In the 17th century, the VOC grew to become the first multinational trading enterprise, prompting the rise of the stock market and modern capitalism. ![]() Oak ( Quercus sp.) was the preferred material for shipbuilding in northern and western Europe, and maritime nations struggled to ensure sufficient supplies to meet their needs and sustain their ever-growing mercantile fleets and networks. Our research illustrates the compatibility of dendrochronological studies with musealisation of shipwreck assemblages, and the results demonstrate that the VOC successfully coped with timber shortages in the early 17th century through diversification of timber sources (mainly Baltic region, Lübeck hinterland in northern Germany, and Lower Saxony in northwest Germany), allocation of sourcing regions to specific timber products (hull planks from the Baltic and Lübeck, framing elements from Lower Saxony), and skillful woodworking craftmanship (sapwood was removed from all timber elements). These strategies, combined with an innovative hull design and the use of wind-powered sawmills, allowed the Dutch to produce unprecedented numbers of ocean-going ships for long-distance voyaging and interregional trade in Asia, proving key to their success in 17 th-century world trade. The expansion of Dutch seafaring in the Early Modern Period is documented extensively in historical archives, especially regarding the Dutch East India Company ( Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, hereafter VOC). Since its foundation in 1602 CE, the VOC pioneered the model for a joint-stock company with a permanent capital base hence, it is often considered the world’s first globalised enterprise at the dawn of modern capitalism. ĭuring the 17th century, the VOC led the European trade with and within Asia, operating a fleet of large ocean-going vessels that were built and fitted in VOC shipyards in the Dutch Republic. Shipbuilding activity thrived despite the lack of native woodlands within the Republic’s confinements and hinterland. ![]() Since the late Middle Ages, trade networks supplied imported wood from different sources, and, by the early 17 th century, wood had become one of the five main import products in the Dutch Republic, together with grain, salt, herring and textiles. VOC archives in the Netherlands and abroad retain detailed accounts of the Company’s transactions and activities for the period 1602–1795 CE and represent such an exceptional historical register that they were included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2003. Still, VOC archives from the early 17th century pertaining to timber procurement, provenance, and imports are practically non-existent and its early shipbuilding charters are difficult to translate and interpret, leaving unsolved questions that cannot be answered through the study of archival records alone. Fortunately, material evidence from those flourishing times can be found on VOC shipwrecks around the world. ![]() Remains of Dutch ships preserved under water represent unique archaeological datasets for the evolution of shipbuilding and global seafaring in the Early Modern Period. ![]() Dendrochronological analysis of shipwreck timbers provides direct evidence of ancient craftmanship and woodworking techniques, timber procurement areas, and trade connections in specific historical periods, bridging the gap between the historical and archaeological records.īatavia: Epitome of early 17th-century shipbuildingīatavia ( Fig 1A) is the most emblematic VOC shipwreck found so far.
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