Chapter 27 – The Despot of Oosthaven (1590-1610)
In the latter half of the 16th Century, the Chinese monopoly became a major source of revenue for the Dutch government, with overall trade revenue approaching 40% of the government’s income. Settlements in the Canarias Islands, the Cape of Good Hope and the Island of Java provided way stations for merchant ships traveling from Europe to China. However, unlike the Dutch colonies in the New World, there was little effort to expand and develop Dutch holdings in Africa and Asia.
That all changed, with the appointment of Daniel van Bronkhorst as Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company in 1590. A young and ambitious member of the States-General, he was appointed to the position after several brutal disagreements with the leadership of the governing Zuidelijk bloc. It was hoped that sending him to a “dead-end” position in the East Indies would end his political meddling.
At first glance, it seemed that Bronkhorst’s enemies were right. The lone Company outpost in the Indies was the port of Oosthaven on the western tip of Java, inhabited by little more than a thousand colonists. A few hundred additional settlers lived on the island’s northern shore, primarily at the township of Heiligenberg. The sole purpose of the colony was to provide a stopping point for merchants on the way to Malacca and Nanking. A garrison of 6,000 men protected the port from local raiders, and a flotilla of six aging carracks and four Eastern-style junks patrolled the nearby waterways for pirate traffic.
Fortress at Oosthaven, 1600
Bronkhorst saw an opportunity to make the East India Company a dominant force in Asia, capable of extending the Netherlands’ reach to all corners of the continent. With the arrival of Portuguese and Castillian ships at Goa in 1591, he knew that the Dutch monopoly on East Asian trade couldn’t last, and drastic measures must be employed to secure a Dutch hegemony over the region. Soon after his arrival at Oosthaven he began to marshal his limited resources for an audacious expansion.
His first act as governor was to establish relations with the neighboring Dutch suzerainty of Majapahit. The Kingdom of Majapahit was the remnant of a Hindu empire that ruled over the entire Sunda island chain, but centuries of Islamic expansion had reduced it to the islands of Java and Bali. Shortly after the Dutch arrived in the East Indies, the Majapahit Raja was forced to open his ports to Dutch ships and pay a yearly tribute to the East India Company. Previous Company governors had generally ignored the kingdom so long as the yearly dues were paid, however Bronkhorst hoped to use the natives as an auxiliary army in his planned conflicts. Bronkhorst played on the Majapahitan hostility towards the Islamic “invaders” on Sumatra and Borneo to work out an agreement of support from the Raja. The Company would provide European weapons and training to the kingdom’s armies, as well as sell them some retired vessels, in exchange for military assistance in subduing the Sunda Islands.
Bronkhorst’s first goal was to secure additional Dutch territory in the Indian Ocean, as a stepping stone towards entering the Indian and Middle Eastern markets. He decided upon the rich island of Ceylon, roughly halfway between the African Cape and Java. Deciding on a direct approach, Bronkhorst landed on the island with 4,000 men, intent on subjugating it by force. Over the course of a year he fought a brutal campaign with the larger native army, until in 1593 he was able to capture the capital of Jaffna and force the island’s rulers to sign a tribute agreement.
Capturing the island brought Bronkhorst into direct conflict with the major power of the region, the Orissan Empire. Stretching across northern India, Sumatra and Borneo, the Orissans had dominated Southeast Asia for almost a century. The Orissan Emperor saw Company meddling on the Indian subcontinent as a challenge to their authority, and ordered attacks on the Dutch Indies. Bronkhorst responded by launching an invasion of Borneo with his Majapahit forces. He also authorized privateers to attack any and all Indian shipping, regardless of whether they were Orissan or not, in order to tighten Company control of the Malaccan market. After a short conflict, he was able to secure Kalimantan on the southern side of Borneo, which he placed under Majapahitan supervision.
With his string of military victories and militant trade policy, Bronkhorst quickly became one of the wealthiest men in the Netherlands, ruling over a personal empire. He gained the nickname “the Despot of Oosthaven,” due to his direct and merciless methods. While overseas his political allies at home continued to campaign for him in the States-General, until he was elected as Stadtholder in 1600. His administration continued its aggressive focus on Asian expansion, particularly in his implementation of new naval policies. In 1601 he organized a naval convoy system to protect the overseas trade routes from America and Asia. To supply the increased demand for ships that the system required, he established major shipyards in Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Campeche. He also sent diplomats to the Empire of Japan, securing a new Dutch monopoly in Japanese trade.
He also commissioned new exploration of the Pacific in order to find new trading opportunities. In late 1601 Jan Tasman set out from Guatemala to find a route to the East Indies across the Pacific. In the course of his voyage he discovered the Tasman Islands, which the natives called Hawai’i, as well as New Zeeland and the eastern coast of Australia. With his arrival in Oosthaven two years later, he became the first European to successfully cross the Pacific, and a new trade route was established between Nieuw Brabant and the East Indies.
Dutch expansion continued under Stadtholder Bronkhorst, with the conquest of Brunei in 1603. The Islamic sultanate declared independence from Orissa during the aftermath of the Dutch invasion of Borneo. Despite Bronkhorst’s previous promise to the Majapahitans to help them clear the Sundas of Islam, he agreed to accept suzerainty for Brunei. He played the Hindu and Muslim rivals against each other, favoring them with gifts while maintaining a political balance. The two kingdoms became useful allies in combating local pirates and frequent native uprisings on Borneo and Sumatra.
Funeral of Stadtholder Daniel van Bronkhorst
In 1604 Bronkhorst was elected to a second term as Stadtholder, but only served 11 months before dying of an unexpected heart attack. Despite his death, his East Asian policies continued for several more years, with the subjugation of Champas in 1608 and the seizure of Singkawang in 1609. In 1607 the inhabitants of Celebes were forcibly captured and sold as slaves to Majapahit, opening new land for Dutch plantations on the island. By 1610 the Dutch East India Company had established a new empire in Southeast Asia.
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