VOC in Burma: general articles, archives, bibliographies etc.

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Description: Archive report: "The archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) are preserved largely at the National Archives at The Hague (previously the Algemeen Rijksarchief/General State Archives). Though the information contained within this vast collection of records and accounts forms an invaluable source for the reconstruction of the (economic) history of seventeenth century Burma, they have never before been examined. This is indeed surprising since practically everything written between 1634 and 1680 by usually well informed VOC employees in Burma is still extant, making this a major primary source for just such a purpose. The VOC archives have been categorized with each individual volume simply designated VOC and numbered consecutively. The most important sets relating to Burma are given below in alphabetical order followed by the respective VOC numbers where applicable..."
Creator/author: Wil O. Dijk
Source/publisher: SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No., 1, Spring 2003
2003-03-20
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: This article is intended to show that the archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) at the General State Archives (ARA), The Hague, The Netherlands, are a rich source of information on seventeenth century Burma. Because this unearthed data is mostly about commerce, this paper deals with the VOC?ƒ ??s trade with Burma. What has come to light is that the Dutch factories in Burma were an important and integral part of the VOC?s network of trade, seeing that the profits helped to fund the purchase of Indian textiles that were the backbone of much of the Dutch inter-Asian trade. The Dutch, moreover, sold Burmese export products profitably from Persia to Japan and Holland. In the end, the VOC?s establishment in Burma became the victim of a general change in Dutch fortunes when forces in both Europe and the Far East began working against the Dutch East India Company.
Creator/author: Wil O. Dijk
Source/publisher: Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 6 (2001)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The VOC had three factories in seventeenth century Burma: the main office in Syriam and subsidiaries in Ava and Pegu City. The present research adds a new dimension to VOC as well as Burma studies seeing that till now, even Dutch historians were quite unaware of the fact that the VOC traded successfully with Burma for almost half a century. The vast archives of the Dutch East Asia Company (VOC) at the ARA (Algemeen Rijksarchief / General State Archives) at The Hague have yielded a veritable treasure trove of information on Dutch relations with seventeenth century Burma. This newly unearthed material enables us to finally determine what the VOC?s Burma trade entailed and how it fitted into the grand design of the Company?s inter-Asian commerce, where it was not as marginal as some historians would have it. This complete set of invaluable contemporary materials also allows us a unique glimpse of life in seventeenth century Burma. There are no lacunae at all in the collection of VOC documents covering the Burma years, consequently, it has been possible to compile complete series of indispensable statistics, such as shipping, import and export, profit and loss, wages and prices (standard of living), as well as details on all the Indian textiles the Dutch imported into Burma, together with their purchasing and selling prices and the margins of profit..."
Creator/author: Wil O. Dijk
2002-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-03-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 17.38 KB
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