Good morning. I would like to thank Helen and the other organisers for having invited me to speak today in beautiful, historic Oxford. My name is Martine Gosselink and I am head of the History Department at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
1 A Rijksmuseum Exhibition
Comparing the Competitors: The Portuguese and the Dutch 1500-1700
Why, where and how did the Dutch East India Company (VOC) take over the position of the Portuguese, and how different were their attitudes towards religion, diplomacy and trade-influenced merchandise and luxury goods.
The Rijksmuseum is organising an exhibition highlighting two relatively small European countries, Portugal and the Netherlands, which successively administered vast colonial empires. It is scheduled to take place in 2015 or 2016, in any event after the opening of the renovated Rijksmuseum in 2013.
What will the exhibition be about? In the beginning of the 17th century, Portugal and the Netherlands were in direct competition in large parts of the world. In the subsequent decades the Netherlands assumed the position that Portugal had held in the 16th century. The two countries clashed in Africa, Asia and South America. The exhibition examines not only this rivalry, but also, and primarily, the similarities and differences between these colonial superpowers. How did they govern their overseas territories; how did they interact with the indigenous populations and cultures; and how did the two countries assimilate their colonial experiences into their material and intellectual culture? How did life change for the Moluccans, or the Ceylonese or Brazilians after the Dutch took over these Portuguese regions? And finally: did this change of command have an impact on the market? In other words, did the Portuguese commission and buy different products than the Dutch?
Comparable exhibitions have been held in the past years, for example Encounters: exhibiting the material culture of trade and exchange, about which Anna Jackson has spoken. Encompassing the globe, a show focussing solely on Portugal curated by Jay Levenson, with whom we will work closely, was held at the Smithsonian. And, in 2002 the Rijksmuseum organised Ontmoeting met Azië (or Encounter with Asia) about the Dutch experience in Asia from 1600 to the end of the 20th century. Why then, you might wonder, devote yet another large exhibition to a colonial subject just a few years from now? This has largely to do with the fact that the shared history of the Netherlands and Portugal has never been thoroughly investigated. One country created its empire still entirely in keeping with the medieval trading tradition, with the king as the absolute ruler. Its successor, in contrast, embarked on this grand adventure with an entirely new economic system based on shares. Where Portugal founded vast settlements, The Netherlands limited itself to small trading communities. A comparative study of the two colonisers is equally interesting in terms of their religious approach and interaction with the indigenous populations.
Now, moving on to the question I wish to put to you today: what is the best way of organising this show? Geographically, thematically, or a combination of the two? Before exploring these possibilities it may be useful to first expand briefly on the history in question.
2 Map of the world, detail
Portugal ‘discovered’ the world as early as the 15th century: it reached the Azores in the 1420s, established a trading post in Mauritania in 1448, and Bartholomeus Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1478.
3 Vasco da Gama
About ten years later Vasco da Gama landed in Calcutta and ten years after that Goa fell into the hands of Portugal. Angola, the Cape Verde Islands and Tangier followed suit. America was perceived as a highly desirable territory not only by Portugal, but also by Spain. Both countries staked a claim to it and the Pope had to intervene. With the Treaty of Tordesillas (1484) an agreement was reached that Portugal would have a monopoly in Africa, Asia and Brazil, while Spain would keep what was left of South America and the Philippines. I call this the 5 M’s. Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Moluccas and Macau became the following regions on the Portuguese map.
With these building blocks, Portugal rapidly created an empire in the 16th century. In some countries one can speak of an administrative and military authority, such as in Ceylon, Macau and Brazil, while in others Portugal was the only European trading partner, for instance in Japan. Portuguese immigrants followed in the wake of the commanders and merchants. Factories, or trading posts, forts, hospitals, schools and churches were erected on distant shores, and the overseas enclaves rapidly grew into areas where Portuguese customs and conventions prevailed.
4 Lisbon
Products and spices from all four corners of the world found their way to Europe’s smallest country. Merchants from neighbouring nations flocked to the harbour of Lisbon in search of pepper and porcelain. It goes without saying that the Portuguese wealth stimulated the rapid development of the arts, which were frequently inspired by materials and shapes from farflung places. However, this period of blossoming came to an end. Neighbouring Spain annexed Portugal in 1580, and a double monarchy governed from Madrid remained in force until 1640. To be sure, Portugal did retain some independence, also with respect to its territories.
Portugal now belonged to the Spanish king Philip II, who thus had dominion over an immense empire. However, Spain and Portugal were no longer the only world players. Other countries - England, France as well as the Netherlands which was at war with Spain - entered upon the stage.
As a consequence of the war with Spain, Dutch ships were increasingly banned from the Portuguese harbours, much to the regret of the Portuguese traders, who witnessed the loss of their European contacts in the north with sorrow. The flow of goods from the East dwindled, creating a shortage on the European market. For the Dutch merchants it made much more sense to find their own route to Asia and America. Amsterdam had all the right ingredients for this, money, waterways and cartographic knowledge.
5 Bird’s eye view of Amsterdam, Jan Christiaensz. Micker, 1652-1660
The first Dutch ships arrived on Africa’s Gold Coast already in 1592. The first Dutch company, ‘de Compagnie van Verre’, travelled to the East in 1595. The VOC, or Dutch East India Company, was founded seven years later and the Netherlands also sent its first expeditions northwards in hope of finding a new sea route to Asia. Ships from the Dutch province of Zeeland sailed to the Venezuelan saltpans, and in 1609, commissioned by the VOC, Henry Hudson discovered the river that leads from Manhattan to the American inlands. In short, the young Republic managed to spread its wings to all points of the compass in less than 15 years.
The ambitions of the Dutch were far-reaching. They scuppered or plundered Portuguese ships carrying Kraak porcelain (or Chinese export porcelain) and Spanish silver fleets, and surprised and annexed their forts along the African, Asian and South American coasts from 1600 to around 1660.
Having ever so briefly outlined the scope, let us look at the options for the exhibition.
6 Map of the Portuguese Empire
We begin with a geographical layout. Were we to sketch the situation of the Portuguese before the arrival of the Dutch on a map, it would look something like this: the dark blue coastal areas represent the Portuguese territories, and the areas shaded in light blue its spheres of influence.
Indicated here are those territories actually under Portuguese rule, thus not the regions where they were only permitted to conduct trade, as in Japan.
7 Map of the Dutch Empire
Here is a map of the Dutch overseas territories.
8 Shared regions
Placing one map on top of the other, we can see an overlap with:
Pernambuco (Northeastern Brazil)
The Gold Coast (Ghana)
Angola
Ceylon
Malabar Coast
Coromandel Coast
Moluccas
Malacca
Japan
There are also regions that were solely Portuguese or Dutch. For instance, Macao, Diu, Damman and Goa remained Portuguese, while large parts of Indonesia, but also Suriname, New Amsterdam or New York, and the Cape of Good Hope, were long under the sway of the Dutch trading company.
9 Geographical approach
Conceivably, a geographically organised exhibition could juxtapose all or several of the overlapping areas. Japan, Ceylon and Pernambuco lend themselves well to such a comparison not only because of the wealth of stories and information, but especially the availability of objects from both the Portuguese and the Dutch colonial eras.
Each area can then be disclosed on the basis of various subjects. Taking Ceylon, for instance, we can begin with the changes in the infrastructure of the city of Colombo after the Dutch take-over.
10 Portuguese Colombo, 1656
The Portuguese turned Colombo into a Portuguese city, founding monasteries and schools and building churches there. This map shows the density of the monasteries and churches in the city. For instance, here are four religious institutions alone. (point).
11 Dutch Colombo, 1659
Not long after the Dutch captured Colombo in 1656 the consequences of this shift in power became visible throughout the city. The Dutch governors decided to reduce the fortified walls built by the Portuguese. The area to be defended thus became more manageable and required fewer troops. Moreover, the many monasteries and churches became redundant; it was far more practical to turn them into storage areas or depots. Only one church was needed, namely the Protestant one, located in the fortified section of town.
12 Three sculptures
With respect to religion, naturally we are dealing with the Portuguese imperative of spreading the Catholic faith. This should not be underestimated. Wherever annexation took place, Catholicism was introduced. Large monastic orders, especially the Franciscans and the Jesuits, were directed to convert the inhabitants of the newly acquired territories. The dissemination of Catholicism resulted in the worldwide production of images of the Virgin Mary and of Christ. Portuguese church leaders were only too glad to resort to local artists when ordering decorations and statues for church buildings and monasteries, as well as for private use by the Portuguese elite. Here are three examples from Ceylon.
13 The Adoration of the Christ Child, ivory plaque, 2nd half 16th century
At first sight the scene in this ivory plaque looks fully European, but upon closer inspection it turns out to be a reworking of the well-known European tableaux. Curiously, the three angels at the lower right are dressed in bombachas, the baggy trousers worn by the Portuguese in Asia.
14 Madonna, ivory statuette, 17th century
This ivory Madonna is also a hybrid. In 1640, when Portugual regained its independence from Spain, King John V decided to make the Holy Virgin Mary the symbol of his kingdom, which explains the crown on her head. In particular the narrow face, almond-shaped eyes and loose tresses betray her Sinhalese iconography.
15 Christ, rock crystal figure, c. 1600
These kinds of Ceylonese figures of Christ carved from rock crystal were produced for the Portuguese or European markets, rather than for local use. The Porguese elite used them for private devotion. They are inspired by the Flemish figurines that were disseminated throughout the Portuguese empire.
These kinds of deluxe sculptures would not have been encountered during the time of the Protestant Dutch regime. The Dutch, though, also did their utmost to ‘sell’ their religion.
16 Philippus Baldaeus
For example, as of 1655 the Dutch minister, Philippus Baldaeus, preached in Batavia and Galle on Ceylon, both in Dutch and in Portuguese. He also founded churches and Latin schools in 30 villages around Jaffna in the north of Ceylon, where he spent the longest period of uninterrupted time.
17 Interior of the Dutch reformed Church, Jaffnapatnam, Ceylon
Anyone familiar with Protestantism knows of its aversion to church treasures and devotional objects. Yet there are other relics from the Dutch period, such as Bibles in Tamil and Sinhalese, that spread Protestantism among the people. An attempt was made to create a broad base of Ceylonese civil servants whom the VOC could employ rather than transporting expensive civil servants all the way from the Netherlands. Given that the VOC owned the entire island, with the exception of the Kingdom of Kandy, this kind of large-scale thinking was essential. However, the Ceylonese civil servants did have to have a Dutch mindset, which explains the Protestant missionary zeal.
We have just looked briefly at Ceylon with respect to town planning and religion. Other layers could also be analysed.
18 Thematic approach
Another option is to organise the exhibition along thematic lines. Several obvious themes have already been mentioned: religion, trade, governance, war, etc.
The following questions can serve as a guideline for the theme of trade: Did Portugal and the VOC have the same trading interests? Which products were important in what period? What trade agreements were made? How important was Portuguese as a lingua franca? Did the Netherlands adopt the Portuguese logistics? Interesting in this regard are the gold and slave trade in Elmina in present-day Ghana, the spices from the Moluccan Islands, and the porcelain from China.
Yet another theme could be war with an emphasis on the period 1600-1640, encompassing the confiscation of territories, sea battles, and Portugal’s reconquest of the seized territories.
19 Sea battle between the Dutch and the Portuguese fleets off the coast of Goa in 1638, Johannes Vingboons, c. 1665
There are countless drawings, prints and paintings portraying the epic clashes between Portuguese and Dutch ships. These include scenes of the Battle of Malacca of 1607, the conquest of Sao Paolo de Luanda in Angola in 1641, the capture of Colombo in 1656, the attack on Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, or the blockade of Goa of 1638, shown here.
20 The Dutch attacking Elmina, Hans Propheet, 1629
Here you see the attack on Fort Elmina in 1625. Battalions of VOC soldiers approach the Portuguese troops, consisting of Ghanese men armed with spears and shields. The drawings and sketches made on the spot were sometimes worked out back home in paintings celebrating the Dutch supremacy over the Portuguese, or vice versa. These renderings of battles at sea and on land could also function in the exhibition as hinges highlighting the transitional period from Portuguese to Dutch domination.
A third theme could be the social contact with the indigenous people. We could explore the origin of Eurasians or ‘mestizos’ through interracial marriages, racially mixed town districts, the influence of customs and traditions, and other kinds of ties with the local population.
21 Pieter Cnoll, senior merchant of Batavia, his wife Cornelia and their daughters, Jacob Jansz. Coeman, 1665
Here we see Pieter Cnoll, a senior merchant, in the Castle of Batavia in the company of his half-Japanese wife, Cornelia. She was born to a VOC merchant and a Japanese courtesan in Japan in 1629. When Cornelia’s father died, she was taken from her mother and placed in an orphanage in Batavia. She married Cnoll in 1652. They had two daughters, Catherina and Hester, also portrayed here, whose facial features betray their Japanese ancestry.
22 The Castle of Batavia, Andries Beeckman, c. 1663
This painting, too, presents Batavia as a place of disparate rhythms and cultures. We see Chinese, Mardijkers (so named after their ancestors, freed slaves), Javanese, Europeans, Moluccans and a mixed-race couple. When dealing with a painting like this one, it is worth questioning just how realistic it is. Perhaps it is more of a topos, in which the painter, by means of exaggeration, wanted to emphasise Batavia as a melting pot?
23 Portuguese Goa, Jan Huygen van Linschoten, 1596
Comparing the Dutch position on racially mixed marriages to that of the Portuguese would surely yield fascinating insights.
How difficult was it for Dutchmen to marry local women? Did mixed communities emerge and how were they treated? The Portuguese were less troubled by interracial marriages, and mixed communities comprising so-called ‘mestizos’ sprang up everywhere. At the same time, Portuguese women could come over from their homeland more easily, whereby genuine Portuguese villages and towns arose with all kinds of social provisions.
So much for my examples of approaches! In conclusion, an exhibition combining several points of departure could also be conceived. In that case we would compare only two regions and zoom in on several themes. However, it should not become overly complicated. The aim is to present the overseas history of two nations, spanning a long period of time and covering an immense area, in the most appealing way possible. The basic premise would be equally historical and art historical, with objects serving as the source.