Changes

Fort Zeelandia was established on Taiwan in [[1624]], and served as a powerful entrepot (intermediary trading port) for trade with both China and Japan. In [[1639]], the Dutch exported 1.85 million [[tael]]s of [[silver]] (527,250 florins) from Japan via Taiwan. One of the fort's chief individual trading partners was the smuggler/pirate/trader [[Zheng Zhilong]], who traded [[gold]], silks, and other goods to the Dutch in exchange for Japanese silver, but also competed against them. His son, [[Zheng Chenggong]] (aka Coxinga), later drove the Dutch out of Taiwan entirely, seizing Fort Zeelandia in [[1662]].<ref>Jansen, 26-27.</ref> It was only after this that Batavia came to eclipse Taiwan as the VOC's chief trading post in the region.<ref>Shimada, Ryuto. “Economic Links with Ayutthaya: Changes in Networks between Japan, China, and Siam in the Early Modern Period.” ''Itinerario'' 37, no. 03 (December 2013): 94.</ref>

Fort Zeelandia was established on Taiwan in [[1624]], and served as a powerful entrepot (intermediary trading port) for trade with both China and Japan. In [[1639]], the Dutch exported 1.85 million [[tael]]s of [[silver]] (527,250 florins) from Japan via Taiwan. One of the fort's chief individual trading partners was the smuggler/pirate/trader [[Zheng Zhilong]], who traded [[gold]], silks, and other goods to the Dutch in exchange for Japanese silver, but also competed against them. His son, [[Zheng Chenggong]] (aka Coxinga), later drove the Dutch out of Taiwan entirely, seizing Fort Zeelandia in [[1662]].<ref>Jansen, 26-27.</ref> It was only after this that Batavia came to eclipse Taiwan as the VOC's chief trading post in the region.<ref>Shimada, Ryuto. “Economic Links with Ayutthaya: Changes in Networks between Japan, China, and Siam in the Early Modern Period.” ''Itinerario'' 37, no. 03 (December 2013): 94.</ref>

Under the leadership of [[Jan Pieterzoon Coen]], who has been quoted as saying that trade cannot be conducted without war, nor war without trade, the VOC took Jakarta in [[1619]], burning down much of the town, driving out the local population, and building a fortress from which it would base its operations in Southeast Asia. Two years later, they took the Banda Islands, known for their nutmeg, similarly driving out, enslaving, and/or murdering the local inhabitants. After securing a monopoly on nutmeg, the VOC pushed on to seize control of the trade in cloves, and destroyed every last cloves tree on a number of islands, leaving only a few islands as the only sources of cloves in the region, thus driving prices up dramatically, to the benefit of the Company, which controlled the islands. Soon afterwards, they turned their attentions to pepper, taking control of the Javanese port of Bantam (Banten), the chief pepper-exporting port in the region. By 1670, the Company had taken the Maluku Islands as well, and dominated the spice trade in the Dutch East Indies. Though focusing on monopolizing the spice trade, and on extracting as much volume of spices as possible from these islands, the Dutch found they also needed to engage in trade in a variety of other goods, including textiles, tea, and coffee, in order to have goods to trade in China other than precious metals, since the Chinese were generally disinterested in European manufactures.<ref name=tignor/>

Under the leadership of [[Jan Pieterzoon Coen]], who has been quoted as saying that trade cannot be conducted without war, nor war without trade, the VOC took Jakarta in [[1619]], burning down much of the town, driving out the local population, and building a fortress from which it would base its operations in Southeast Asia. Two years later, they took the Banda Islands, known for their nutmeg, similarly driving out, enslaving, and/or murdering the local inhabitants. After securing a monopoly on nutmeg, the VOC pushed on to seize control of the trade in cloves, and destroyed every last cloves tree on a number of islands, leaving only a few islands as the only sources of cloves in the region, thus driving prices up dramatically, to the benefit of the Company, which controlled the islands. Soon afterwards, they turned their attentions to pepper, taking control of the Javanese port of Bantam (Banten), the chief pepper-exporting port in the region. By 1670, the Company had taken the Maluku Islands as well, and dominated the spice trade in the Dutch East Indies. Though focusing on monopolizing the spice trade, and on extracting as much volume of spices as possible from these islands, the Dutch found they also needed to engage in trade in a variety of other goods, including textiles, tea, and coffee, in order to have goods to trade in China other than precious metals, since the Chinese were generally disinterested in European manufactures.<ref name=tignor/> The Company went from having about fifty ships active on its trading routes circa 1615, to about 150 by the end of the 17th century.<ref name=jkthistory>Plaques at Jakarta History Museum.</ref>

Despite its dominance of the spice trade, however, the VOC still had to contend with Chinese, English, and other merchants as competitors. The Dutch and English East India Companies in particular often clashed as they competed for control of the spice trade, but sometimes reached agreements; in 1667, in the Treaty of Breda, the English traded the tiny nutmeg-rich island of Run to the Dutch, in exchange for an island on the other side of the world, Manhattan.<ref>Giles Milton, ''Nathaniel's Nutmeg'', Macmillan (1999), 363.</ref> Tensions between the VOC and the English East India Company (EIC) sometimes escalated into actual violence, however. One of the more major incidents was the [[Amboyna massacre]], which took place in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in [[1623]]. Agents of the Dutch East India Company executed a number of men in the service of the EIC, accusing them of being involved in corporate espionage. Though the English maintained no presence in Japan from 1623 until the 1850s, tensions, and violence, between the VOC and EIC continued. In [[1808]], in the so-called [[Phaeton Incident]], several British ships entered Nagasaki harbor looking for Dutch ships to harass; none were in port at the time.

Despite its dominance of the spice trade, however, the VOC still had to contend with Chinese, English, and other merchants as competitors. The Dutch and English East India Companies in particular often clashed as they competed for control of the spice trade, but sometimes reached agreements; in 1667, in the Treaty of Breda, the English traded the tiny nutmeg-rich island of Run to the Dutch, in exchange for an island on the other side of the world, Manhattan.<ref>Giles Milton, ''Nathaniel's Nutmeg'', Macmillan (1999), 363.</ref> Tensions between the VOC and the English East India Company (EIC) sometimes escalated into actual violence, however. One of the more major incidents was the [[Amboyna massacre]], which took place in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in [[1623]]. Agents of the Dutch East India Company executed a number of men in the service of the EIC, accusing them of being involved in corporate espionage. Though the English maintained no presence in Japan from 1623 until the 1850s, tensions, and violence, between the VOC and EIC continued. In [[1808]], in the so-called [[Phaeton Incident]], several British ships entered Nagasaki harbor looking for Dutch ships to harass; none were in port at the time.

A VOC base in [[Ayutthaya]] (Siam) was of particular significance as well. Until 1715, ships traveling from Batavia to Nagasaki more often than not stopped in Ayutthaya to purchase Siamese goods to then sell in Japan. These included deer skins, ray skins, and aromatic woods, among others, and were typically purchased either with Japanese silver, or textiles obtained in India. In [[1715]], the ''[[Shotoku shinrei|Shôtoku shinrei]]'' ("New Edicts of the Shôtoku Era") were put into place by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], altering the terms of trade at Nagasaki, and impelling VOC ships to now travel directly between Batavia and Nagasaki, without stopping over to pick up Siamese cargoes.<ref>Shimada, 93-94.</ref> Yet, VOC ships based in Ayutthaya continued to ply the waters, and after 1715 in fact came to hold a near monopoly on the Ayutthaya-Nagasaki route, pushing the Chinese aside for a time.<ref>Shimada, 102.</ref>

A VOC base in [[Ayutthaya]] (Siam) was of particular significance as well. Until 1715, ships traveling from Batavia to Nagasaki more often than not stopped in Ayutthaya to purchase Siamese goods to then sell in Japan. These included deer skins, ray skins, and aromatic woods, among others, and were typically purchased either with Japanese silver, or textiles obtained in India. In [[1715]], the ''[[Shotoku shinrei|Shôtoku shinrei]]'' ("New Edicts of the Shôtoku Era") were put into place by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], altering the terms of trade at Nagasaki, and impelling VOC ships to now travel directly between Batavia and Nagasaki, without stopping over to pick up Siamese cargoes.<ref>Shimada, 93-94.</ref> Yet, VOC ships based in Ayutthaya continued to ply the waters, and after 1715 in fact came to hold a near monopoly on the Ayutthaya-Nagasaki route, pushing the Chinese aside for a time.<ref>Shimada, 102.</ref>

The Dutch factory was moved to Dejima, a small manmade island in Nagasaki Harbor, in [[1641]]. The Dutch presence in Nagasaki was of great importance for Tokugawa Japan not only economically (in terms of the importation of goods), but also in terms of the inflow of information. ''[[Rangaku]]'', or "Dutch studies", was a major development in the Edo period, with a number of scholars eagerly studying Dutch books and other materials (and, on very rare occasions, meeting with Dutchmen personally) and introducing to Japan new technologies, scientific information (especially in the fields of medicine and botany), world maps, and painting techniques. It was through the Dutch that Japan obtained telescopes and microscopes, among other technologies, and it was through the Dutch that Japan was kept up to date on world events.  

The Dutch factory was moved to Dejima, a small manmade island in Nagasaki Harbor, in [[1641]]. The Dutch presence in Nagasaki was of great importance for Tokugawa Japan not only economically (in terms of the importation of goods), but also in terms of the inflow of information. ''[[Rangaku]]'', or "Dutch studies", was a major development in the Edo period, with a number of scholars eagerly studying Dutch books and other materials (and, on very rare occasions, meeting with Dutchmen personally) and introducing to Japan new technologies, scientific information (especially in the fields of medicine and botany), world maps, and painting techniques. It was through the Dutch that Japan obtained telescopes and microscopes, among other technologies, and it was through the Dutch that Japan was kept up to date on world events.