter4MusicandPastimeAmusements.....................................................................40SingingandShantying..............................................................................................................41PlayingMusicalInstruments.....................................................................................................44PlayandPastime......................................................................................................................47

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................54

Bibliography....................................................................................................................58PrimarySources.......................................................................................................................58

Archives.......................................................................................................................................58Objects.........................................................................................................................................59

PrintedSources........................................................................................................................59Literature.................................................................................................................................61DatabasesandWebsites..........................................................................................................66

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Introduction

“Playisolderthanculture,forculture,howeverinadequatelydefined,always

presupposeshumansociety,andanimalshavenotwaitedformantoteachthem

theirplaying.”1

- JohanHuizinga

Playhasbeenpartofmankindlongbeforetheexistenceofsocietiesallovertheworld.

Duringtheseventeenthandeighteenthcentury,differentsocietiesinnorthernEuropewere

expandingtheirterritoriesandinfluence.Tradingcompaniesplayedacrucialroleinthisage

ofexploration.TheDutchEastIndiaCompany,theVOC(VerenigdeOost-Indische

Compagnie)wasoneofthemostdominanttradingcompaniesinthisperiod.Itwas

establishedbytheDutchgovernmentandLand’sAdvocateJohanvanOldenbarneveltin

1602tooptimizetheDutchtradewithAsia.2TheCompanyprovidedtheDutchnotonlywith

atradingroutetoAsia,whichwasanenormouseconomicadvantage,italsoaidedthe

expansionoftheDutchauthoritytooverseasterritories.BecauseoftheCompany,the

DutchRepublicbecameoneofthemostpowerfulentitiesduringthisperiod.3Foucault

observesthat“theboathasnotonlybeenforourcivilization,fromthesixteenthcentury

untilthepresent(1980s),thegreatinstrumentofeconomicdevelop,buthasbeen

simultaneouslythegreatestreserveoftheimagination.Theshipistheheterotopiapar

excellence.”4Evidently,theDutchEastIndiaCompany’sshipswerevitalintheCompany’s

endeavours,butFoucaultintroducesanotherfascinatinginsight:theCompany’sshipwasa

heterotopia–“afloatingpieceofspace,aplacewithoutaplace,thatexistsbyitself,thatis

closedinonitselfandatthesametimeisgivenovertotheinfinityofthesea…”5This

approachsuggeststhattheshipconstitutesasociety,withitsownfunction,rules,customs

andmanners.Heterotopia’sexistineverycultureaccordingtoFoucault,butwhichaspects

1J.Huizinga,HomoLudens,AStudyofthePlay-ElementinCulture(Oxon1949)1. 2F.S.Gaastra,DeGeschiedenisvandeVOC(Haarlem1982)19.s3JohnP.McKay,BennettD.Hill,JohnBuckleretal.,AHistoryofWesternSociety(Bedford2014)456,569;Gaastra,DeGeschiedenisvandeVOC,127-128.4MichelFoucaultandJayMiskowiec,“OfOtherSpaces”,Diacritics,Vol.16,No.1(1986)27.5Idem,22-27.

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ofculturepersistedandtransferredtoaheterotopia?6Thisthesiswillexaminetheculture

anditsfunctiononboardoftheVOCships,andlikeHuizingasuggested‘play’,preceding

culture,isvitalinanyexaminationofculture.Therefore,andmorespecifically,thisthesis

willtakeanindepthlookatthefunctionofonespecificaspectsofculture:varioustypesof

amusements,including‘playing’,ritualsandmusic.Whichamusementsandpastime

activitieswereavailableonboardoftheVOCships,travelingtoandfromAsiabetween

1650and1800,andhowdidtheycontributetotheoperationoftheship?

ThereareseveralreasonswhythisresearchisfocusedontheVOC-ships.Firstand

foremost,alothasbeenwrittenaboutlifeonboardoftheCompany’sshipsingeneral,

however,thesubjectmatterofthisthesishasfallenbehindinthehistoriography.Sincethe

VOCwassuchanextraordinaryandsignificantorganisationinthehistoryoftheNetherlands

itishighlyrelevanttoinvestigatethisaspectoftheirenterprise.Moreover,theCompany’s

ships,withtheirworkforce,ingeneralwereamongthelargestshipsintheRepublic.7The

greatdiversityofavailablesourcesoftheDutchEastIndiaCompanyalsohelpednarrowing

downthesubject,incorporatingtheAdmiraltyorWestIndiaCompany,wouldbetoobigof

anprojectforthisthesis.

Historiography

TheDutchEastIndiaCompany’shistoryhasbeenthesubjectofagreatvarietyofscholarly

research.IntheCompany’sgeneralhistoriesconsiderableattentionispaidtothose

employedontheCompany’sships.Amainfocusofthisquantitativeresearchisthe

economicalandgeographicalbackgroundofthesepeopleinemployment.VOChistorian

FemmeS.Gaastra,alsocoversthisinhisgeneralhistoriesabouttheCompany.8Moreover,

GaastrawasoneoftheleadingscholarsontheresearchprojectTheDutchEastIndia

Company'sshippingbetweentheNetherlandsandAsia1595-1795,devotedtosurveying

andaccumulatingalltheinformationfoundintheCompany’slogbooksonvoyagestoand

fromAsia.Theycompiledanonlineaccessibledatabase,basedonthissurvey,with

significantinformationonthepeopleonboardtheCompany’sships,dividedintofour

6Idem,24.7JaapR.Bruijn,Zeegang:ZeevarendNederlandindeachttiendeeeuw(Zutphen2016)11,49-50.8FemmeS.Gaastra,GeschiedenisvandeVOC–opkomst,bloeienondergang(Zutphen2009)88-100.

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categories:seafarers,soldiers,craftsmenandpassengers.9Intheintroductoryvolume

publishedoftheproject,thebackgroundofthepeopleonboardoftheshipsisbriefly

discussed.JustlikeothergeneralhistoriesoftheVOC,themainfocusisontheeconomical

andgeographicalbackgroundofthoseonboard.10BruijnandGaastradoshowthatmany

foreignerswereemployedonboardoftheCompany’sships,whichisrelevantforthis

research,becausetheyshowthattensionscoulddevelopbetweentheDutchagainstothers

–mostoftentheFrench.11

Asstatedabove,theCompany’slabourforcehasbeenquiteextensivelyanalysed,

mainlyfocusingonthecontroloflabourandviolenceonboardoftheCompany’sships.12

Historianshavepaidlittleattentiontoactuallifeonboardoftheships.Publicationsthatdo

incorporateadiscussionofeverydaylifeonboardmainlyfocusonthreecomponents:Rules

andPunishments,FoodandDrinkandIllnessandDeath.HetGroteVOCBoekisaperfect

example,attheveryendofthisveryelaborateissueonthehistoryoftheCompany,one

chapterofonlyafewpagesdiscussesexactlythesethreesubjects.13Inthearticle

“CalamitousVoyages”,RichardGuyalsoaddressesthesetopicsinananalysisoffour

accountsofshipwreckandmutinyofVOC-ships.Heshowshowthesestorieswerepartof

theVOC’sauthoritariandiscourse.14Controllingthelabourforcewasratherimportant,as

onecanimagine,fortheDutchEastIndiaCompany.Desertionwasaseriousissue,Wezel

9J.R.Bruijn,F.S.GaastraandI.SchöfferwithassistancefromA.C.J.Vermeulen,Dutch-AsiaticShippinghttp://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/das/index_html_en(Accessed06June2019);J.R.Bruijn,F.S.GaastraandI.SchöfferwithassistancefromA.C.J.Vermeulen,Dutch-AsiaticShippinginthe17thand18thCenturies:VOLUMEIIOutward-boundvoyagesfromtheNetherlandstoAsiaandtheCape(1595-1794)(TheHague1979).10J.R.Bruijn,F.S.GaastraandI.SchöfferwithassistancefromA.C.J.Vermeulen,Dutch-AsiaticShippinginthe17thand18thCenturies:VOLUMEIIntroductoryVolume(TheHague1987);DanSleigh,JanCompagnie–TheworldoftheDutchEastIndiaCompany(1980CapeTown).11J.R.Bruijn,F.S.GaastraandI.SchöfferwithassistancefromA.C.J.Vermeulen,Dutch-AsiaticShippinginthe17thand18thCenturies:VOLUMEIIntroductoryVolume(TheHague1987)152-158.12Forexample:StoyanVSgourevandWimvanLent,“Whentoomanyarenotenough:HumanresourceslackandperformanceattheDutchEastIndiaCompany(1700–1795)”,HumanRelations,Vol.70,No.11(2017)1293-1315;JanLucassen,“AMultinationalanditsLaborForce:TheDutchEastIndiaCompany,1595-1795”,InternationalLaborandWorking-ClassHistory,No.66,(2004)12-39;MattiasvanRossum,WerkersvandeWereld:Globalisering,arbeidenintercultureleontmoetingentussenAziatischeenEuropesezeeliedenindienstvandeVOC,1600-1800(Hilversum2014);JaapR.BruijnandFemmeS.Gaastra,Ships,SailorsandSpices:EastIndiaCompaniesandtheirshippinginthe16th,17thamd18thcenturies(Amsterdam1993);FilippoCarloWezelandMartinReuf,“AgentswithPrinciples:TheControlofLaborintheDutchEastIndiaCompany,1700to1796”,AmericanSociologicalReview,Vol.82,No.5(2017)1009–1036;J.R.BruijnandE.S.vanEyckvanHeslinga,Muiterij–oproerenberechtingopschepenvandeVOC(Haarlem1980);HermanKetting,Leven,werkenrebellieaanboordvanOost-Indievaarders(1595-1650)(Amsterdam2002).13RonGulaijandGerritKnaap,HetGroteVOCBoek(Amsterdam2017)197-201.14RichardGuy,“CalamitousVoyages:thesocialspaceofshipwreckandmutinynarrativesintheDutchEastIndiaCompany”,Itenerario,Vol.39,No.1(2015)117-140.

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andReufshowthatsocialbondsweremosteffectiveinpreventingdesertionintheirarticle

“AgentswithPrinciples”.15Theriskofmutiniesalsowasoneofthedangerstheships’

officersencounteredonboardonthevoyagetoAsia.Throughacompilationofseveralcase

studies,Muiterij–oproerenberechtigingvandeVOCshowsthatmutinywasnotas

uncommonfortheDutchEastIndiaCompanyaspreviouslythought.16

Atthestartofthetwentiethcenturyonescholar,J.deHullu,wrotefiveground-

breakingarticlesconcerninglifeonboardoftheVOC-ships.Hewasthepioneerinthisfield

ofresearch:thehistoriesofthoseonboardoftheCompany’sships.Notonlydoeshelook

atRulesandPunishments,FoodandDrinkandIllnessandDeathlikemostofthescholars

afterhim.Healsowroteone,relativelyshort,articleonthesubjectofamusementson

boardoftheCompany’sships,herewithhewasthefirstonetodoso.17J.R.deBruijnandJ.

LucassenanalysedthearticleswrittenbyDeHulluandpublishedanallcompilingworkin

1980.Untilthen,onlyonemorescholarhadlookedattheamusementsonboardofthe

Company’sship–C.A.Davidsanalysedtheseafarers’songsintheseventeenthand

eighteenthcenturies.However,Davids’researchisnotsolelydevotedtotheDutchEast

IndiaCompany,evaluatingforexamplewarshipsaswell.18Comparatively,IanWoodfield

haswrittenaboutEnglishmusiciansinthisperiod,focusingmainlyontheBritishEastIndia

Company.19NowadaysscholarshiponthesubjectofamusementsonboardoftheDutch

EastIndiaCompany’sshipsisstillveryscarce.Inrealityonlyonescholar,HermanKetting,

hasfocusedsolelyonlifeonboardoftheCompany’sships.Focusingontheperiodbetween

1595and1650,hethoroughlyanalysedvariousaspectsofthislife,includingamusements

andpastime.JaapR.BruijnhasrecentlypublishedavolumeonsailorsintheRepublicinthe

eighteenthcentury.Inanelaborateexamination,incorporatingemploymentondifferent

kindsofships,heonlybrieflydiscussespastimeactivitiesonboardoftheCompany’sships.

Moreover,hedoesnotinvestigatethefunctionoftheseactivities.20Focusingonculturallife

onboardofshipsinthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturydoesexist,HansKrabbendamhas

15FilippoCarloWezelandMartinReuf,“AgentswithPrinciples:TheControlofLaborintheDutchEastIndiaCompany,1700to1796”,AmericanSociologicalReview,Vol.82,No.5(2017)1009–1036.16J.R.BruijnandE.S.vanEyckvanHeslinga,Muiterij–oproerenberechtingopschepenvandeVOC(Haarlem1980).17J.R.BruijnandJ.Lucassen(eds.),OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie:vijfartikelenvanJ.deHullu(1980Groningen).18Idem,45.19IanWoodfield,EnglishMusiciansintheAgeofExploration(Stuyvesant1995).20Bruijn,Zeegang.

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researchedculturalaspectsonboardofthetrans-Atlanticpassengershipsbetween1840

and1960.Heshowedthatpassengershadlittlefreedomtocontributetotheritualson

board,theywerepredominantlyregulatedbythefirms.21Inthehistoriographythere

appearsandeficiencyonthissubjectfortheperiodbetween1650and1840.AfterKetting’s

periodofresearch,theDutchEastIndiaCompanyexistedforcircaanother150years.

FollowingthepathDeHullulaidoutacenturyagoforhistorianstofollow,whichfew

haveactuallydone,thisresearchwillbeanindepthexplorationofthevarioustypesof

amusementsonboardoftheVOC-shipsbetween1650and1800.Notonlydoesthisthesis

contributetothegeneralhistoriographyaboutlifeonboardoftheCompany’sships,italso

fillsthegapinresearchabouttheDutchEastIndiaCompany,recognizedbyBruijnand

Lucassen,anditfillsthegapinthetimelinementionedabove.Herewithitwillfurther

completethehistoriographyofthefunctionofamusementsandpastimeactivitiesonboard

oftheDutchEastIndiaCompany’sships.Previouslyitwasmentionedthatresearchonlife

onboardoftheCompany’sshipsmainlyfocusedonthreesubjects:order,controloflabour,

andviolence.Mutiniesforexamplewerenotuncommon.Contributingtothislineof

researchontheDutchEastIndiaCompany,inthisthesiswewillinvestigatewhethervarious

typesofamusements,somemoreobviousthanothers,helpedincontrollingthelabour

forceandhowitaffectedthedifferencesbetweenrank,classandnationality,onboard.

Methodology

Aspreviouslymentioned,themainquestionofthisresearchisasfollows:which

amusementsandpastimeactivitieswereavailableonboardoftheVOCships,travelingto

andfromAsiabetween1650and1800,andhowdidtheycontributetotheoperationofthe

ship?Firstitisnecessarytomakeafundamentaldifferentiationbetweeninstitutionalized

amusementsandpastimeamusementsoractivities.Althoughthereisonecrucial

distinction,bothprovidedthoseonboardwithadistractionfromtheeverydayproceedings

andhardshipsonaCompany’sship.Theinstitutionalizedamusementswereorderedfrom

above,theywereregulated,sailorswereobligedtoengageintheseamusements.Opposite

theinstitutionalizedamusementsarethepastimeamusementsoractivities,thesewerenot

21HansKrabbendam,“RituelenopReis,CulturelevormgevingaanboordvanNederlandsetrans-Atlantischepassagiersschepen,1840-1960”,TijdschriftvoorZeegeschiedenis,Vol.34,No.2(2015);SjoerddeMeerandJoostSchokkenbroek,Hoogtij:Maritiemeidentiteitinfeesten,traditiesenvermaak(Zutphen2013)11.

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partofthe‘official’labourorobligationsoftheseafarers.Thevoluntaryaspectoftheselast

amusementsandactivitiesisimportanttotakeintoconsideration,incontradictiontothe

institutionalizedamusements.

Inordertoanswerthemainquestionthisthesisisdividedinfourchapters,each

accommodatingoneoffoursubcategories;Rituals,TrialsandReward,Religion,andMusic

andPastime.Thefirstthreechapterswillargueinfavourofqualifyingthesesubcategories

aspartoftheamusementsonboard,afterwhichinthefourthchapterwewilldiscussthe

possiblymore‘expected’kindsofamusements.Thefirstchapterwillbedevotedtoritual,

becausethroughoutthisresearchseveralritualswillberevealedthatplayavitalrolein

providingvarioustypesofamusements.Tohelpusunderstandtheseritualsandtheir

function,itisnecessaryfirstdefineexactlywhataritualis,afterwhichwewilldiscussthe

functionofritual.Afteratheoreticaldiscussionoftheconceptof‘ritual’,thefirstchapter

willalsoincludeadiscussionofsomeritualsthatcouldnotbecategorizedinoneofthe

othersubcategories.

Varioustypesofsourceswereconsultedforthisresearch.Amongtheprimary

sourcesareseveralVOCdocumentsthatareavailableforconsultationintheNational

ArchivesinTheHague.22Travelaccountswrittenfromtheperiodbetween1650and1800

serveasamajorsourceofmaterial,andthereforetheyarefundamentalforthisresearch.

Germantravelaccountsprovedtobeveryuseful,mostlywrittenbylowlyoruneducated

Companyservantsandsoldiers.Theyprovideinvaluableinsightsintothemechanismsofthe

DutchEastIndiaCompany,becausetheywerewrittenfroman‘outsiders’perspective.The

Dutchtravelaccountsusedforthisresearchweremainlywrittenbyhighereducated

22NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:4983,Verordeningbevattendegedragsregelsvoordescheepsofficieren,bootsgezellenensoldatenvanschepen,1744;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:4981,ReglementvandeHerenXVIIvoorhetaannemenvanscheepsvolkenmilitairen.Gedrukt,1692;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:4985,ResolutiesvandeHerenXVIIbevattendeordersvoordescheepsofficierenvanvertrekkendeschepen.Gedrukt,1760-1786;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:6934,InventarissenvangoederenvanoverladenVOC-militairenen–zeelieden,1718-1719,1743-1744;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOCvan1742september4,metgewaarmerkteverklaringenvanbeljuwenburgemeestervanMiddelburgoverhetvoorlezenvandezebriefaaninVOC-dienstnaarIndiëvertrekkendeofficierenenzeevolkendeeedvantrouwdaaropdoorhenafgelegd,1766-1794;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-GeneraalvoordeVOC.Gedrukt,1658;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:14329,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaalvan1742september4,metaanvullingenvan1747oktober11eninstructiesvandeHerenXVIIvoordegezagvoerders,chirurgijnsenpredikantenopdeschepen,1728-1763.

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servantsworkingfortheVOC.ComparedtotheGermantravelaccounts,theseDutch

accountswereboundtothecensorshiplawsoftheCompany.Therefore,theGerman

accountsareindispensable,presentinguswithcriticalinformationwhichwasleftoutofthe

Dutchaccounts.23Archaeologicalevidence,thatwasaccessibleandrecorded,foundonthe

VOC-wreckswasalsoconsultedforthisresearch.Althoughmanyarchaeologicalprojects’

recordsremainyetinaccessible,somehavebeenpublishedordigitized.24Acompleteand

comprehensivedatabaseorresearchguidetoconsultdoesunfortunatelynotexist.Also,a

lotofarchaeologicalfindingsstillneedtobedocumented.Subsequently,thesource

materialfromarchaeologicalfindingsinthisresearchwasdependentuponthoseaccessible

records.Itisnecessarytoacknowledgethattheselimitationstotheavailablesource

material.Also,partoftheDutchEastIndiaCompanyarchivesisstoredinLondon,theseare

notaccessibleforonlineresearch.25Thisturnedouttobeonedisadvantage,becausethis

archivedoescontainrelevantinformationwithregardstotheamusementsonboardof

VOC-ships.

Thismethodologicalapproach,ofcombiningmulti-lingualliterature,printedand

primarysources,andarchaeologicalfinds,isratheruniquecomparedtotheprevious

historiographyonthissubject.Previousscholarswritingaboutlifeonboardofthe

Company’sships,likeKettingandDeHullu,havenotyetcombinedthearchaeological

evidencewiththetravelaccountsandothersources.Thismethodwillallowusto,througha

comprehensiveanalysisoftheavailablesourcematerial,identifythevariousamusements

andpastimeactivitiesandtheirfunction

23NigelPenn,“TheVoyageOut,PeterKolbandVOCVoyagestotheCape”inEmmaChristopher,CassandraPybus&MarkusRediker,ManyMiddlePassages:ForcedMigrationandtheMakingoftheModernWorld(Berkeley2007)73-74.24JeremyGreen,ThelossoftheVerenigdeOostindischeCompagniejacht“VerguldeDraeck”,WesternAustralia1656:anhirstoricalbackgroundandexcavationreportwithanappendixonsimilarlossofthefluit“Lastdrager”(Oxford1977);JerzyGawronski,BasKistandOdiliaStokvisvanBoetzelaer,Hollandiacompendium:acontributiontothehistory,archaeology,classificationandlexicographyofa150ft.DutchEastIndiaman(1740-1750)(Amsterdam1992);WendyvanDuivenvoorde,TheBataviaShipwreck:anarchaeologicalstudyofanearlyseventeenth-centuryDutchEastIndiaman(AnnArbor2008);BrunoE.J.S.Werz,‘Eenbedroefd,enbeclaaglijckongeval’:DewrakkenvandeVOC-schepenOosterlandenWaddinxveen(1697)indeTafelbaai(Zutphen2004);HansH.vanRooijandJerzyGawronski,VOC-schipAmsterdam:Gebleeven–opdekustvanSussextusschenHastingsenBeachyheadgestrand(Haarlem1989);RijksdienstvoorhetCultureelErfgoed,Collectiecatalogushttp://cultureelerfgoed.adlibsoft.com/search.aspx(Accessed29May2019);Rijksmuseum,Rijksstudiohttps://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/rijksstudio(Accessed29May2019).25Nationaalarchief,SailingLetters,1672-1830.https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/index/nt00424?searchTerm=(Accessed25June2019).

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Chapter1InstitutionalizedRitualsoftheVOC

Beforedelvingintothevariouskindsofamusementsonboardoftheshipsandtheir

function,itisfundamentaltounderstandhowtheseweregenerallyofaritualisticnature;

wewillseethatritualsand‘amusements’areofteninherentlyrelated.Thiswasespecially

thecasewiththeinstitutionalizedamusements,andtobeabletounderstandthese

ritualisticinstitutionalizedamusements,itisessentialtounderstandthefunctionofrituals

onboard.Inthefirstpartofthischapterwewillbrieflyexploresomeofthetheoretical

frameworkofthesocialfunctionofrituals,placingthisincontextoflifeonboardofthe

Company’sships.Thereafterwewilldiscussnumerousinstitutionalizedrituals,clarifyingand

supportingthesocialfunctionofritualsonboard.

First,itisnecessarytospecifytheconceptof‘ritual’inthecontextofthisthesis.

RitualinLatinmeans‘structure’or‘ceremony’,definedinTheConciseOxfordDictionaryof

WorldReligionsas:“Actionsrepeatedinregularandpredictableways,bothinreligiousand

secularcontexts”.26Thisdefinitionservesasaperfectstartingpointforthisthesis.Thus

ritualsarerepetitive,ritualalsois“astylizedperformancesthatsymbolicallyenactand

maintainasocialorder.”27Existinginallsocieties,culturallyritualsaremarkedasspecial,

andsociallymostritualssupportexistingpowerstructures.Ifperformedpublicallyrituals

areasocialdramaattheleast.28

CatharinaM.Belldiscussesthedifferentapproachestothemeaningandfunctionof

ritualwithinsociety.Accordingtothesocialfunctionalisticapproach,whichoffersapartial

explanation,ritualsareusedforregulatingandstabilizingthesystemofsociety.Here,rituals

togetherwithreligionaresocialmechanisms.29Thisapproachisparticularlyinteresting

26JohnBowker,“Ritual”,TheConciseOxfordDictionaryofWorldReligions(2003)https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2443/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-6117?rskey=sZhAeH&result=6(Accessed29May2019).27LuisA.Vivanco,“Ritual”,ADictionaryofCulturalAnthropology(2018)https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2443/view/10.1093/acref/9780191836688.001.0001/acref-9780191836688-e-316?rskey=sZhAeH&result=2(Accessed29May2019).28JohnBowker,“Ritual”,TheConciseOxfordDictionaryofWorldReligions(2003)https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2443/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-6117?rskey=sZhAeH&result=6(Accessed29May2019);LuisA.Vivanco,“Ritual”,ADictionaryofCulturalAnthropology(2018)https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2443/view/10.1093/acref/9780191836688.001.0001/acref-9780191836688-e-316?rskey=sZhAeH&result=2(Accessed29May2019).29CatherineM.Bell,Ritual:PerspectivesandDimensions(Oxford2009)29.

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whenappliedtotheVOC-ships.ThepeopleonboardoftheVOC-shipsformacommunity,a

society–collectivelytheyareresponsiblefortheshipsvoyage,veryindividualhadtheir

responsibilitiesandplayedapartinthiscollectivewhole.Applyingthefunctional-

structuralisticapproachfromBelltothissociety,ritualrelatedactivitiesbenefitedand

improvedthesocialorderonboard.30

OtherstudiesonthefunctionofritualcorrespondwithBell,arguingfurthermore

thatevenritualisticactionsintrinsicallyhaveameaning,ratherthansolelytheiroutcome.31

PsychologistsLiberman,KinzlerandWoodwardstateintheirarticlethat“ritualshave

inherentlysocialfunctions.Inparticular,manyritualisticactionsderivetheirmeaningbased

ontheconventionalityofritual.”32Thissuggeststhatthecustomaryaspectofritualprovides

ritualwithasocialfunctionofimprovinggroupdynamics.Exactlythispreservationof

cohesionwasofvitalimportancefortheVOC-ships,becauselifeonboardoftheEastIndia

Company’sshipswastough.Three-hundredmenspendovertwohundreddaystogetheron

aship,thesizeofapproximatelyfourtenniscourts.33Thesevereworkingconditionsdidnot

improvematters,thereforetensionsandfrustrationscouldquicklydevelop.34Takingthese

circumstancesintoconsideration,itisnotsurprisingthatmanyrituals,havingasocial

function,wereinfactobligatory–imposedupontheseafaringpersonnelbyhigher

administrators.35Itisimportanttonotethatseafarersdidnothaveavoluntarydecisionto

30Idem,59.31Forexample:HarveyWhitehouseandJonathanA.Lanman,"TheTiesThatBindUs:Ritual,Fusion,andIdentification,"CurrentAnthropology,Vol.55,No.6(2014)674-695https://doi.org/10.1086/678698;QuentinD.Atikinson,HarveyWhitehouse,“Theculturalmorphospaceofritualform:Examiningmodesofreligiositycross-culturally”,EvolutionandHumanBehavior,Vol.32,No.1(2011)50-62https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.09.002;DavidJ.Parking,“Ritual”,InternationalEncyclopediaoftheSocial&BehavioralSciences,Vol.20(2015)717-720https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.12141-5.32ZoeLiberman,KatherineD.Kinzler,AmandaL.Woodward,“Theearlysocialsignificanceofsharedritualactions”,Cognition,Vol.171(2018)42-51http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.10.018.33JaapR.BruijnandFemmeS.Gaastra,ShipsSailorsandSpices,EastIndiaCompaniesandtheirshippinginthe16th,17thand18thcenturies(Amsterdam1993)194;DanSleigh,JanCompagnie,TheworldoftheDutchEastIndiaCompany(Tafelberg1980)48.34MattiasvanRossum,WerkersvandeWereld–Globalisering,arbeidenintercultureleontmoetingentussenAziatischeenEuropesezeeliedenindienstvandeVOC,1600-1800(Hilversum2014)309.35NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:4983,Verordeningbevattendegedragsregelsvoordescheepsofficieren,bootsgezellenensoldatenvanschepen,1744;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOCvan1742september4,metgewaarmerkteverklaringenvanbeljuwenburgemeestervanMiddelburgoverhetvoorlezenvandezebriefaaninVOC-dienstnaarIndiëvertrekkendeofficierenenzeevolkendeeedvantrouwdaaropdoorhenafgelegd,1766-1794;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-GeneraalvoordeVOC.Gedrukt,1658;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:14329,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaal

12

participate,theseactionsofaritualisticnaturewerepartof‘everyday’operationofthe

ship.Theotherrituals,thoseperformedoutsideoftheofficialproceedings,andpastime

amusementswillbediscussedinlaterchapters.First,wewilltakealookattheregulated

andlegislatedrituals,somewerepartofthedisciplineorreligiononboard,thesewillbe

discussedinchaptertwoandthree.Inthisfirstchapterwewilldiscussritualsthatcannotbe

subdividedintothosecategories.Canwequalifytheritualsofsignallingand

communication,andtheseabaptism,asinstitutionalizedamusements?

Signallingandcommunication

Someofthemoststrikingritualisticactions,partoftheproceduresonboard,belongedto

anelaboratecommunicationsystemoftheCompany’sship.Crucialactorsinthesewerethe

trumpetersanddrummersinserviceoftheCompany.Beforewecanunderstandtheir

actualroleonboard,weneedtotakealookatvariousaccountsoftheiremploymenton

boardofaCompanyship.WasadrummeroratrumpeteremployedoneveryCompanyship

thatsailedout?

EversincethefirstshipswerecommissionedtotraveltoAsiaforthetradeofspices,

towardstheendofthesixteenthcentury,trumpetersanddrummerswereappointedtothe

ships,takingpartinthisendeavour.36IntheDutchEastIndiaCompany’semploymentof

thesetrumpetersanddrummers,animportantdistinctionismade;thetrumpeterswere

partoftheseafarers,whiledrummerswerepartofthemilitaryofficersonboard,not

officiallypartoftheships’crew.However,theReglementterVergaderingevande

Seventiene(1692)andtheInstructievoordeHoofd-OfficierenterZee(16November1744)

showthatnotonalltheCompany’sshipsatrumpeterordrummerwasappointed.This

actuallydependeduponthesizeoftheship,onlythoselongerthan100footwouldneeda

trumpeterordrummer.37Presumably,thevastmajorityofCompany’sshipshadeitherone

orbothonboard.Henssen’sresearchshowsinfactthatthiswascertainlythecaseforthe

KamervanZeeland(‘Zeelandchamber’),thesecondtolargestindependentestablishment

van1742september4,metaanvullingenvan1747oktober11eninstructiesvandeHerenXVIIvoordegezagvoerders,chirurgijnsenpredikantenopdeschepen,1728-1763.36RalphJohanGerardHenssen,TrompettersenTamboersindeZeeuwseZeevaarttentijdevandeRepubliek:PlichtenenPraktijken(Ridderkerk2011)73-75;IanWoodfield,EnglishMusiciansintheAgeofExploration(Stuyvesant1995)17-18.37Henssen,TrompettersenTamboers,73-75.

13

oftheVOC.Between1671and1794onlyon23%oftheoutboundships,fromatotalof794

ships,atrumpeterordrummerwasabsent.Moreover,onalmost300shipsbothadrummer

andatrumpeterwereappointed.38TheVOC-shiptheAmsterdam,fromtheKamervan

Amsterdam(thelargestkamer),forexample,a150footlongspiegelretourschip,a

trumpeter(MachielFlaming)andadrummer(JohannisSluijters)wereonthepayroll.39

Incomparisontoothersonboard,thewagesoftrumpetersanddrummerswere

meagre,furthermore,drummersmadeconsiderablelessthantrumpeters.Thisisshownina

survey,partoftheresearchprojectDutch-Asiaticshippinginthe17thand18thCenturies,on

“wagespaidbytheVOCtoseafaringpersonnelonshipssentoutbythechambers.”40This

mightbeexplainablebecausedrummerswerepartofthemilitaryofficersonboard,

howeverbylookingattherolesthesedrummersandtrumpetershadonboardoftheships

wemightfindanotherexplanation.Lookingattheirdutiesandtaskswillalsohelpus

determinewhetherornottheyprovidedsomedistractionsfromthearduouscircumstances

onboardoftheCompany’sships,andconsequentlywhethertheirendeavoursqualifyas

institutionalizedamusements.

Severalkindsofsourcespresentusanswersontheactualroleoftrumpetersand

drummersonboardoftheships.JohannChristianHoffman,aGermanreligiousservantin

serviceoftheCompany,describesinhistravelaccountthattheyencounteredtremendous

fogontheirjourneybacktotheNetherlands.Tryingtoholdthefleettogethertheyused

canonfireandthedrumstokeeptheirposition.41Henssenstatesinhispublicationthat

trumpetersanddrummersdidnotofficiallyhadadutytosignincaseofmistyweather

specifically,theydidhavetoincaseofemergency.42InanOrderandZeyn-Brieff,from

Hoffman’stravelaccount,itiscommandedhowever,inthe12tharticle,thatdrumsshould

soundcontinuouslyincaseofdarkorfoggyweather:“Beydunckelodernebblichten

Wetter,…,solleinjedesSchiffbeysolchemduncklenGewitterjedeStundezumwenigsten

38Idem,73-76.39HansH.vanRooijandJerzyGawronski,VOC-schipAmsterdam:Gebleeven–opdekustvanSussextusschenHastingsenBeachyheadgestrand(Haarlem1989)26.40Bruijn,GaastraandI.Schöffer,Dutch-AsiaticShippingVOLUMEI,210-211;NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:4981,ReglementvandeHerenXVIIvoorhetaannemenvanscheepsvolkenmilitairen.Gedrukt,1692.41JohannChristianHoffman,ReisenachdemKaplande,nachMauritiusundnachJava:1671-1676;ReisbeschreibungenvonDeutschenBeamtenundKriegsleutenimDienstderWest-undOst-IndischenKompagnien1602-1797(Haag1931)100-101.42Henssen,TrompettersenTamboers,92.

14

einenCanonschußundjedehalbeStunde5à6Mußqueten-Schössethunundnebendem

continuedieTrummelrürhenlassen.”43ThisprovesthatHenssen’sstatementisnotentirely

correctwithregardtothesignallingdutiesduringmistyweather.Hewashoweverright

abouttheofficialdutyoftrumpetersanddrummerstosoundincaseofemergency.This

requirementwasdeclaredintheArtikelbrief(aletterofrightsandobligationsofseafaring

personnel):“ZowanneerintydvannooddeTrompetwordgesteken,ofdenTrommel

geslagen,zaleeniegelyk,metalledilligentievoortkomenoplijfstraffen,omzigterstond

onderzynquartierindefensietestellen,enalzometgeodeordredenVyandte

resisteren,…”44

Notonlywasthismusicusedincommunicationstosafeguardthevoyageoftheship.

Musicalcommunicationswerealsousedintheordinaryprocedurestoregulateeverydaylife

onboard.IanWoodfield,inhisresearchontheBritishEastIndiaCompany,usestheDutch

EastIndiaCompanyforacomparativeperspective.Hesupportstheclaimthatmusicwas

usedforsignallingontheDutchCompany’sships.OntopofthatWoodfieldarguesthat

“thoseonboardweresubjecttoacarefullyorderedroutineofdailylifeinwhichmusic

playedasignificantpart.”45Trumpetersanddrummerswereusedincommunicationsignals

forthestartofeverydayevents,forexampletocommunicatethechangingoftheguards,

mealtime,andtoannouncethearrivalofvisitors.46NicolaasdeGraaf,forexample,

describesthesedutiesinhisaccount;“DeTamboersentrompetterszijnverpligt‘smorgens

en‘savondtdewagtteblasenenopdetrommelteslaan;gelijkzijookgehoudenzijnte

doenwanneer‘tkajuytsvolkaantafelis.Desgelijkszijnsyookgehoudenteblasenso

wanneereenigvaartuygvanboordvaartofaanland,ofvanandereschepenaanboord

komt.”47Bruijnarguesthattrumpetersonlyincidentallyplayedtheirinstrumentsto

announcethestartorendoftheday.48Thisappearstobeanunderstatement,welearned

fromHeeck’saccountthatitwasactuallyexpectedofthetrumpeterstoplayatthose

moments.Soundsfromthetrumpetsanddrumswereusedtosignalandcommunicateon

43Hoffman,ReisenachdemKaplande,79.44HendrikHoogenberk,DeRechtsvoorschriftenvoordeVaartopOost-Indië1595-1620(Utrecht1940)203;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOC1766-1794;Henssen,TrompettersenTamboers,92.45Woodfield,EnglishMusicians,39.46Henssen,TrompettersenTamboers,92-93;PeterKolbe,NaaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyvingvandeKaapdeGoedeHoop(Amsterdam1727)12.47NicolaasdeGraaff,MarijkeBarend-vanHaeftenandHettyPlekenpol,Oost-IndiseSpiegel(Leiden2010)118.48Bruijn,Zeegang,105.

15

board,theyregulatednotonlytheseafarers’workbutalsoaspectsofeverydaylifeon

boardwerecontrolledbymusic.Thisisnotsurprisingconsideringthatthesoundofmusic

musthavebeendistinctfromtheconstantrustleoftheseaandthehustleandbustleon

board.

SeveralartefactswerefoundonVOC-shipwrecksthatwereusedbythetrumpeters

ordrummersonboard.Theseartefactsprovethatmusicalinstrumentswereindeed

commonlyusedonboard,supportedbythelistofequipment.Attheship-wreckofthe

Hollandia,afragmentofatrumpetmouthpiecewasfound.TheHollandia,a150-footEast

Indiaman,wasbuiltin1742,onthewharfinAmsterdam.Thisshipsetsailin1743butnever

madeittoIndia,theshiphitarockneartheScillyIsles,whileitisstillunknownwhatexactly

wentwrong,theshipwrecked.Inthearchaeologicalevidencefromthesitealotofobjects

wererecoveredfromthesite,amongwhichwasthisfragment.49Amongtheartefactsfound

onanotherVOC-shipwreck,theVerguldeDraeck(1656),areacoupleofwooden

drumsticks.50

AspartoftheresearchontheHollandia,OdiliaStokvis-vanBoetzelaercompileda

lexiconoftheequipmentthathadtobeonboardoftheEastIndiamen.Averyimportant

sourceweretheEastIndiaCompany’sequipmentbooks,theseservedasakindofcheck-list.

Intheserecordsnotonlyadrumandatrumpetarelisted,alsothedrum’saccessoriesare

specified–kasjemet1trompet(casewith1trumpet),vatmet1tromentoebehoren(cask

with1drumandfittings),trom-bandmetfranje(drumcarryingbandwithfringe),andkasje

mettromvellen(casewithdrumheads).51Ontopofthesemusicalinstrumentstwolarge,

painted,tinspeakingtrumpetsandtwosmallonesofthesamesortwerealsolisted,these

trumpetsallowedonetobeheardandunderstoodaboveloudnoisesoratgreat

distances.52Theregularityandpredictabilityoftheuseofmusicalsignalsand

communicationsqualifythemasrituals,eventhoughtheywereorderedfromhigher

officials.Thesymbolismbehindtheseritualshelpedmaintain,andpossiblyevenimprove,

socialorder.Throughtheseritualsseveralaspectsoftheships’operationwereorganized.

49JerzyGawronski,BasKistandOdiliaStokvisvanBoetzelaer,Hollandiacompendium:acontributiontothehistory,archaeology,classificationandlexicographyofa150ft.DutchEastIndiaman(1740-1750)10-11,437.50JeremyGreen,ThelossoftheVerenigdeOostindischeCompagniejacht“VerguldeDraeck”,WesternAustralia1656:anhirstoricalbackgroundandexcavationreportwithanappendixonsimilarlossofthefluit“Lastdrager”(England1977)234.51Gawronski,KistandStokvisvanBoetzelaer,Hollandiacompendium,78-79,178-179.52Idem,156.

16

Notonlythetrumpetsanddrumswereusedtosignalandcommunicatewiththerestofthe

shipandothers,cannons,brieflymentionedpreviouslyalready,playedasignificantrolein

thisaswell.WhentheCompany’sshipsleftoneplaceorarrivedelsewhere,cannonshots

werefired.Theseactionstoowereofaritualisticnature,becauseoftheirpredictabilityand

regularity,partoftheofficialproceduresonboard.Thefollowingexampleswillshowthe

variousmomentstheships’canonswereusedonthevoyageinthiskindofmanner.

ElliasHesse,aGermanlabourerinserviceoftheCompany,describesinhistravel

accountthatcannonswerefireduponleavingtheIndies,settingsailbacktoHolland:

“…Daraufgiengenwirden27.Ditto,nachdemvorheroitzterwehnterAdmiraldurcheinen

Canon-SchußundmitderblauenFlaggedasordinari-Zeichengegeben,imNahmenGottes

mitdergantzenFlottezumerstenmahlunterSeegel.”53Similaraccountsaregivenbyothers

whokeptajournalwhileontheirjourneytotheIndiesononeoftheCompany’sships.54

AnotherexampleisGijsbertHeeck,asurgeon,travelingontheshipDeVereenigde

ProvintiëninNovember1654.Intheverybeginningoftheaccounthementionsthree

cannonshotsbeingfired,leavingtheshipyardinVlissingen,andsettingsailtotheIndies.

UpontheirarrivalinCapeVerde,almosttwomonthslater,theyfiredthreecannonshots

againtoannouncetheirarrivalatoneoftheislands.Theywerewelcomedwithtwocanon

shotsinreply.Continuingontheirjourney,passingthroughtheCape,onroutetoBatavia,

thereareseveralsimilarmentionsofcannonshotsusedtosalute,eithertoannouncetheir

ownarrivalordeparture,ortowelcomeorsend-offothers.ArrivinginBataviatheyagain

dischargedthreecannonshots,confirmingtheirsavearrival,answeredfromtheBatavia

CastlewithcannonshotswelcomingtheminBatavia.55Asimilaruseofcannonsisdescribed

inthetravelaccountofJohannChristianHoffman,yetherethefleetiscommandedtouse

cannonshotsformutualcommunication.Towardstheendof1775thereturn-fleet,

Hoffmanhadjoined,setsailbacktoHolland.Hoffmanwritesthatalltheheadsoftheships

receivedanOrderandZeyn-Brieff(OrderandSignallingletter)fromtheAdmiral.Acopyof

thisorderistranscribedinhistravelaccount.ThroughthisorderthedirectorsoftheEast

53EliasHesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra:1680-1683;ReisbeschreibungenvonDeutschenBeamtenundKriegsleutenimDienstderWest-undOst-IndischenKompagnien1602-1797(Haag1931)127.54MarijkeBarend-vanHaeftenandE.S.vanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC:deopenhartigedagboekenvandezustersLammensenSwellengrebel(Zutphen1996)55-112,121-161.55GijsbertHeeckandO.Dekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn:‘dagelijkseaantekeningen’vandereisnaarOost-Indiëin1654doorGijsbertHeeck(1619-1669)(Bunschoten2001)22-69.

17

IndiaCompanyinstructtheshipsofthefleet,tryingtosecuretheirjourneybacktothe

fatherland.Severalcommandsaregivenonthemutualcommunicationofthefleet,here

cannonshotswereusedtotransmitvariouskindsofinformationtofellowfleetmembers,

dependingupontheamountofshotsfiredandotherkindsofsignalsthataccompaniedthe

shots.56Onemightquestionwhethertheaforementioneddescriptionoftheuseofcannon

shotscanbeconsideredasrituals.However,thesetravelaccountshowthattheregularity

andpredictabilityofthesekindsofsalutes,whichdistinguishthemfromtheuseofcanons

inbattle.Alsothewelcominganddepartingcanonsalutes,containingatheatricalelement

aswell,canbeconsideredastributescelebratingthearrivalordepartureofaship.Because

ofthewaytheseregulationswereperformeditwouldbereasonabletoconsiderthemas

rituals,partoftheofficialproceduresonboard.

Theritualsofcommunicationandsignallingmentionedabovewereofgreat

importanceinthefunctioningoftheship.Theyhelpedregulatingeverydayproceedingson

boardandannouncedseveralspecificsituations,forexamplethearrivalofvisitorsonboard

ormealtimes.Althoughatfirstonemightnotconsiderthesesasinstitutionalized

amusements,mostoftheseritualsdefinitelywerebecausetheyprovidedtheseafarerswith

adistractionfromtheirworkonboard,announcingmealtimes,sunriseandsundown,and

‘special’occasion,salutingother.Also,thetheatricalityofthesalutesonboardpossible

amusedthoseonboardaswell.

SeaBaptism

Indispensablefortheargumentofthisthesisistheritualofthe‘seabaptism’,partofthe

‘official’proceduresonboardofaVOC-shipforthoseonboarditwasofgreatimportance

duringthevoyage.Inthefollowingpartofthischapterwewilldiscusswhythiswasthe

case.Beforeitispossibletodiscussthemeaningandsymbolismofthisritual,and

determinewhyitcouldbeconsideredasaamusement,itisnecessarytoexaminetheritual

itself.Whatexactlywastheseabaptism,andwhathappenedduringtheritualonboardofa

Companyship?

Theseabaptismisveryoldandcommonpracticeamongseafarers.Theritual

inauguratednew,firsttime,sailorsintotheship’scommunity.DuringthevoyagetoAsia,

56Hoffman,ReisenachdemKaplande,76-86.

18

rawrecruitsonboardoftheCompany’sshipswerebaptizedaroundtheBarlengas,angroup

ofislandsinfrontofthePortuguesecoast.57Theyweredroppedintosea,fromthehighyard

ontheforemast,tosubsequentlybeheistedbackonboard.58Thisexactprocessisdescribed

byGijsbertHeeck:“…hetvanoudsbekendstaandezgn.dopenbijdeBerlengas,zijndeeen

kleineilandjeindeSpaansezeevoordePortugesekust.Iedereenmoestzichdaarnamelijk

driemaalachtereenvandehogerainhetwaterlatenvallen.”59TheVOCmadeeffortsto

abandonthisritualin1616,imposingreplacementritualsthroughanartikelbrief.60Dutch

scholarJanLucassenwrites:“TheVOCprohibitedthetraditionalbaptismatseaandother

“ritualsofrebellion”andreplacedthemwithcelebrationstobeinitiatedexclusivelybythe

thoseinchargeoftheship.Ratherthanthecarnivalesqueconductthatmightvictimize

superiorsaswell,additionalfoodanddrinkwasdistributed.”61Thattheritualcouldexpose

socialtensions,betweenthesailorsandtheirsuperiors,wasexactlywhyitwasprohibited

provedresearcherHenningHenningen.62However,otherscholarsarguethatthis

prohibitioncouldactuallybethecauseforsocialtensions,betweenthecommonseafarers

andthehighercommanders,onboard.63Thisisveryinteresting,theoldritualofthesea

baptismwasprohibitedbecauseitchallengedsocialorderonboard,butcompletely

abandoningthefestivitydidnotimprovematterseither.Hereitisimportanttomakea

differentiationbetweenthesymbolismoftheritualandthewaytheseabaptismwas

actuallycarriedout.Toprotectthesocialorderandcohesiononboardtheritual,withits

symbolism,wasnotcompletelyabandoned,onlythewayitwasperformedchanged,and

thereforetheritualwasstilleffectiveinmaintainingsocialorder.

Interestingly,somescholarsarguethattheoldcommonpracticeoftheseabaptism

neveractuallydisappearedontheCompany’sships,despiteitsabandonment.RichardGuy

claimsthattheVOCwasunsuccessfulincompletelyabandoningthesecommonpractices.64

Althoughtheremightbeuncertaintywhetherornottheprohibitionactuallyabandonedthe

57HermanKetting,Leven,werkenrebellieaanboordvanOost-Indievaarders(1595-1650)(Amsterdam2002)168-175.58Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120.59HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,33-34.60Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,173.61JanLucassen,“AMultinationalanditsLaborForce:TheDutchEastIndiaCompany,1595-1795”,InternationalLaborandWorking-ClassHistory,No.66,(2004)31.62HenningHenningsen,CrossingtheEquator:Sailors’BaptismandOtherInitiationRites(Copenhagen1961).63Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,173.64Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120.

19

oldritualoftheseabaptism,thereappearstobenotraceofitsperformanceinthetravel

accountsconsultedforthisresearch.WhichisnotsurprisingbecausetheArtikelbrieven

fromthesecondhalfofthesixteenth-andseventeenthcenturyclearlystatethatthe

officersonboardoftheCompany’sshipswerenottopermitortoleratesuchritual–they

wereorderedtopreventandprohibittheseabaptism.Instead,theseafarerswouldbe

givenwine,whichwasalsospecificallyproclaimedintheArtikelbrief.65EventhoughHeeck

mentionstheoldritualoftheseabaptisminhistravelaccount,itappearstobean

referencetotheoriginofthecurrentritualofdistributingextrawineamongseafarers.“Aan

iederebakwerdanderhalvekanFransewijngegeven.Ditgebeurdeopbevelvande

bewindhebbersderVOCwegenshetvanoudsbekendstaandezgn.DopenbijdeBerlengas…

Bijweigeringechterkonmenzichdanmetgeldbijzijnmaatsvrijkopen.Daarvelengeen

geldhaddenenlieverdereiszoudenstaken,danzichvanderalatenvallen,onstonden

dikwijlsmoeilijkheden.Omdezeredenenwerddewijnuitgedeeld,waarmeemenzichdan

konvrijkopen.”66Altogetheritishighlylikelythatbetween1650and1800theoldpractice

oftheseabaptismwasnolongerperformed.However,theritualoftheseabaptism

definitelycontinuedaftertheprohibitionoftheoldcommonpractice,butthewayitwas

performedchanged.

Theritualalsocelebratedanotherspecialmomentforthoseonboard.Becausethe

firstpartofthevoyagetoAsiawasquiteadangerousone,theseabaptismalsowasa

“traditionthatmarkedtheship’sescapefromthe‘narrowseas’betweenEnglandand

continentalEurope,anditsfirstentryontotheopenocean.”67Passengersonboardofthe

Company’sshipsalsowereawareofthis.TheLammenssisters,travelingonboardofthe

CompanyshipAdrighemin1736,wrote:“sijonsverseekeren,nuinlangnietbanghoevente

weesen,wantsijnnuindevastepassaat(denoordoostpassaat),…ooksooistvandaagden

tijtvandoopen,wantsijnreedsdeBarrels(deeilandengroepBarlengas)gepasseert,ditsijn

sooplaisiertjesdaarmendentijtsaldienenmededoortebrengen,totnogtoeishetaltoos

agterop,sooalssijhetnoemenineenseergeodearmonie…”68Thisshowsthatpeopleon

65NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOC1766-1794;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaal1658;Hoogenberk,DeRechtsvoorschriften,215.66HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,33-34.67Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120.68Translation:“Theyassureus,wedon’thavetobescaredanylonger,becausewehavepassedthe‘north-eastpassage’…todayisalsothetimeforbaptisms,becausewealreadypassedtheBarlengas,thesepleasures

20

boardoftheVOC-shipsusedthesepracticesformarkingandrecordingprogress,inthiscase

theritualwasusedtomarkthecrossingofadangerouspassageofthejourneytothe

Indies.69Hereanothersymbolisticelementofthisritualrevealsitself,thisritualwasinfacta

ritedepassage,comparabletotheterritorialritedepassageofArnoldvanGennep.70This

interpretationoftheseabaptismdoesalsoapplytotheoldpracticeoftheseabaptism.

Variousscholarshavecharacterizedseveralelementsoftheritesdepassageintheold

practice.OneinterpretationoftheseabaptismisdescribedbyRichardGuy,whoadopted

thisfromhisprivatecommunicationwithColinDewey.Thenovicesailorsexperiencedhow

itwouldbeiftheshipsunk,theritualcanbeseenasasimulationofsuch,italsoshowedthe

importanceoftheunityoftheship,bothasacohesivephysicalunitandasasocialunit.The

survivalofeveryoneonboarddependeduponthecoordinatedactionsofthecommunityas

awhole.HermanKettingshowsmanyscholarsagreethat,throughthesymbolismofthe

baptismritual,newcomerswerewelcomedintotheshipscommunity,whilesimultaneously

partingwithhisprevioussocialpast.71Althoughtheoldritualwasmostlikelynotcarriedout

anymore,thesymbolismofitremained,andalsoitprovidedtheseafarerswithamoment

tocelebratethesavepassageofyetanotherpartofthevoyage.Thisritualthereforeispart

oftheinstitutionalizedamusementsonboardoftheships.

Westartedthischapterwithabriefexaminationofthemeaningofritualinthecontextof

theVOCships.Notonlytheperformanceoftheritualsimprovedsocialorderonboard,but

wehaveseenthatritualsintrinsicallywereveryvaluable.Thesheerpresenceofritualson

boardcouldbenefitgroupdynamicsandsocialcohesion,whichwasagreatpriorityon

boardoftheCompany’sships.Thisissupportedbythereasonwhytheoldritualofthesea

baptismwasprohibited,aswehavediscussedlaterinthischapter.Thegovernorsofthe

VOCabandonedtheoldritualbecauseitwasofgreatdangertothesocialorderonboard,

tensionscouldeasilyarisebetweensailorsandofficers,theirsuperiors.Instead,still

respectingtheritualanditssymbolism,extraprovisionswerehandedouttotheseafarers.

shouldhelpuspassthetime,tillnowitisalwaysatthebackoftheship,liketheycallit,veryharmonious.”Source:Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,66.69Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120.70ArnoldvanGennep,TheRitesofPassage(London1965)15-25.71Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,168-175,278;Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120,138.

21

Theritualoftheseabaptismdistractedthesailorsfromeverydaylifeandorderonboard,as

wehaveseeninthetravelaccountsofvariousseafarers.Thisveryaspectoftheritual

improvedsocialcohesion,becauseitwasamomentofcelebrationforeverybodyonboard,

regardlessoftheirrankornationality.Furthermore,itwasa‘ritedepassage’,whichgave

sailorstheopportunitytotracktheirprogress.Becauseofthesefeaturesoftheseabaptism

itispossibletoqualifyitaspartoftheinstitutionalizedamusementsonboard.

Acloserlookattheroleoftrumpeters,drummersandthefiringofcanonsprovided

uswithsomeinterestinginsightsintotheofficialcommunicationandsignallingonboardof

theCompany’sships,playinganimportantroleintheeverydayproceedings.Furthermore,

thesoundsofthetrumpets,drums,andcannonscouldalsobeheardduringthearrivaland

departureceremonies.Providingtheseafarerswithadistractionfromtheirwork,these

amusementsalsocontainedanothercharacteristic.Comparabletotheseabaptism,these

kindsofcommunicationsandsignalsmightalsobeconsideredas‘ritesdepassage’,they

showedtheprogressofthevoyage.Aspreviouslymentioned,itwasessentialtopreserve

thesocialorderandsocialcohesionoftheships’community.TheArtikelbrievenregulated

theproceedingsonboard,offenderswerepunished,andinaworldwherethelevelof

violencewasmuchhigherthanwecanpossiblyimagine,thesepunishmentsarealsoquite

incomprehensible.Inthenextchapterwewillinvestigatethesepunishmentsonboardof

theCompany’sshipsandalsowewilltakealookatrewards,standingincontrastto

punishments.

22

Chapter2TrialsandRewardsonBoard

BecauselifeonboardoftheEastIndiaCompany’sshipswastough,tensionsandfrustration

couldquicklyariseanddevelopintoprolongedandseriousconflicts.72Anothercauseof

conflictwasthegreatvarietyofnationalitiesonboardoftheships,togetanideaofthe

compositionofthepersonnelemployedontheCompany’sshipswewilltakealookatthe

Amsterdam,whichstrandedin1749.Onboardwereatotalof191seafarers,127soldiers,

10craftsmenand5passengers.“ThreequartersoftheofficerscamefromtheRepublic,for

sailorsandcraftsmentheproportionofforeignerstoDutchmenwasabouthalf,andofthe

soldiersasmuchas87%camefromabroad,largelyfromGermany.”73Awidevarietyofrules

andrestrictionsweresupposedtopreservethecohesiononboard–tocontrolthelargeand

diversebodyofpeopleinsuchasmallplace.Theseruleswerewrittendowninthe

Artikelbrief,andthesocalledprovoost(‘provost’)wasinchargeofendorsingtheseorders

onboard.Ifanywerebroken,thefelonoughttobepunished.74Theseverityofthesanction

dependedupontheseriousnessoftheoffence,varyingfrommonetarypenaltiestocorporal

punishments.75Ratherthanlookingatthedifferentkindsofoffencesandpunishmentson

boardoftheships,likevariouspreviousscholarshavedone,76herewewilldiscussthe

theatricalityofthepunishmentsonboard.Consequently,arguingthatthischaracteristic

qualifiesthemtobetreatedasformsof‘amusement’aswell,whichoffersanewapproach

ofshipboardpunishmentscomparedtothecurrenthistoriography.Thereafterwewill

analysetherewards,theoppositeofpunishments,onboardoftheCompany’sships.

Investigatingtheritualisticnatureofthepunishmentsandrewardssupportstheargument

72Rossum,WerkersvandeWereld,309.73Bruijn,GaastraandI.Schöffer,Dutch-AsiaticShippingVOLUMEI,157.74NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:4983,Verordeningbevattendegedragsregels1744;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOC1766-1794;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaal1658;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14329,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaalvan1742,1728-1763;J.deHullu,“DeHandhavingderOrdeenTuchtopdeSchependerOost-IndischeCompagnie”,JournaloftheHumanitiesandSocialSciencesofSoutheastAsia,Vol.67,No.1(1913)516-540https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-90001800.75BruijnandVanEyckvanHeslinga,Muiterij,18.76Idem;Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie;Rossum,WerkersvandeWereld;Sleigh,JanCompagnie;WezelandReuf,“AgentswithPrinciples”,1009–1036;VibekeRoeper,Zwartepeper,scheurbuik:kinderenopreismetdeVerenigdeOost-IndischeCompagnie(Amsterdam2002)58-66;DeHullu,“DeHandhavingderOrdeenTucht”,516-540.

23

thattheyimprovedsocialcohesiononboard.Also,itprovidesuswithanopportunityto

determinewhethertheseritualscanbevaluedasinstitutionalizedamusements.

Theatricalityofpunishments

SeveralkindsofpunishmentswereexecutedonboardoftheCompany’sships.These

punishmentswereperformedwithacertaintheatricality,theritualisticandpubliccharacter

ofthesepunishmentsservedtheirsocialfunctiononboard.Thepunishmentofkielhalen

(‘keelhaul’)hasseveralritualisticfeaturesworthmentioning.77AccordingtoHerman

Ketting,thepunishment,aswellastheseabaptism,containelementsofa‘ritedepassage’.

Inbothcasesthevictimwas‘cleansed’byplacinghimoutsideoftheshipandits

community.AccordingtoKettingitisalsopossibletoarguethatduringkielhalenthevictim

wasthrownoverboardonthe‘dirty’or‘dishonest’side,whilehewasbroughtbackintothe

shiponthe‘clean’or‘honest’side.78Hoogenberkisconvincedthatthisbrutalpunishment

hadadefiniteimpactonthepeopleonboard.79Concurrentlyheimpliesthatthis

punishmentwaspubliclyexecuted.This,infact,seemstohavebeenthegeneraltendency

forpunishmentsonboardoftheCompany’sships;allcorporalpunishmentsanddeath

penaltieswerepubliclyexecuted,allonboardwerepresent.80Thispublicfeatureof

punishments,mostofthetimethepunishmenttookplaceinfrontofthemainmast,

generatetheirexemplaryfunction(seephoto1).81EliasHessedescribesthe

aforementioned:“WieunbillichunssonderUrsach,bevorabunserSchiffer,welchenich

sonsteneinenTyrannengenennet,diearmenSoldatenundMatrosenauffdemSchiffe

bestraffenlassen,istbaldnichtzubeschreiben,vielmahlenseynddiejenigenMatrosen,

welchenureinenSchluckBrantweinzuvielgethan,vordengrossenMastgebunden,und

miteinemTauBeinsdicke200.300.JamehrSchlägebekommen,DarvondieStraffleidende

vielmahlengleichsamalstodtzuBodengesuncken,…”82Hesseexpresseshisiniquityabout

77MartinWintergerst,ReisenaufdemMittelländischenMeere,derNordsee,nachCeylon,undnachJava;ReisbeschreibungenvonDeutschenBeamtenundKriegsleutenimDienstderWest-undOst-IndischenKompagnien1688-1710(Haag1931)(2)147-148.78Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,278,284.79Hoogenberk,DeRechtsvoorschriften,219-220.80BruijnandVanEyckvanHeslinga,Muiterij,77.81Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,277-288;C.A.Davids,WatlijdtdenZeemanalverdriet:HetNederlandsezeemansliedindezeiltijd(1600-1900)(DenHaag1980)24.82Hesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra,22-23.

24

theseproceedings,andabouttheskipperinparticular.Notwithstandinghisdisbelieve,this

methodofpunishmentwasactuallyorderedintheArtikelbrieven,andthereforeit

doubtlesslywasrathercommon.83However,itisworthmentioningthatthisdoesreinstate

thedistinctcontrastbetweentheskipperandthe‘common’seafarer,theskipperdisplayed

hispowerasthehighestrankingofficeronboard.

Photo1ViewofthemainmastonboardofaVOC-ship.Source:Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1985-7-1-144,DekzichtvaneenVOC-schipnaardegrotemast,JanBrandes,1778-1787.http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.150097(Accessed24June2019).

83NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:4983,Verordeningbevattendegedragsregels1744;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOC1766-1794;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaal1658;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14329,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaalvan1742,1728-1763.

25

Notonlydidpunishmentshaveanexemplaryfunction,anotherritualisticcharacteristicof

thepunishmentsisessentialtorecognize.Intheexecutionofthepunishmentssymbolism

wasusedtoshowwhichcrimewascommitted,andtorevealtheperson’sidentity.For

example,whentheseafarerswerepunishedwithalaarzing(‘beating’)theendofathick

pieceofropewasused,whilesoldierswerebeatenwiththeirownweapon.84This

differentiationbetweensailorsandsoldierswasrootedintheanimositybetweenthetwo

groups,anattitudethathadbeeninexistenceonboardofshipsforalongtime.85

Symbolismwasalsousedtoshowthespectatorswhichcrimethepersonhadcommitted,

thiswasdonebyincorporatingtheobjectthatwasusedintheoffenseintotheactual

punishment.86Knifers,forexample,werepunishedbyusingtheirownknifetostuckthem

fasttothemainmastoftheship.87Becausebystanderscouldcapturebothfelonythevictim

wasguiltyof,aswellasthepunishment,intheblinkofaneye,theexemplaryfunctionof

punishmentwasemphasized.88So,notonlydidtheuseofsymbolismaddtotheexemplary

functionofpunishments,italsocontributedtotheirtheatricality.The‘scene’ofthe

punishmenttoldordisplayedastoryofitsown.Theseritualsofpunishmentwere

performedinfrontoftheseafarers,offeringadistractionfromtheofficialdutiesonboard,

eventhoughitmightnothavebeenapleasantportrayal.Becauseofthetheatricalityof

thesepunishmentstheycanbeconsideredasinstitutionalizedamusements.

Thistheatricalelementofpunishmentswasevenmoredistinguishableinthe

‘unofficial’,mutualjusticeamongsailors.Acoupleoftravelaccountsdescribeinorderto

passthetimeonboardoftheCompany’sshipsseveraltheatricaldisplayswere‘puton’by

thesailors.89DeHulludidsomeground-breakingresearchontheseplays,hewasthefirst

onetodescribethemingreatdetail.Heassertsthemtobemodesofentertainment,while

inallplaysthevictimgetsharmedorpunishedinonewayoranother.90Therefore,

accordingtoKetting,theseplayswerecharivari’sandwereactuallymodesofpunishment

84Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,284-289.85RoelofvanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur:DuitersindienstvandeVOC(1600-1800)(Nijmegen1997)152.86Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,284-289.87Sleigh,JanCompagnie,43.88Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,284.89Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,12-13;DavidTappens,FunffzehenJährigeCuriöseunddenckwürdigeauchsehrgefährlicheOst-IndianischeReise-Beschreibung(Hannover1704)20-25;BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,128-131.90BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie.

26

amongsailors,andhelpedtorestoremoralorderamongthecommunity.Likementioned

above,these‘theatricaltrials’werenotpartofthe‘official’justicesystemandpunishments

onboardoftheCompany’sships.Rather,sailorsusedthemtoresolveorsettledifferences

orfightsbetweenthemselves,withoutinterferenceoftheirsuperiors.Moreover,according

toKettingtheywereunawareoftheseevents.91DavidTappensdescribesfouroftheplays

thatwereperformedonboard,accordingtohim,outofmanythesefourwerethemost

amusing.92TheseareexactlythefourplaysthatareanalysedbyDeHullu.

Intheseplaysspectatorswereaskedtotakepartintheplay,afteralltheplayers

weregatheredeveryonewasgivenapart.Atthismomentitalsobecameclearwhowould

playtheroleofthe‘victim’–whichwouldbethepersonothersailorswantedto‘punish’,

becausehehadmisbehavedinsomesortofway.Incaseoftheotherthesmidspel

(‘smithplay’),someonefromthepublicwas‘invited’,considerablesocialpressurewasused

tocompeltheperson,toplaytheroleofvictim.Again,thepersonselectedwasnotthe

most‘friendly’or‘mostenjoyable’sailor.93Inallfourplaystheoneperson,thatwas

‘chosen’togetpunished,washumiliatedononewayoranother.Generallythetormentwas

quitepainful,theperson’sfaithandsufferdependedontheintentionsoftheother

players.94Forinstance,thethirdplayTappensdescribesiscalledthePaardendiefstalspel

(‘playofhorse-robbery’).Inthisplaytworobbersarecaughtandsentencedtodeath,one

willbehanged,theotherwillbebeheaded.Incaseofthefirst,aropeisputaroundthe

player’swaist,andheishoisted,aroundthreefeet,upintheair–suspendedbetween

heavenandearth.Aftertheotherplayergetspunished,bysmudginghiminexcrements,the

firstplayer’slowerbodywasstrippednakedandsmudgedwithtar.95

WhenwecomparethisdescriptionofthePaardendiefstalspelwiththetravel

narrativeofPeterKolbe,anotherGermaninserviceoftheCompany,thereareafewstriking

similarities,whichpreviousscholarshavenotyetacknowledged.Firstandforemost,healso

atteststhatamusementsamongsailors,simultaneouslywereawayofprosecution,which

validatesKetting’sargument.Kolbealsodescribesthat,topunishsomeone,theywere

91Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,251.92Tappens,FunffzehenJährigeCuriöse,20-2593Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,251-253.94BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,128-131.95Tappens,FunffzehenJährigeCuriöse,20-25;BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,129-130;Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,252.

27

suspendednakedintheair,whichwasalsothecasewiththePaardendiefstal.Another

amusementofthesailorswaspaintingthebehindsofsomeonnozeleenonbedreve(‘silly

andinconvenient’)fellowsblack.“Detydkortingenwaarmededitonedachtzaamvolkzich

vermaakt,bestaanonderanderen,datzeeenigeonnozeleenonbedreveonderhaar

uitkippen,dewelkezenaaktuitkledenenderzelfverbillenzwartmaken;ofzedoenophare

wyzerecht,namentlyk,zehangenzodanigennaaktenoponderdearmen,ookmakenze

zomwylenhaareigeaangezichtzwart,omanderen,opwelkezehetgemunthebben,onder

schynvanhemtekussen,ookzwarttemaken…”96AlthoughKolbedoesnotrelatethe

amusementswiththeplaysmentionedbefore,neithermentionsthem,thereisa

considerablepossibilitythattheyareconnected.Apossibleexplanationforthiscouldbe

thatKolbewasauniversitygraduatewithadoctorateinastronomy.Comparedtotheother

Germanvoyagerswhowroteatravelaccount,hewasthemosteducated.Ontopofthat,he

receivedtheblessingandpatronageofNicolasWitsen,whowasnotonlytheMajorof

Amsterdam,butalsoadirectoroftheCompanyandoneofthemostinfluentialmeninthe

VOC.97Therefore,Kolbewasnotjustasoldieroranothersailoronboard,whichis

supportedbythefactthatKolbehadhisowncabinontheship,commonsoldierswerenot

asfortunate.98Doubtlessly,Kolbehadadistinguishedposition,differentfromtheother

sailorsandsoldiers.Possiblyhewasnotawareofeverydetailoftheseamusements,alsoit

ishighlylikelythathisdescriptionwascensored.Itiscertaintosaythatthesetheatrical

punishmentsamusedtheseafarers.

Anotherscholar,NigelPenn,considerstheeventsdescribedbyKolbeaspartsofyet

another‘ritedepassage’fornovicesailors.Whatappearstobeanarrativeofseveralkinds

ofamusements,punishments,andpleasures,Pennmistakenlyinterpretsasadescriptionof

onesinglecontinuouscelebrationorritualuponapproachingtheCapeVerdeIslands.Then

heconcludesthat“suchinitiationshadacquiredafargreatersignificancesincetheVOChad

abolishedthetraditionalcrossing-the-lineceremoniesforshipstraversingtheequator.”99

AlthoughtherewereritualsandfestivitiesonboardoftheCompany’sshipscelebratingthe

passageofacertainpointonthejourney,aswehavediscussedinthefirstchapter,the

96Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,12.97Penn,“TheVoyageOut”,73-74;Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving.98Penn,“TheVoyageOut”,75.99Idem,77-78.

28

specificamusementsKolbedescribes,werenotpartofthis‘ritedepassage’,theywere

theatricalpunishments.Oppositetheritualisticandsymbolisticpunishments,rewardswere

giventotheseafaringpersonnelonvariousoccasions,oftenpartofspecificcelebrations,

likethepassingofacertainpointinthejourney.Intheremainderofthechapterwewill

discusstheserewardsandlookattheirfunctiononboardoftheCompany’sships.

Rewards

Extraprovisionsoftenformedtherewardsgiventotheseafaringpersonnelonboardofthe

Company’sships.Here,wewillexaminetherewardsthatwerepartoftheinstitutionalized

amusements.Meaningthattheserewardswerepartoftheproceedingsonboard,andthe

captainorcommanderdecidedtheserewardstobedistributed.Nonethelessdidthey

providetheseafarerswithdistractionsfromtheeverydayroutineanddutiesonboardof

theCompany’sships,thereforetheyarevitalforthisresearch.

Likementionedabove,rewardsonboardoftheCompany’sshipsprimarilyconsisted

ofadditionalprovisions.Thisisdemonstratedinthevarioustravelaccounts,showingthat

theserewardswereoftendistributedinrelationtopassingaspecificordangerouspartof

thejourneytoAsia.Firstofall,wecannotignoretheextraprovisionsthatweredistributed

aspartofthenewritualoftheseabaptism,whichwehavediscussedintheprevious

chapter.Thiswasnottheonlytimethepassageofadangerouspartofthevoyagewas

celebrated.AftersafelypassingthedesertedislandofMartinVaz,apassagewithmany

dangerousshallowwaters,Hessedescribesthatalltheseafaringpeopleonboardreceived

Spanishwineanddoubletheamountoffoodasrefreshments.100GijsbertHeeckdescribesa

similarinstanceinhistravelaccount.Tocelebratethesafepassingofthedangerouscliffsof

Albrolhos,everybodyontheship’screwreceivedwine.101NicolaasdeGraafwritesan

almostidenticalpassageinhistravelaccount:“…,endeschadelijkedroogtenAbrohollos

voorbyzijndedieaandeBrasiliseKustop18gradenzuyderbreetezyngelegen,word,

volgensgebruyk,aanyederbaksvolkeenflapkanSpaansewijngegeven…”102Intotalthere

weretwoAlbrolholsreefsonthejourneytoBatavia,one,likementionedabove,atthe

BraziliancoastandoneofoffWesternAustralia.AlbrolholsinPortugueseliterallymeans

100Hesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra,24.101HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,49.102Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,145.

29

‘openyoureyes’or‘watchout’.103Thesereefswerenotoriousamongstsailors,andsafely

andsuccessfullypassingwasreasonforcelebration,likethetravelaccountsshow.These

celebrationswere‘ritesdepassage’becausetheymarkedthesuccessfulcompletionofyet

anotherpartofthevoyagetoAsia,ensuringprogressthroughtheseas.104Thereforethey

canbeconsideredasritualsaswell.

DeHulluarguesthatthesefestivitieswereevengranderthanthoseassociatedwith

theseabaptism,discussedinthefirstchapter.AccordingtoDeHullu,ontopoftherewards

mentionedabove,eitherfreshmeatwascookedandservedfortheoccasionorsomeother

kindofextratreat.105Moreover,freshmeatwasonlyservedonspecialoccasions,several

animalslikechickensandsheepwerekeptonboard,orfreshfishwascaughtonthe

journey.106Also,severaljubilanteventsamplifiedthecelebration–peopledanced,sang,

anddressedup.Otherthantheplaysmentionedinthepreviouspartofthischapter,

comedicperformanceswereputonforthisoccasion.107Howeverelaboratethese

celebrations,thefactremainsthatrewardswerehandedouttoalltheseafarersupon

passingthesekindsofdifficultpassagesofthevoyage,andwerepartofthe‘ritesde

passage’.Onseveralotheroccasionstheship’screwreceivedrewardsaswell.

Oneoftheseoccasionswasthecelebrationoftheskipper’sbirthday,againextra

foodanddrinkwasserved.108Whichalsoreinstateshissuperiorpositiontotherestofthe

personnelonboard.Hessedescribesthiscelebration,asa‘Cajuyts-Gäste’(‘Cabinquest’),

Hessewaspartofthiscelebration.Thecaptaintreatedallthequestswitha‘special’meal,

insteadofbeerorwinetheyweretreatedwithstrongerspirits,insteadofbreadtheywere

servedriceandratherthantheusualsaltedmeat,fishwasprepared,althoughthisstankin

thesameway.109Notonlytheskipper’sbirthdaywascelebratedonboardoftheVOC-ships,

from1747onwardsthebirthdayoftheDutchstadholder,wasalsocelebratedonboard.110

103Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120-121;HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,49.104Guy,“CalamitousVoyages”,120-121;JohannSchreyer,ReisenachdemKaplande,undbeschreibungenderHottentotten:1669-1677;ReisbeschreibungenvonDeutschenBeamtenundKriegsleutenimDienstderWest-undOst-IndischenKompagnien1669-1677(Haag1931)13.105BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,127.106Bruijn,GaastraandI.Schöffer,Dutch-AsiaticShippingVOLUMEI,159.107BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,127.108VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,158.109Hesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra,143.110J.R.Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOCindeachttiendeeeuwaandewalenopzee(Amsterdam2008)182.

30

Therewardswediscussedabovewerepartofcelebrationsorritualsthatwerepartofthe

‘official’proceedingsonboard.Mostoftentheseafarerswererewardedwithextra

provisions,a‘feast’,comparedtotheireverydaymeals.Theserewardsandcelebrationsnot

onlywereadistractionfromthehardshipsofeverydaylifeonboardoftheships,theyalso

symbolisedoccasionsforsailorstokeeptrackoftheprogressofthevoyage,similarlytothe

ritualoftheseabaptismfromthepreviouschapter.Notonlythesymbolismofthe

celebrationsqualifiesthemtobeconsideredrituals,butalsotheirregularityand

predictability.Thisritualisticnatureoftheseeventsindicatesthattheyalsohadasocial

function,benefitingsocialorderandcohesiononboardoftheCompany’sships.

Toprotectsocialorder,punishmentswerepartofthejusticesystemonboard.First,

theritualisticnatureofsomeofthepunishmentsdeserveafinalremark.Thepunishments

wereregulatedthroughtheArtikelbrief,becauseofthewaytheywereperformed,these

regulationsbecomerituals.SincethepeopleonboardofaCompanyshipforma‘society’

andeveryindividualhadtheirresponsibilities,asmentionedinthefirstchapter,rituals

improvedsocialorderonboard.Applyingthistothepunishmentsonboard,whenone

disregardedtheirresponsibilityanddisruptedthecohesion,theritualisticnatureofthe

punishmentscouldrestorethisverydisruptionofsocialorder.Wehavepreviouslyseenthat

boththe‘official’and‘unofficial’punishmentscontainedtheatricalelements.Thevisible

andunmistakablesymbolismusedinthe‘official’punishmentsdemonstratesthis,whilethe

‘unofficial’punishmentsliterallytookformofatheatricalplay.Becauseofthesetheatrical

elementsitispossibletoqualifythepunishmentsas‘amusing’,becauseitdefinitely

distractedtheseafarerswithadistractionfromtheireverydaypursuits.Everybodyonboard

oftheshiphadtobepresentwhiletheoffendersreceivedtheirpunishment,andontopof

that,punishmentswereperformedinthecentreoftheshipsoitwashardtomiss.This

ritualisticandtheatricalnatureofpunishmentsservedtoimprovesocialcohesion,even

thoughthiswasnegativereinforcement,meaningthatitwasintheformofapunishment

ratherthanareward.

Incaseofthechivari’sperformedbelowdeckcertainlyamusedthembecausethey

wereperformedintheirtimeoffofduty,whichwillbediscussedmoreelaboratelyinthe

fourthchapter.Thechivari’simprovedsocialcohesionamongthosebelowdeck,thelower

rankingsailorsandsoldiers,becauseitgavethemtheopportunityrestoremorality,andthe

bothforeignersandDutchmenwerepresentduringtheseperformances.

31

Chapter3ReligiousRitualsoftheSeafaringPersonnel

ReligionintheDutchRepublicwasacentralfeatureofeverydaylife.Itiscommonly

acknowledgedamongscholarsthattheRepublic,withahegemonicReformedChurch,was

tremendouslytoleranttowardsotherreligiouscommunitiescomparedtoothercountriesin

Europe.Awell-developedcivilauthorityexistedtokeepthepeaceinthisareaof

considerablereligiousdiversity.111Religionwasdeeplyembeddedintoeveryaspectof

Dutchsociety,forexample,poorreliefandsocialcontrolwerepredominantlyorganizedby

thechurch.112Ontopofthat,thedirectorsoftheVOCwereDutch‘politicians’,andsince

theReformedChurchwasthe‘official’churchoftheRepublic,theVOCultimatelywasa

Christiancompany.113Thereforeitisnotsurprisingthatreligionalsoplayedanimportant

roleforthegovernorsoftheVOC,infact,pastorswereonthepayrolloftheCompany.They

weresendtotheCompany’sestablishmentsoverseasto,amongotherthings,preachandto

providepastoralcareforthoseinserviceoftheCompany.114Biblesandpsalmbookswere

alsoamongtheCompany’sgoodsshippedtoBatavia.115Moreover,pastorsand

ziekentroosters(‘comfortersfortheill’)werealsoemployedonboardoftheVOC-ships

travellingtoAsia.SincetheCompanywasaChristianemployer,pastoralorspiritualcare

wasnaturallythereaccordingtoSchutte.116Inthischapterwewillexaminethefunctionof

religiononboardoftheCompany’sships.Whatreligiousritualsdidoccurandwhatwasthe

influenceofreligionanditsritualsoneverydaylifeonboardoftheship?Inordertoanswer

thesequestions,firstwewilldelveintothesubjectofthepresenceofreligiousactivityon

board,lookingatordinaryprayers,anditsregulations.Thenwewillexaminetheroleand

tasksofthepastorsandziekentroosters.Afterwhichwewillinvestigateirregularprayers

andotherreligiousritualsonboardoftheCompany’sships.Itisimportanttoemphasize

thatthesubjectofreligiousactivitiesonboardoftheCompany’sshipsisoftendisregarded,

111R.Po-ChiaHsiaandHenkvanNierop,CalvinismandReligiousTolerationintheDutchGoldenAge(Cambridge2002)5.112KarelDavidsenMarjolein’tHart,DeWereld&Nederland–Eensocialeeneconomischegeschiedenisvandelaatsteduizendjaar(Amsterdam2011)137-151;Roeper,Zwartepeper,scheurbuik,39.113GerritJ.Schutte,“ChristendomenCompagnie”inLeonardBlusséenIlonkaOoms,KennisenCompagnie–DeVerenigdeOost-IndishceCompagnieendemoderneWetenschap(Amersfoort2002)87-90.114FemmeS.Gaastra,GeschiedenisvandeVOC(Zutphen2009)115Bruijn,GaastraandI.Schöffer,Dutch-AsiaticShippingVOLUMEI,181.116Schutte,“ChristendomenCompagnie”,90.

32

oratleastneglected,inthegeneralhistoriographyabouttheVOC,whiletheCompany’s

religiousendeavoursoverseashavebeenresearched.117Itisnecessarytoexplorethis

subjectbecausereligionplayedsuchanimportantroleinsociety.Didreligiousritualsbring

asenseoffamiliarityonboardoftheCompany’sships,similartotheroleofreligionin

society?Likewise,insomewaytheymightalsohaveplayedasignificantroleinprotecting

thesocialorderonboard,justlikeonland.Anddidtheyprovidetheseafarerswitha

distractionfromtheeverydayhardshipsofthevoyage?Thesearequestionwewilltryto

answerinthischapter.

InstitutionalizedReligion

Oneofthemostimportantsourcestodeterminethereligiousactivitiesonboardofthe

VOC-shipsaretheArtikelbrieven.Beforedelvingintoacloseexaminationoftherulesand

regulationsthattheseprescribed,itisimperativetomentionthattheseruleswerelaid

upontheseafaringpersonnelfromabovebytheHerenXVII.Thismeansthatthese

Artikelbrievenprovideuswithaveryimportant,butonlyaone-sided,accountofreligionon

board.Interestingly,Schuttedescribesthatmanyauthorsfromthetimearequitenegative

abouttherelationbetweentheCompanyandChristianity,theCompany’sservants

supposedlydidnotliveaChristianwayoflife.118Thesameattitudeisexpressedinthemore

contemporarychurchhistoriography.119Apossibleexplanationfortheseviewscouldbethat

theseauthorsareindifferenttothedistinctionbetweentheChristianreligiononboardand

theChristianreligionintheDutchcoloniesintheEast.BecauseinrelationtheChristianity

onboardoftheVOCshipsitisnotdifficulttoarguethatreligionplayedalargeroleinthe

everydayproceedings.JustthesheerfactthattheArtikelbrievenactuallyregulated

Christianworshiponboarddemonstratesthis.Anyway,Schuttedoesnotagreewiththe

anachronisticapproachofpastwritersandhistorians.HearguesthattheCompanywas

117Forexample:Gaastra,GeschiedenisvandeVOC–opkomst,bloeienondergang(Zuthpen2009).118Schuttebasedthisstatementon:MarijkeBarend-vanHaeften,Oost-Indiëgespiegeld:NicolaasdeGraaff,eenschrijvendchirurgijnindienstvandeVOC(Zutphen1992);RoelofvanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur:DuitersindienstvandeVOC(1600-1800)(Nijmegen1997).119Schutte’ssources:C.A.L.vanTroostenburgdeBruyn,DeHervormdekerkinNederlandschOost-IndiëonderOost-IndischedeCompagnie(1602-1795)(Arnhem1884);C.W.Th.BoetzelaervanAsperenenDubbeldam,DeGereformeerdekerkeninNederlandendezendinginOost-IndiëindedagenderOost-IndischeCompagnie(Utrecht1906);Idem,DeprotestantschekerkinNederlandsch-Indië.Haarontwikkeling1620-1939(’sGravenhage1947);L.Knappert,Schetsvaneenegeschiedenisonzerhandelskerken(overdrukuitArchiefvoordeKerkgeschiedenisxxi(1929)1-46,81-148;’sGravenhage1929).

33

establishedaccordanttotherulesofanearly-moderntheocracy.120Thiswasindeedthe

case,aswehaveseenintheopeningofthischapter.

Throughouttheperiodbetween1650and1800manyArtikelbrievenwereissued,

althoughtheweresomealterationstotherulesandregulationsrelatedtoreligiousactivity

onboard,thebottomlineremainedunchanged.Inthefollowingwewillexamineseveralof

theserulesandregulationstopaintthepictureofmandatoryreligiousactivityonboardof

theCompany’sships.OnesectionoftheArtikelbriefalwayscontainedseveralrulesand

regulationsabout,andfor,religion,pastorsandziekentroosters,onboard.In1658itstarts

witharuleaboutabusingGodsname,followedbyanothersimilarrulethatregulatesthe

supremacyofthepastor’steachings.Athirdnotionisespeciallyvaluableforthisresearch

becauseitliterallyinformsusaboutthereligiousactivitiesonboard.Regulatingthe

everydayprayersonboard,theruledeterminesthattheseprayersweresupposedtotake

placeinthemorning,beforetheearlymeal,andintheevening,beforedinner.Theactual

contentoftheseprayerswillbediscussedinalaterstadiumofthischapter.Allonboard

needtobepresentattheseservices.121Immediatelyafterthisfollowsaregulationwhich

stateshowtodisciplinethosethatneglectedtoattendtheseservices.Lastly,itis

administeredthatnopersonisallowedtoprovokeorstartreligiousdisputes.122Like

previouslymentioned,theserulesandregulationsforreligioninotherArtikelbrievenwere

considerablysimilar.123Thetravelaccounts,likePeterKolbe’s,confirmthepresenceof

religiononboardoftheCompany’sships:“…gelykzulks(bedestonden)dagelijkstweemalen,

namelykdesmorgensen‘savondsvoordeneetenopuitdrukkelykbevelvandeIllustre

Compagniegeschiedenmoet,alswelketendieneindezooveelinnotengezette

GereformeerdeNederduitschePsalmboekenaandenKapiteinmedegeeft,dathyaanzijn

volkiedereenboekvoornietmetaluitdelenkanenmoet.”124Notonlydoesherecognize

thattheCompany’sgovernorsorderedtheeverydayprayersonboard,healsoindicates

thatpsalmbooksweredistributedamongtheseafaringpersonnel.JohannJacobSaar,

120Schutte,“ChristendomenCompagnie”,87-89.121“Voortssoowanneer‘smorgensvoordeVroech-kost,ende‘savontsvoor‘tAvontmael,vanyemantdaertoeghecommitteertzijnde,deGebedengesproocken,ofteGodesWoortgelesenwort,saleenyedelijck,vanwatqualiteythyzy,sichschicken,om‘tselvemeteerbiedingetehooren.”Source:NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaal1658.122Idem.123Forexample:NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:4983,Verordeningbevattendegedragsregels1744;NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:11397,ArtikelbriefvandeVOC1766-1794.124Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,26.

34

anotherGermantravelingonboardofaCompanyship,reportsthesame.125Anotherpiece

ofevidencethatsupportsthisisthefactthatontheinventorychiefcarpenterJacob

Hartman,whopassedawayin1744,apsalmbookwasfoundinhisgrotekist(‘largechest’)

–theluggagethatseafarerswereallowedtotakeonboard.126Returningtotheservicesand

prayersonboardoftheCompany’sships,Kolbe’sdescriptionalsoprovidesuswithacrucial

insight:thereligiononboardwasReformedChristianity–thechurchwiththemost

authorityintheRepublic.Thiswasforeverybodythesame,eventhoughsomeseafarers’

religiousbeliefsweredifferent.127Thesedescriptionssupporttheclaimthatthelifeofthe

Company’sservantsonboardwasreligious,moreoveritshowsthatreligiousritualsgranted

abreakfromthetoughlabouronboard.

WehaveseenthatoneoftherulesintheArtikelbrievenstatedthatitwasnot

allowedtoinsultthepastorordisregardhissacredness.OnmanyshipsoftheVOCapastor

orziekentroostertravelledappointedby,andinserviceof,theCompany.128Inthefollowing

section,wewilllookatseveralexamplesofthesereligiousministerspresentonboard,after

whichitispossibletodelvedeeperintotheiractualroleandfunctiononaCompanyshipto

seewhatroletheyplayedintheinstitutionalizedreligiousamusements.

Firstitisworthmentioningthatoneofthetravelaccountsconsultedforthis

researchwaswrittenbyJohanChristianHoffman,whowasreligiousservantofthe

Companyhimself.Althoughhedoesnotspecifywhatkindoffunctionhehadonboardof

theship,itshowsthatreligiousofficialsembarkedonthevoyagetoAsiaontheCompany’s

ships.129Yet,wasthisacoincidenceordidreligiousservantsalwaysaccompanytheshipson

thevoyagetotheEast?FromtheVOCOpvarendendatabasefromNationalArchivewecan

extractsomevaluablequantitativeinformation:atleast2318ziekentroosters,427pastors

and67krankenbezoekerswereemployed,between1699and1794,bytheDutchEastIndia

Company.130TheVOC-administrationofthepersonnelonboardoftheirshipswasquite

125JohannJacobSaar,ReisenachJava,Banda,CeylonundPersien;ReisbeschreibungenvonDeutschenBeamtenundKriegsleutenimDienstderWest-undOst-IndischenKompagnien1644-1660(Haag1930)15.126NationaalArchief,1.04.02VereenigdeOostindischeCompagnie,Inventarisnummer:6934,InventarissenvangoederenvanoverladenVOC-militairenen–zeelieden,1718-1719,1743-1744.127Bruijn,Zeegang,96.128Roeper,Zwartepeper,scheurbuik,39.129Hoffman,ReisenachdemKaplande,vii.130NationaalArchief,VOC:Opvarenden,1699-1794.https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/index/nt00444?searchTerm=ziekentrooster&activeTab=nt_sub_list_legacy(Accessed24june2019).

35

extensive,foreveryshipthatsetsailadocumentwascomposedlistingeverypersonon

board,includingtheirfunction.Ontheselistswecanalsofindthereligiousservants,for

exampleontheVOC-shipWaddinxveensailingfromCaapdeBoneEsperancein1696a

ziekentroosterswasonboard.131AresolutionfromtheHerenXVIIinNovember1692

resolvedthattheziekentroostersonboardwerepaidasalaryof30gildersamonth,whilea

pastor’swagewasthreetimesashigh–90gildersamonth.132Thisresolutionshowsthat

ziekentroosterswereemployedonboardoftheCompany’sshipsiftheamountofpeopleon

boardexceeded150.Except,whenapastorswasalreadyappointedtoaship,thenthe

presenceofaziekentroosterwaspossiblyexcused.133

GijsbertHeeckmentionsaziekentroosterinthedescriptionofhisvoyageatleasta

coupleoftimes.Inoneofthesereferenceshedescribes,thattogetherwiththe

ziekentrooster,hewenttovisitanothershiptolistentoapastor’ssermon.“Ikbensamen

metdeziekenbezoekernaarhetschipAmersfoortgeweestomnaardepreekvaneenhier

pasaangekomenpredikantteluisteren.HijpreekteuitLucas23vers34:“EnJezuszeide:

Vadervergeefhethun,wantzijwetenniet,watzijdoen.”134Theziekentroosterinthiscase

didnotreadthesermonhimself.Itisimportanttopointoutthatziekentroostersdidread

sermonstothoseonboard,itactuallywasoneoftheirseveraltasks.However,theywere

notallowedtowritetheirownsermons,thatwassolelythepastors’prerogative.Another

maintaskoftheziekentroosterwastalkingtothepoorlyandhelpingthemtosayaprayer.

NicholaasdeGraaff’sdesciptionoftheziekentroosters’dutiesandtasksconfirmsthis:“De

krankenbesoekerofsieketroostersbedieningeis‘smorgens‘tmorgen-en‘savonds‘t

avondgebeduiteenboekjetelesseneneenversoftweeuiteenpsalmtesingen.Sondaags

moetdeselveeencapittelofpredicatielesen,envoornaardeselveeenpsalmofversof

tweesingen.Soiemandsiekisengevaarlooptvantesullensterven,moetdesieketrooster

deselvetroosteneneenigechristelijkegebedenvoorlesen.”135Comparedtothepastors,

whowererankedamongthemostimportantofficersonboard,theziekentroosterswere

131Werz,‘Eenbedroefd,enbeclaaglijckongeval’,189-195;VanRooijandGawronski,VOC-schipAmsterdam,26.132Thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatovertheperiodof150years(1650-1800)thesalaryofthese‘officers’remainedunchanged,theziekentroosteremployedonboardoftheAmsterdamin1749forexamplewaspaidasalaryof24gildersamonth.Source:VanRooijandGawronski,VOC-schipAmsterdam,26.133NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:4981,ReglementvandeHerenXVII1692.134HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,22,118.135DeGraaff,Barend-vanHaeftenandPlekenpol,Oost-IndiseSpiegel,115.

36

lowerrankingofficersandassistantstothepastors.136TheLammenssisterswritethat

approximatelytwo-hundredpeoplewerepresentatasermon,performedbythe

ziekentrooster,onboardoftheirship.Althoughthewomenwerenotimpressedwiththe

calibreofthepreachingthepassageintheirtravelaccountdoesconfirmthatthe

ziekentroostersheldreligiousonboardoftheCompany’sships.137OnSunday’sthese

religiousproceedingsweremoreelaborate,resemblingtheChristiantradition.138

Alltheseprayersandsermons,regulatedintheArtikelbrief,werepartofthe‘official’

religiousritualsonboard.Theconventionalityoftheseritualsimprovedsocialcohesion,

becauseitwasyetanothermomentallonboardweregatheredtogether,regardlessoftheir

rankornationality.Itissafetosaythattosomeextent,religiousritualsofanation’ssociety

transferredtothereligiousritualsonboard,andtheziekentroostersandpastorsplayedan

importantpartinthis.Inthetravelaccounts,reviewedforthisresearch,considerablymore

religiousritualswerementioned.Intheremainderofthischapterwewilltakealookatall

thesereligiousactivitiesonboard,rangingfromcelebrationsofreligiousfestivitiesto

blessingsorfunerals.

ExceptionalReligiousRituals

Ananalysisoftheseotherreligiousritualsonboardisimportant,becauseoftheir

exceptionalityitishighlylikelythattheyprovidedtheseafarerswithmoredelight.First,we

willtakealookatthemostoccurringreligiousrituals;thebenedictionsorblessings

(dankzegging).IntheseprayerstheziekentroostersorpastorsonboardthankedGodfor

something,mostcommonlythiswouldbetheweather.MartinWintergestprovidesuswith

suchanexample:“dalehreteunsnundieaugenscheinlicheErrettung,daßmaneine

offentlicheDancksagunggegenGottthat,daßerunsnurwiedergutenWindgegeben

hatte…”139Anothercommonmomentthesebenedictionswouldtakeplacewaswhenthe

136Roeper,Zwartepeper,scheurbuik,39-40,112-114;AlbrechtHerport,ReisenachJava,Formosa,Vorder-IndienundCeylon:1659-1668;ReisbeschreibungenvonDeutschenBeamtenundKriegsleutenimDienstderWest-undOst-IndischenKompagnien1602-1797(Haag1930)16.137“Wantonsenseergeleerdenenopdetimmerschoolgegaenedominé…allesontrentdetweehondertenveertightheugtmijwelkerkengesientehebbendaervrijwatgrooterenbeterpredicationgedaanwierdenvoorminderpersoonenalshiertegenwoordigwaren…”Source:Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,58.138Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,26.139Wintergerst,ReisenaufdemMittelländischenMeere,9.

37

shippassedaspecificdangerouspartofthevoyage.Togetherwithotherrituals,whichwe

havediscussedinthepreviouschapters,theseprayerswerepartofthe‘ritesdepassage’.

NicolaasdeGraaffnotestheziekentroosteronboardthankedGoduponpassingthe

Albrohollosforsavelymakingthispartofthevoyage.“Envandesieketroostereen

danckseggingegedaandatdenHemelhaarvoordieschadelijckedroogtensheeftbewaard

waardaareertijdssooveelschepenopzijnverzeyldentotnietgegaan.”140Thecelebratory

characteroftheseprayers,safelycrossingadangerouspassage,isespeciallyimportantin

thisresearchbecausethesekindsofeventsprovidedtremendousreliefforsailors,and

endorsedfaithandhope.Thereisoneimportantthingtomentioninrelationtothese

sermonsandprayers,theywereagainpartoftheinstitutionalizedreligiouspractiseson

board.Theprayersforallsuchoccasionswerewrittendowninthe‘instructionsforpastors

andziekentroosters’.141Theywerepartoftheregulatedreligiousactivitiesonboardofthe

Company’sships.

Funeralswerealsopartofthereligiousritualsonboard,becauseofthehardships

anddangersofthelongvoyageonboardoftheCompany’sships,peopleonboardwere

recurrentlyfacedwithdeath.Thepassingawayofafellowseafarerisfrequentlymentioned

inthetravelaccountsandveryoftenthedeadareburiedatsea.142Onboardofthe

Company’sshipsthefollowingritualwascarriedoutduringafuneral:firstthedeceasedwas

wrappedinapieceof(sail-)cloth,afterwhichtheywerelaiddownonaplankonthe

starboardsideoftheship.Theheadofthedeceasedwasuncoveredandaprayerwassaid,

thenonthecaptain’scommandtheplankwaslifteduptoletthebodyslideintosea.143“’s

Nachtsisdeschiemansmaat(=deonderbootsmansknecht)AamMulleruitBredaoverleden

envolgensscheepsgebruikishijopgepastewijzeoverboordgezet.”144GijsbertHeeckrefers

multipletothe‘standard’ritual,mentionedabove,usedto‘buy’adeceasedseafarerat

sea.145WhileEliasHessenotonlydescribesthese‘standard’ritualsduringafuneralofa

140DeGraaff,Barend-vanHaeftenandPlekenpol,Oost-IndiseSpiegel,145.141NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14329,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaalvan1742,1728-1763.142Forexample:Herport,ReisenachJava;Hesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra;HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn;Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving.143Later,onboardofthewarshipsfromtheeighteenthcentury,thisritualwasevenmoreelaborate.Thedeceasedwascarriedaroundthemastthreetime,accompaniedbythesoundofmourningmusic.Afterwhichthepersonwassendoverboard,beforeandaftertheplankwaslifted,salvo’swerefired.Source:Davids,Watlijdtdenzeemanalverdriet,38.144HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,31.145Idem,25,31,63.

38

femalepassenger,shewasactuallyburiedinacoffinandadditionalritualslikehymnswere

partoftheceremony.146

Otherreligiousritualswereonlyoccasionallyperformedcomparedtotherelatively

commonritualsmentionedabove.Oneoftheseeventsisaratherlargecelebrationinthe

Christiancalendar–Christmas,celebratingthebirthofJesusChrist.147Travelersmention

thecelebrationintheirtravelaccounts,thoughtheydonotelaborateonanyritualsof

such.148AccordingtoDeHullu,thesailorsdidreceiveextraprovisionsonthesekindsof

‘important’Christianfestivities.149Thesheerabsenceofanykindofelaboratedescriptionof

thecelebrationinsinuatesthatthesewerenotverygrandiose.Itiscertainlypossiblethat

extraprovisionsweredistributedandimaginablethatthedailyprayersweremore

comprehensive,sinceitwasaChristiancelebration.Thisdoeshoweverconfirmthatthe

society’sreligiousritualsweretransferredtotheships.

AnunexpectedceremonymentionedinthetravelaccountfromsurgeonGijsbert

Heeckisawedding.ThepastorfromthePhenicxvisitingtheshipalsowedtwopersons

travelingonboardofHeeck’sship.Asoldiermarrieda‘black’woman(whichinitselfis

unusual,yetirrelevantforthisresearch),afterthesermontheyhaddinnerwiththe

commanderinchief,SirSterthemius.“Tevensbevestigdehij(ds.Bushoven)indehuwelijk

staatdesoldaatHansPolacqmetMagdalenavanBengalen(eenzwartevrouw)diebeiden

metonsdereisbegonnenwaren.Nadepreekblevenzijsamenmetdeandere

bevelhebberstegastbijdeheerSterthemiusenwerdengetrakteerdopgebraden

schapenvlees.”150

ReligiouslifeonboardoftheCompany’sshipswasquitesimilartothatonland.

Multipletimesadayprayerswereread;thiswasregulatedbytheArtikelbrievenissuedby

theCompany’sdirectors.Ontopofthat,lessregularreligiousrituals,likeburialsandevena

wedding,werealsoperformedduringthevoyage.ThisisnotsurprisingsincetheCompany

wasinfactaChristiantradingcompany,andtheRepublicitselfwasalsopredominantly

146Hesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra,32.147Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOC,183.148Forexample:“Den25DecembrisfeyretenwirdieHeylsahmeGeburtunsersSeeligmachersJesuChristi…”Source:Hoffman,ReisenachdemKaplande,23;HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,33.149J.deHullu,“DeVoedingopdeSchependerOost-IndischeCompagnie”,JournaloftheHumanitiesandSocialSciencesofSoutheastAsia,Vol.67,No.1(1913)552https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-90001801.150HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,67.

39

Christianwithreligionatthecoreofeverydaylifeofitscitizens.Notonlywerereligious

ritualspartoflifeonboardofaCompanyship,spiritualcarewasalsoprovidedtothe

seafarersincaseofillnessordeath.LifeinemploymentonboardoftheCompany’sships

wasfullofhardships,likewehavepreviouslydiscussed.Thereligiousritualsappeartohave

oftengrantedabreak,adistraction,fromthisgrind.Whichshowsthatthesetoocanbe

qualifiedasinstitutionalizedamusements.Fromvarioustravelaccountswelearnedthat

religionalsoprovidedtheseafarerswithasenseofcomfortandhope,becauseitwas

somethingfamiliarsinaworldfullofuncertainty,andofstrangeandunknownphenomena

–lifeonboardofaship.Again,thesereligiousregulationsareritualsbecauseoftheway

theyareperformedandtheroletheyplayonboard.

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Chapter4MusicandPastimeAmusements

Sofarthemainfocushasbeenonvariouskindsofdistractionsandamusementsthatwere

predominantlyinstitutionalized.Inrelationtothedrummersandtrumpetersfromthefirst

chapter,wheretheyusedtheirinstrumentsprimarilyforsignallingandcommunication,

therewasanother,lessregular,functionoftheseinstruments;playingmusic.Whetherit

wascommandedbythecaptainoraspastimeactivity,onboardoftheCompany’sships

musicplayedaconsiderablerole.Inthischapterwefirstwilltakealookatothermusical

activitiesonboardoftheCompany’sthatwerepartoftheofficialproceedingsonboard.

Then,beforeexploringothernon-institutionalizedpastimeactivities,wewillconsidermusic

asapastimeamusementonboard.Thereareseveralreasonswhyitiscrucialtoanalyse

thesemusicalendeavoursandpastimeactivities.Firstandforemost,mostofthese

momentswerenotregulatedbyanyrulesorregulationsinthewayprevious

institutionalizedamusementswere.Itisinterestingtoseewhatkindofpastimeactivities

theseafarersamusedthemselveswithintheirpastime,especiallybecausetheseafarers

wererelatively‘free’tochoosethesekindsofamusements.Thisisofgreatrelevancetothis

researchbecausethis‘free’timewasalsoagreatdangertosocialorderonboard,social

problemscouldeasilyarisewhenseafarerswereunoccupied.

MusicallifeonboardoftheEastIndiaCompanyshipshasbeenextensively

researchedbyscholarIanWoodfield.HehaswrittenanelaborateaccountontheEnglish

musiciansintheageofexploration,whichforthisresearchissurprisinglyinteresting.

Woodfieldshowsthatexperiencedmusiciansandtrumpeterswerehighlyvaluedamong

thosetravelingtotheeast,andtheDutchemployedBritishplayersbecauseoftheir

experience.Healsoprovidesuswithanaccountofthedutiesandtasksofthemusicianson

board.AccordingtoWoodfield,“onceashipputtosea,thoseonboardweresubjecttoa

carefullyorderedroutineofdailylifeinwhichmusicplayedasignificantpart.”151Confirming

whatwehavealreadyseeninthefirstchapterwiththesignallingdutiesofthetrumpeters,

themilitarymusicians.Alsoduringworshipmusicplayedanimportantrole,inthethird

chapterwediscoveredthatreligioushymnswerepartoftheprayersonboardofthe

Company’sships.However,inagreementwithWoodfield,thesewereallregulatedin

151Woodfield,EnglishMusicians,39.

41

generalorders.152Therefore,theywerepartoftheinstitutionalizedamusements.Besidethe

musicalpracticesmentionedabove,musicallifeonboardoftheCompany’sshipswasmore

sophisticated.

SingingandShantying

Firstwewilltakealookatthenon-institutionalizedmusicalpracticesduringlabouronboard

oftheCompany’sships.However,itisimportanttorealizethatstrictlyitisnotpossibleto

categorizetheseaspastimeactivitiesofsailors.Theproceedingsonboardwere

accompaniedbyallsortsofstandardchantingandshouting,orshantying,tocoordinatethe

activities.C.A.Davidsexaminedthesekindsofmusicalpractices,amongmanyothers,and

arguesthatspecifictypesoflabourrequireddifferentkindsofchanting.“Whenthemenare

engagedontoanyhardtasksandespeciallyonanyinwhichitisnecessaryforthemtomove

rhythmicallytogetheralittlechantissung.Tothenewarrivalsthischantsoundsvery

strange,butitismostuseful,especiallywhenallthemenhavetopulltogether.”153David

Tappensalsodescribesthesekindsof‘songs’andinformsthereaderforwhichactionseach

wasused.Whenforexamplethecanonswerefetched,onesang:“Afschoten,Arü

kenschoot,AkleinenGroot,Ahaalweg.”154

Evenmoreinterestingly,Tappensalsodescribesotherkindsofhymnsorsongswhich

weresungwhentheguardwaschanged,multipletimeseverydayonecouldhearthese

soundsofmusic.155AnotherGermantraveller,ChristophSchweitzeralsowitnessedthe

practiceofsingingduringthiseventin1675.156Davidsnotesthatthesekindsofritualistic

songs,partofthechangingoftheguard,werecalledakwartierlied,afterthekwartieren

(‘quarters’),inwhichtheship’screwwasdivided.Thiskwartierliedisacollectiveterm,

severaldifferentdistinctivehymnsweresungonvariouspartsoftheday,liketheroerzang

(‘helm-song’)andliedvandeprovoost(‘theprovost’ssong’).157Asectionoftheroerzang:

152Idem,39.153Davids,Watlijdtdenzeemanalverdriet,41-43;Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOC,153.154Tappens,FunffzehenJährigeCuriöse,171-172.155Idem,152.156Woodfield,EnglishMusicians,45.157Davids,Watlijdtdenzeemanalverdriet,49-54.

42

“HierzeilenwijmetGodverheven,Godwilonsonzezondenvergeven,

Alonzezondenenmisdaad,Godisonstroostentoeverlaat.

Kwaart,Kwaart,GraafMauritskwartierteroerentewaakzalgaan,

GoddieverleenonsZijnenvree,Gelukenbehoudenreisdaarmee.

GraafMauritskwartierwiltkomenboven,

VooreengoedereiswillenwijGodloven,GodlovenendenkenzijnenNaam,

KomtheruitmaatkwartierinGodsnaam…”158

AlthoughDeHullumentionsandcitesacoupleofthesesongs,heneglectstoinvestigate

theirunderlyingfunctiononboardoftheCompany’sships.Inthesongthe

Mauritskwartier159wascalledtostandguard,simultaneously,thereligiousfeatureisan

importantelementwearecompiledtoacknowledge.ThesongsfavourGodandaskhimfor

asavevoyage,thesekwartiersliedenthereforehavearitualisticfunctiononboardofthe

Company’sships.Thereligiousaspectofthesongsreferredtothecommonvaluesofthe

seafarers,asavevoyage,whichalsomakesthesongsanoteworthypartoftheritualson

board.Especially,whenwetakeinconsiderationthatthesekindsofsongsweresungthree

timeseverydaywiththechangingoftheguard.160Theritualisticshantyingandsinging

duringtheeverydayworkroutineonboardpossiblyhadanotherfunctionaswell,itmight

havebroughttheseafarersawelcomedistractionfromthehardlabouronboard.Beingable

tolistentosomethingduringtheseendeavours,thecrewatworkcouldconcentrateon

somethingotherthantheheavylabour.Thesesongsbroughtsomerelieftotheseafarers,

andincaseofthekwartierlieden,theyliterallyrelievedsailorsfromduty,announcingthe

guardtochange.

TravelingboardoftheCompany’sshipsonecouldfrequentlyherevoicessinging

somekindofsongorhymn.Notallofthesesongswerepartoftheworkingroutineofthe

seafarersliketheoneswehavediscussedabove.AlbrechtHerport,travelingonboardofa

CompanyshipfromAsiabacktotheNetherlandswrites:“Den11.(October)Sindwirdie

158BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,56;Tappens,FunffzehenJährigeCuriöse,167-168.159OnboardoftheCompany’sshipsthecrewwasdividedinthreeparts,kwartieren:prinsenkwartier,GraafMauritskwartierandGraafErnstkwartier.Eachkwartierhad8hoursadaywheretheydidnothavetowork.Source:Bruijn,Zeegang,68.160Davids,Watlijdtdenzeemanalverdriet,49-54.

43

StraßSondadurchgesäglet,unddasLandJavaundSumatranachundnachaußGesicht

verlohren.DazumahlhateinjedermitFreudengesungen,àDieuBatavia,wirfahrennun

nachPatria.UndstelltenalsoerstlichunserenLauffnachSud-WestdenSuden.”161The

peopleonboardsang‘adieuBatavia,wearesailingnowtoPatria’,whentheylostsightof

JavaandSumatra,uponleavingAsia.Herportwritesthat‘everybody’onboardsungthis,

despitethedifferentnationalitiesoftheseafarers.Remarkably,thetwosentencesare

practicallyidenticaltothebeginningofthefirstandsecondverseoftheValet-LiedofIndia

EliasHessedescribes.

Adjeu,adjeuBatavia,

DuschöneStadtdortauffJava

Vondidrwillichnunscheiden!

VonddirunddeinerstoltzenPracht

NehmichanitzoguteNacht,

MittausendtausendFreuden.

WirfahrennunnachPatria:

FrischauffihrBrüder,Sa,sa,sa!

HiergiltkeinScharmutzieren:

AllwindeteureAnckerauff!

DurchStraatSundagehtunserLauff!

DenOrtwollnwirquittiren.162

AlthoughHessedoesnotmentionthissongwasactuallysungbyothersonboard,hedid

singittoamusehimselfwhileBataviawasstillinsight.163Thesetwoaccountsshowthatthe

departurefromAsiawascelebratedbytheseafarers.Thesongwaspartofthatcelebration

bringinggreatjoytothesingers.

OthersongsorhymnswerealsosungonboardoftheCompany’sships;somewere

even‘written’orcameinexistenceduringthevoyage.Althoughitisdifficulttodetermine

161Herport,ReisenachJava,167.162Hesse,Gold-BergwerkteinSumatra,117-126.163Idem,117.

44

thisformostofthesongs,accordingtoDavidstherearesomeexceptions.Anexampleisthe

song‘Eennieuwlied,ofhetdroevigJounael,gemaektvanheteygeScheepsvolk,vanhet

Oost-IndiesRetour-schipgenaemtGeertruy,voordekamervanEnkhuysen’,notonlydoes

thetitleofthesongconfirmthatitwaswrittenonboard,aGermantravellerconfirmsthisin

histravelaccount.Itiscertaintosaythatalotofsongs,includingthosementionedabove,

weresungregularlyonboardoftheVOCships.164Thisinsightisveryinteresting,notonly

wereseafarersamusedbysingingsongs,someapparentlyalsopassedtheirtimebywriting

songsaboutthevoyage.Although,thisprivilegeofpenmanshipwasmostlikelyexclusively

enjoyedbytheliterateseafarers.Musicdefinitelybroughttheseafarersclosertogether,

whichisshowninthesingingandshantyingonboard,inthenextpartofthischapterwe

willinvestigatewhetherthiswasalsothecaseforothermusicalendeavours.

PlayingMusicalInstruments

Thesongspreviouslydiscussedinthischapterwerenottheonlysoundsofmusiconecould

heartravelingonboardofaCompanyship.Inthefirstchapterwehavediscussedthe

primaryroleoftrumpetersanddrummersinthemusicalcommunicationsonboard.We

haveseenthatthetrumpetersanddrummersplayedtheirinstrumentsinspecial

ceremonies,forexamplewhenvisitorsarrivedandspendtimeonboard.165PeterKolbe

describesnotonlytheroleoftheseplayersinhistravelaccount,musiconboardoftheship

ingeneralisdiscussedingreatdetail.Koblewritesthatthetrumpetersplayedonmany

differentoccasions:atsunriseorsundown,atmeal-times,whenthecaptainwantstobe

amused,whenspecialguestscameonboardorasatreatforthecrew.166Music,inthese

cases,wasaninstitutionalizedformofentertainment,becauseitwasorderedthroughthe

regulations.167Evenmoreinteresting,Kolbewritesthatthoseinterestedintheartofmusic,

amongtheseafarers,wouldnotonlyplayalongsidethetrumpetertoamusethecaptain,

theysupposedlyalsogottogethertoplayforthemselves.Kolbe’saccountdoesshowthat

peoplealsobroughttheirowninstrumentonboard.Instrumentsliketheviolinortheflute

164Davids,Watlijdtdenzeemanalverdriet,70-71.165Henssen,TrompettersenTamboers,93-94.166“…enhetaanbrekenvandendagbekentmaaktdooreenigmorgen-lied,endenavonddoorhetblazenvan‘teenofanderavond-lied.Wanneerheteetenstydislaathyzichwederhoren,envoorhetoverigezoodikwylsalshetdenKapiteinbehaagt,ofwanneer‘ereenigvreemdchaloupmetOfficiersaankomt,ofaanboordgetrakteerdworden.”Source:Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,12-13.167Henssen,TrompettersenTamboers,92-94.

45

wereplayed,otherssang,thesoundofmusiccouldbeheardfromseveralcornersofthe

ship,amusingtheirfellowseafarers.“…Zelfsgaanzedikwylsbymalkanderzittenomvoor

haareigevermaakeenstukjetemaken,enzietmenmeermalenhiereenigedieopdeViool

spelen,daareenigeHautboïsten,ginseenigedieopdeFluitspelenenweeropeenandere

plaatsdiezichmetzingenvermaken;zoodat’eropeenschip,alshetmooiweeris,meer

vrolykheidbedrevenword,alsophetvrolykstegastmaalophetvasteland.”168Thisisa

crucialinsightintothemusicalperformancesonboardofaCompanyship,showingthe

importanceofmusiciansinamusingthemselvesandtheirfellowseafarers(seephoto2).

Photo2Seafarers'pastimeonboardofaIndiamen,severalpersonsareplayingmusicalinstruments.Source:Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1985-7-2-109,ScheepsvolkopOost-Indiëvaarder,JanBrandes,1778-1787.http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.214514(Accessed24June2019).

168Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,13,17.

46

Musicwasnotonlyaninstitutionalizedamusementbutalsoapastimeactivityforthose

travelingonboardoftheCompany’sships.Itprovidedgreatjoytothoseonboard,

especiallywhentheweatherallowedit,musicmadethespiritsoftheseafarerevenhigher

thanamealonland,accordingtoKolbe.Notonlythecommonseafaringpersonnelenjoyed

makingmusicintheirpastime,inthefollowingaccountsoftheLammensandSwellenberg

sisterswewillseethatthiswasalsothecaseforthepassengerstravelingonboard.

Moreover,theseaccountsconfirmKolbe’saccountthatmusicianswereamongthoseon

boardoftheships.

TheLammenssisters,travelingaspassengersonboardtheshipAdrighemin1736,

writethattheylistenedtothe‘usual’musicafterdinner.Theyquiteenjoyedthismusic

performedbyagroupofGermanplayers.169Althoughthesisterswerepassengerson

board,thisaccountdoesconfirmKolbe’saccountofmusicalseafarersonboardofthe

Company’sships.TheSwellengrebelsisterstoomentionthattheylistenedtomusicmultiple

timesduringtheirvoyagebacktotheRepublicin1751,theypresentmoredetailed

informationaboutmusiconboard.Evenmore,theyalsojoinedinwiththemusicalaffairs

onboard,playingtogetherwiththemusicians.Thisshowsthatmusicbroughtseafarersof

differentnationalitiesandrankstogether.Atleasttemporarily,thedifferencebetweenthe

playersandpassengersdisappeared.Thereweremultiple‘musicians’onboard,playing

instrumentsliketheviolinandharp,oneofthesistersplayedthefluteandanothersang.

“..,haddemuziek,dehofmeesteropzijnharp,beneffensdeanderemusicantenophaare

instrumenten,susterJohanna,Stansie,endesecretaries,zongenluijterse(lutherse)

liederen,naderhandhaddewijconsert,susterJohanna,enikopdefluijte,eneenmusicant

opdefiool,…”170AgainthisconfirmsKolbe’sdescriptionofmusiconboard,howeverwestill

donotknowforcertainthatthemusiciansalsoplayedforthemselves,becausewehaveto

takeintoconsiderationthatthesepassengerswerestillguestsonboard.Theydidnothave

toparticipateintheeverydaylabourandthereforehadmoretimeontheirhandstoamuse

themselves.Thefluteandviolinwerethemostfavouredmusicalinstruments.171Inhis

publicationaboutskippersonboardoftheVOCships,JaapR.Bruijnshowsthatvarious

skippersactuallybroughttheirowninstrumentsonboard.Oneofthem,HermanusBlom,

169Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,69.170Idem,122,127,144.171Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOC,182.

47

broughtaclavichordwithhimonboard,thisisarectangularinstrumentwithstringsand

verysuitedfortravelandsmallspaces.172ItiscertainthatmusiconboardoftheCompany’s

shipwasexistent,andanordinaryoccurrenceforthoseonboard.VeryoftentheGermans

travelingonboardhadaleadingroleinthesemusicalpursuits.173Boththeseafaring

personnelandthepassengerstravelingonboardoftheCompany’sshipsenjoyedthese

musicalendeavoursonboard.AlthoughKettinghaslookedatthepastimeactivitiesofthose

onboardoftheCompany’sshipsfortheperiodbetween1595to1650,hedidnotinclude

thesemusicalamusementsinhisassessment.AndalthoughDeHullumentionssingingin

relationtoothercelebrations,hetooneglectstoacknowledgemusicasapastimeactivityin

itself.

PlayandPastime

EventhoughDanSleigharguesthattherewaslittleopportunityforrelaxationonboardof

theCompany’sship,wehavealreadyseenthatthiswasnotthecase.174Intheremainderof

thischapterwewilldiscussvariouspastimeactivitiesthatfurthersubstantiatethis

refutation.NotonlyinmusicalperformancesoramusementsGermansplayedanimportant

roleonboardoftheCompany’sships,alsointheatreorplayonboardtheywereleading

players.Playsorcomedieswerenon-institutionalizedamusementsonboardofthe

Company’sships.Travelers,fromvariouskindsofbackground,mentionedsuch

performancesintheirtravelaccounts.OnboardoftheshipZuidpolsbroekforexamplea

theatricalpiececalled‘thelostson’wasperformedbyagroupofsevenoreightGerman

travellers.Also,in1674,agroupofGermansformedatheatregroup,theyplayedmusicand

arealsomadepreparationstoperformacomedyandaplay.175Asimilaraccountisgiven

aboutavoyageoftheshipKievitsheuvel,duringthetimeonboard,musicwasplayedand

songsorhymnsweresong.Alsoonboardofthisshipcomedieswereperformed,ontheday

theplayHansworstwasplannedtobeperformedanaccidenthappenedwithoneofthe

players.AgainaGermanplayer,backonlandheoftenplayedaharlequin,broughthisown

costume.Performingtheroleofdoctorintheplay,outofenthusiasm,hefranticlyjumped

172Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOC,182.173VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,166.174Sleigh,JanCompagnie,48.175VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,167.

48

aroundtheship,hefelloverboardanddrowned.Afterthisspecificincidentthecaptainof

theKievitsheuvelprohibitedalltheatricalperformancesonboard.176Althoughitisnot

specificallyclarifiedforwhomthesetheatricalpieceswereperformed,certainisthatthey

werepartoftheamusementsonboardoftheCompany’sships.Kolbealsomentions

comediesbeingplayedonboardofhisshipduringthereturnvoyagetotheRepublic.While

thewindswereintheirfavour,makinggreatprogressiontowardstheEuropeancontinent,

theship’screwhadlittleworktodo.Severalpastimeactivitieskeptthemoccupied,playing

comedieswasoneoftheseamusements.177Kolbe’saccountconfirmsthattheseafarersdid

indeedperformtheatricalplaysamongthemselves,oratleast,everyonewasabletobehold

theperformance.

Thetheatricalpunishmentsdiscussedinthesecondchapterarealsoworth

mentioninghere.Wehaveseenthatseafarersusedseveralplaystopunishfellowsailors,

theseplayswerequiteelaborateandplayedinfrontofeachother.Becausetheseplays

wereonlyperformedwhentherewastimeofoffwork,wecanconsiderthesetheatrical

punishmentsasformsofpastimeamusementaswell.EventhoughDeHullutreatsthem

merelyasformsofamusementsoftheseafarersonboardoftheCompany’sships,these

playsservedadualisticpurpose.Lastly,itisworthmentioningonestrikingaccountofa

theatricalperformanceonboardofaCompanyship.TheSwellengrebelsistermentionthat

onenight,aftertheirfatherwenttobedandthehighofficershaddinnertheywatcheda

performanceoftheGijsbregtvanAmstel(afamoushistoricDutchplaywrittenbyJoostvan

denVondel).“dognaderhandspeeldeGijsbregtvanAmstel,onzeboekebinderwasde

gouverneurvanLeijden,decapteijn,susterJohannaStansieenik,zaatendaarbij,omdat

fraaijespelaantezienom11uurengingenwijnabeneeden,…”178Eventhoughthehigher

officersonboardmostlikelycommandedtheperformanceofthisplay,thesekindsof

amusementscanstillbecategorizedaspastime.Officersandpassengersspendtheir

pastimewatchingit,andonecanimaginethatifaplayliketheGijsbregtvanAmstelwas

playedtheshippersonnelwasawareoftheperformanceandmighthavealsobeenallowed

tobepresent.Althoughthisisuncertain,wecansafelyacceptthatplaysandcomediesin

176VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,167.177Kolbe,Naaukeurigeenuitvoerigebeschrijvyving,444.178Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,122.

49

generalwereperformedonboardoftheCompany’sshipsandprovidedamusementanda

distractionfromeverydayproceedingsforitspassengersandcrew.

Thereareseveralotherpastimeactivitiesthatseafarersenjoyedintheirfreetimeon

boardoftheCompany’sships.Whileallsortsofgameswere,byArtikelbrief,prohibitedlike

wehaveseeninthesecondchapter,gameswerestillplayedonboard.Aboardgamecalled

‘Ganzenborden’wasplayedforexample,andevenskipperssometimesjoined.Skippersalso

broughttheirowngamesonboardintheirpersonaltrunk.HermanBlom,whoalsobrought

anmusicalinstrument,hadacheckerboardonboard.179Boardgameslikecheckersand

chesswereplayedonboardoftheCompany’sships.180Ontopofthat,andeventhough

theywereforbidden,card-gamesandgameswithdiceswereplayed.181Oneskipper,Joris

Davidszoonbroughtdiceswithhimonboard.182Thisisquitesurprisingsincethiswasstrictly

forbiddentoroledicesonboard.Apparentlythiswasnotarareexception,ithappened

morefrequentlybecauseinthearchaeologicalexcavationsfromtheVOCshipHollandiaa

dicewasfoundaswell.183GamblingwasalsoprohibitedbytheArtikelbrieven,yetfour

seafarersonboardofsurgeonGijsbertHeeck’sshipwerecaughtbetting.Heeckwritesthat

theywerepunishedinpublictosetanexample,andtopreventothersonboardfrom

gamblingaswell.184Thisaccountagainconfirmsthesocialfunctionoftheritualsof

punishmentsdiscussedinthesecondchapter.

Othergametokenswerealsousedforplayinggamesonboardoftheships(see

photo3).Alotofcircularandrectangulargametokenswerefoundinthewrecksof

Companyships,liketheHollandiaandtheWaddinxveenwrecks.185Inthetravelaccountof

theSwellengrebelsistersitismentionedseveraltimesthattheyplayedgamesduringthe

voyage.Interestingly,twotimestheyalsomentionwhatkindofgametheyplayed.Inthe

firstgametheplayersclapeachother’shandswhilesayingrhymesoutloud.Anothergame

wasplayedwithlittlewoodenstickswhichtheyhighlylikelyusedtomakefigureswith.In

179Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOC,182.180BruijnandLucassen,OpdeschependerOost-IndischeCompagnie,131;VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,165-166.181VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,165-166.182Bruijn,SchippersvandeVOC,182.183Gawronski,KistandStokvisvanBoetzelaer,Hollandiacompendium,432.184HeeckandDekkers,EenBunschoterVOC-chirurgijn,32-33.185Gawronski,KistandStokvisvanBoetzelaer,Hollandiacompendium,432-434;Werz,‘Eenbedroefd,enbeclaaglijckongeval’,138.

50

comparison,theLammenssistersalsomentionthattheyplayedgames,butonlyonce.186So

eventhoughspecificgames,likegambling,playingcards,androllingdice,wereforbidden

onboardoftheCompany’sships,severalkindsofgameswereplayed.Thearchaeological

sourcematerialshowsthateventhoughsomegameswereprohibited,itdidnotstopthe

seafarersfromplaying.

Photo3Gametoken.Source:Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1979-332-H,SpeelpenninguithetwrakvandeOost-IndiëvaarderHollandia,anoniem,1700–inofvoor1743http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.665877(Accessed24June2019).

Threemorepastimeactivitiesarecrucialtomentionwithregardtothenon-institutionalized

formsofamusement,catchingfishandsmokingtobacco.Incalmweathercatchingfishwas

awelcomeandexcitingamusementfortheseafarers,birdswerealsocaughtbutlessoften.

Allsortsoffishwerecaught,includingsharks.Toseafarers,sharkswereacommunalenemy

andthereforcapturingonewasanexhilaratingevent,followedbyaritualofslaughter.

RoelofvanGelderexplainsthattheslaughterofasharkprovidedamomentforthe

seafarerstoexerttheiraggressionwithoutconsequences.187Thishighlylikelybecauseitis

186Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,78,124,129,130,136.187Ketting,Leven,werkenrebellie,163-165;VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,167-168.

51

certainthattensionsandaggressionsquicklyaroseonboardoftheships,aswehave

discussedinthesecondchapter.Iftheseaggressionscouldbeventilatedinthispastime

activityandritualofcatchingandslaughteringashark,theywouldnotescalateinto

somethingworse.Thisconfirmstheimportanceofpastimeactivitiesandritualsonboardof

theCompany’sshipsinmaintainingsocialorder.ThetravelaccountofJohannHoffmann

providesuswithelaborateinformationabouttheoperationofcatchingfishasapastime

activity:“DasgemeineVolcksuchtebeysoangenehmenWeeterihrZeit-Vertreibim

FischfangundfischetenmitgrossenmessingernAngelhacken,anwelchesiekeinAtzung

sonderneinigeweiseFederleinbundenundalsodenHackenhinundherbewegend,aufs

Meerhangenliessen…”188Notonlydoeshedescribethecourseofevents,healsosumsup

allthedifferentkindsoffishthatwerecaught,includingsharksanddolphin.Notonlythe

‘commonseafarers’participatedinthispastimeactivity,theLammenssisterswritethat

theyalsotriedtocatchfishfromtheircabinontheship.189Conjointly,itisnotsurprising

thatfishinghookswerefoundamongvariousarchaeologicalexcavationsofVOC-shipsthat

wrecked.190Fishingprovidedyetanotherpastimeamusement,butitalsohadasocial

function.Theritualsperformedwhenasharkwascaught,andmoreimportantly,thefact

thateverybodyonboardenjoyedtheactivity,substantiatethatitcouldalsohaveincreased

thesocialcohesion.

AmongthearchaeologicalfindsofvariousVOC-wrecksisevenmoreevidencefrom

anotherpastimeamusement,smokingtobacco.Alotofclaypipeswerefoundforthe

consumptionoftobaccoandalsolittleboxestostorethetobaccoin(seephoto4).191Thisis

notsurprisingsinceeverysailorinemploymentoftheVOCreceivedseveralpipesupon

boardingaship.192Intheinventoriesfromsailorsthatpassedawayonboard,onecanalso

188Hoffman,ReisenachdemKaplande,18-19.189Barend-vanHaeftenandVanEyckvanHeslinga,OpreismetdeVOC,67;Herport,ReisenachJava,170.190Green,ThelossoftheVerenigdeOostindischeCompagniejacht“VerguldeDraeck”,182;Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1976-8-PM,VishaakuithetwrakvandeOost-IndiëvaarderPrincesseMaria1682-1686.(Accessed25June2019)http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.298737.191Gawronski,KistandStokvisvanBoetzelaer,Hollandiacompendium,360-373;Green,ThelossoftheVerenigdeOostindischeCompagniejacht“VerguldeDraeck”,152-162;Werz,‘Eenbedroefd,enbeclaaglijckongeval’,135-137;Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1975-76-ME,PijpuithetwrakvandeOost-IndiëvaarderMeresteijn1693-1702.http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.299449(Accessed25June2019);Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1984-59-23,FragmentenvanpijpenenpijpenstelenuithetwrakvandeOost-Indiëvaarder‘tVliegendHart1700-1735.http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.294088(Accessed25June2019).192Werz,‘Eenbedroefd,enbeclaaglijckongeval’,135.

52

findevidenceofthis.Tobaccowasfoundintheluggageofmany,andalsoboxestostorethe

tobaccoinandlighterswerefoundamongsailors’possessions.193Onecanimaginethatona

ship,madeofsubstantialamountsofwood,therewastremendousriskoffire.Eventhough

smokingtobaccoprobablywasapopularpastimeactivityonboard,duetoitsdangersof

causingafire,itwasonlyallowedtosmokeapipeduringtheday.194Thereisonemore

pastimeactivityworthmentioningbecauseithappenedalotonboardoftheCompany’s

ships,andpossiblyalsowhileseafarersenjoyedsmokingapipe.Storytellingmusthavebeen

themostregularpastimeactivity,alotofthetimethesestoriesmusthavebeenlife

histories.195

Photo4FragmentsofpipesfromthewreckoftheEastIndiamen'tVliegendHart.Source:Rijksmuseum,Objectnummer:NG-1984-59-23,FragmentenvanpijpenenpijpenstelenuithetwrakvandeOost-Indiëvaarder‘tVliegendHart1700-1735.http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.294088(Accessed25June2019).

193NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:6934,Inventarissenvangoederen,1718-1719,1743-1744.194VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,169;Forexample:NationaalArchief,Inventarisnummer:14328,ArtikelbriefvandeStaten-Generaal1658.195VanGelder,HetOost-Indischavontuur,169.

53

Especiallytheselastfewpastimeactivitiesareveryinteresting,notonlybecausethe

occurredoutsideoftheinstitutionalizedframeworkofamusementonboardofthe

Company’sships.Inthischapterwehaveseenthatmusicalendeavoursonboardofthe

DutchEastIndiaCompany’sshipswerepartoftheproceedingsonboard,andtheypartof

thepastimeactivities.Musicalconcertswereperformedandmusicalinstrumentswere

played,notonlybyseafarers,butalsobyofficersandpassengers.Therefore,musicwas

alsonon-institutionalizedpastimeactivityonboardoftheCompany’sships.Comediesand

otherplayswerealsoperformedonboard,againthesewereperformedbothinfrontof

officersandpassengers,andamongseafarers.Other,morecommon,activitieslikesmoking,

fishing,playinggamesandstorytellingwerealsoenjoyedtopassthetime.Theseactivities

andamusementswereofgreatimportancebecauseitgaveseafarerssomethingtodoin

theirtimeoffduty.Wehaveseenthatincaseoftheritualofcatchingsharks,seafarers

neededthiskindofritualtoasserttheiraggression.Providingthesailorswithsomethingto

dokeptthemfromcausingtroubleandpossiblydisruptingsocialorderonboard.Ingeneral,

allonboardenjoyedthepastimeactivitiesdescribedinthischapter,regardlessoftheirrank

ornationality.Moreover,insomecases,thepastimeactivitieswereenjoyedbypassengers,

higherofficersand‘common’seafarerstogether.

54

Conclusion

Inthisthesiswehavediscussedvarioustypesofinstitutionalizedrituals,punishments,

rewards,amusementsandpastimeactivitiesonboardoftheCompany’sships.Rituals,the

structuresandceremoniesthatwereregularlyrepeatedinpredictableways,playedan

essentialroleinthis.Indefinition,ritualshaveasocialfunction,inthefirstchapterwehave

seenthatthefunctional-structuralisticapproachreflectsandcharacterizedthesocial

functionofritualsonboard.Helpingandimprovingsocialordertherituals,inrelationtothe

shipcommunity,wereveryimportantonboardofshipsoftheDutchEastIndiaCompany.

Thiswasdemonstratedintheremainderofthefirstchapter,discussingthesignallingand

communicationritualsandtheseabaptism.Theseritualscanbecharacterizedas

institutionalizedamusementsbecausetheyprovidedtheseafarerswithdistractionsfrom

thehardshipsoflifeonboard,yettheywerealsoorderedfromabove,meaningthatthese

ritualswereregulated.Regulationsbecameritualsbecauseoftheway,whereandfor

whom,theywereperformed.Intherestofthisthesiswediscoveredthatmoreregulations

qualifiedasrituals.

Inthesecondchapterwehavediscussedavarietyofpunishmentsonboardofthe

Companyships.ThesepunishmentswereadministeredbytheCompany’sdirectorsto

controlthelargebodyofpeopleonboard.Moreover,theritualisticnatureofthese

punishmentshadtwoeffects.Notonlydiditenlargetheexemplaryfunctionofthe

punishments,whichagainservedtosocialcontrol,italsobroughtaboutthetheatricalityof

thepunishments.Thislastelementqualifiespunishmentsasinstitutionalizedamusements.

Interestingly,sailorsusedtheatricalplaystopracticejusticemutually,intheseplays

punishmentsliterallywereamusements.Tocelebratespecialoccasionsseafarerswere

rewarded,inmostcasesextraprovisionsweredistributedamongthem.Oftenthese

rewardsweregiventocelebrateadangerouspassageofthejourney,simultaneouslygiving

theseafarersanopportunitytokeeptrackoftheprogressofthevoyage,whichwasthe

sameforeverybodyonboard,regardlessoftheirrankornationality.Thesecelebratory

momentsbroughttheseafarersgreatjoyandanopportunitytoforgetthetoughworking

conditionsonboard.Toacertainextent,theseamusementswereoftenregulated,and

thereforetheywerepartoftheinstitutionalizedamusementsaswell.

55

Partoftheinstitutionalizedamusementswerealsothereligiousritualsthatprovedtobean

importantpartofeverydaylifeonboardoftheCompany’sships.Inthethirdchapterwe

haveseenthattheziekentroostersandpastorsonboardoftheshipsplayedanimportant

roleinthis,dailyperformingthereligiousritualsthatwereregulatedintheArtikelbrieven.

Varioustravellersdescribethese,andotherlessregular,ritualsinthetravelaccounts

substantiatingtheirfunctiononboard.Becausethesereligiousritualsprovidedthe

seafarerswithasenseoffamiliarity,resemblingthereligiousritualsbackathome.They

helpedseafarersthroughthedifficultiesofthevoyage,givingthemfaithandhope.

Then,wecontinuedtodiscussthemusicandpastimeactivitiesonboardofthe

Company’sships.Musiconboardwasusedinseveralways.Intheeverydayoperationofthe

ship,forinstance,itplayedanimportantroleinhelpingthesailorsworktogether,which

helpedeasingthetoughlabour.Also,itwasusedtoannouncetheguardtochange,wehave

seenthatsingingrelievedsailors,bothliterallyandinafigurativesense.Musicwasalsopart

ofthepastimeactivitiesandamusementsofboththehigherofficersandthecommon

seafarers.Playsandmusicwasperformedtoamusethehigherofficersandpassengerson

board,buttheyalsotookpartinplayingmusicthemselves,justlikethecommonseafarers,

iftheweatherallowedit.Severalotherpastimeactivitieswereenjoyedbythoseonboard

oftheCompanyships;playinggames,fishing,tellingstoriesandsmoking.Aswehaveseen

inthelastpartofthefourthchapter,thesepastimeactivitiesoccupiedtheseafarers‘free’

time.Thepastimeactivityoffishingprovidedusyetwithanotherveryimportantinsightinto

thefunctionofamusementsonboard,itshowedusthattheactivity,andespeciallythe

ritualofcatchingandslaughteringsharks,wasanoutletforseafarerstoexerttheir

aggressionorcroppedupfrustrations.

Thein-depthevaluationofvariouskindsofinstitutionalizedamusementsand

pastimeactivities,wasnecessarytoanswerthefirstpartofthemainquestionofthis

research:WhichamusementsandpastimeactivitieswereavailableonboardoftheVOC

ships,travelingtoandfromAsiabetween1650and1800,andhowdidtheycontributeto

thefunctioningoftheship?Wecategorizedvarioustypesofamusements,somemaybeless

expectedthanothers,includingmanyrituals,punishments,rewards,religionandother

pastimeactivities.Alltheseamusements,whetherinstitutionalizedornot,playedan

importantroleinthefunctioningoftheship.Comparabletothefunctionofrituals,itissave

toconcludethattheamusementshelpedimproveandprotectsocialorderonboardofthe

56

DutchEastIndiaCompany’sships.Becausetheamusementswerecarriedoutinaritualistic

manner,several‘amusements’literallykepttheseafarersinorderduringtheirworking

routine.Providingthesailorswithsomethingtodointheir‘free’time,theseamusements

alsopreventedsailorsfromcausingproblemsanddisruptingsocialorder.Theritualsand

proceedingsthatwequalifiedasinstitutionalizedamusementsdistractedtheseafarersfrom

thehardshipsoflifeonboard.Themerefactthatmostoftheseamusementswere

regulatedbytheArtikelbriefshowthattheywereimportantinkeepingthesocialorderon

boardoftheCompany’sships.Mostimportantly,wehaveseenthatalotofthese

amusementsexceededsocialboundarieslikenationalityandrank–everybodyonboard

enjoyedtheseamusementsorengagedinthem.Exceptfromtheskipper,hehadto

maintainhispositionascommander,andoftentimesorderedtheperformanceofthese

activities.TheamusementsbroughtcohesionbetweenforeignersandDutchmenandthe

boundariesbetweenthe‘commonseafarers’,higherofficersandpassengersbecameless

distinguishable.Altogether,thisshowsandemphasizesthattheshipwasasocietyofits

own–aheterotopia.Socialboundaries,valuesandstandardsdidexist,buttosomeextent

theywerelessdistinguishablecomparedtothoseonland.Ontheship,aswehaveseen,the

passengersandhigherofficersenjoyedseveralamusementstogetherwiththe‘common

seafarers’,whereasonlandtheywouldneverbeincontactwitheachother.Thisinsightof

thesocialfunctionofvarioustypesofamusementsisnewinthehistoriography.

Thisthesisalsocontributestothedeficiencyofresearchonthesubjectofculture

andamusementsonboardoftheDutchEastIndiaCompany’sships,identifiedbyBruijnand

Lucassen.Moreover,itbridgesthegapinhistoriographyonthissubjectfortheperiod

between1650and1800.Inadditiontothis,thisresearchintroducesanewqualificationof

severalkindsofamusementsandpastimeactivities.Previousscholarswritingaboutthe

amusementsonboardoftheCompany’sships,likeKetting,Bruijn,andDeHullu,donot

distinguishvariousaspectsofthepunishments,religionandotherritualsassuch.Compared

toBruijn’sbookZeegang,thisthesisoffersamoreelaborateexaminationofthepastime

activitiesandamusements,includingtheirfunction.Introducingtheconceptof

‘institutionalizedamusements’intothehistoriography,thisthesisallowsustobroadenour

perspective,andlookattheactualfunction,ofvariouskindsofamusementsonboardofthe

DutchEastIndiaCompany’sships.ComparedtoKrabbendam’sresearchonthe

institutionalizedamusementsonboardoftrans-Atlanticpassengershipsbetween1840and

57

1960,thisthesisshowsthat,alreadyinacoupleofcenturiespriortoKrabbendam’s,

amusementsonboardofshipswerelargelyinstitutionalized.Inthegeneralhistoriography

abouttheDutchEastIndiaCompany,alotofresearchhasbeendoneonitslabourforce,

andonthesubjectofcontrollingalargebodyofpeopleontheships.Comparedtothe

historiographythisthesisoffersaratheruniqueperspectiveonthissubject,showingthat

amusementsandpastimeactivitiesplayedasubstantialroleinthesocialorderonboard,

confirmingthattheshipswereheterotopias.

Themethodologicalapproachofthisthesisresultedinanall-inclusiveassessmentof

theavailable,andmulti-lingual,sourcematerialandprovedtobeveryeffective.This

exceptionalanalysisofthesubjectmatteralsoresolvedsomemisconceptionsthatwerea

resultofanerroneousinterpretationofthesourcematerial.Furthermore,usingacoherent

definitionofrituals,andthefunctionofrituals,presentedanopportunitytodemonstrate

thatvariousritualscanbecharacterizedasamusements.Incorporatingthenotyet

accessiblesourcematerialinfutureresearchwouldprovideuswiththepossibilityto

exploretheamusementsonboardoftheCompany’sshipsevenmoreextensively.

Additionalquestionsmightarise.Historiansfocusingoncross-culturalresearch

mightfocusontheculturalinfluencetheseafarershadonthelocalculturesofAsiaand

otherplacestheytouchedland.Consequently,thissamequestioncouldbeaskedviceversa.

Inacomparativeperspectiveitwouldbeveryinterestingtoexaminethecontrastand

similaritiesbetweenothertradingcompanies,forexampletheBritishEastIndiaCompany.A

comparisonmightalsocontributenewinsightsintotheamusementsonboardoftheDutch

EastIndiaCompany’sships.Furthermore,wehaveseenthatreligiononboardshowedgreat

similaritiestoreligiouspracticesonland,thisraisesthequestionwhetherthiswasalsothe

caseforotherritualsandamusements.Todeterminewhetherotherculturalaspectsofa

societywerecarriedoverontotheships,futureresearchmightfocusoncomparingthese

culturalaspectsonlandtothoseonboard.Possibly,thiscouldevenprovideuswithnew

insightsintotheamusementsonboard.Thisthesiswillhopefullyencouragesocialand

culturalhistorianstocontinueexploringthesesubjectsinthefuture.

58

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