The information system and network of the VOC: the Asian side
In the archive of the Heeren XVII and Kamer (Chamber of) Amsterdam series
of "overgekomen brieven en papieren" can be found.19 This series consist of all
documents sent from the trading posts of the Company in Asia to the Heeren
XVII and Kamer Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From these series it is
possible to distill the document flow of the Company as part of their information
network. On map 1, this has schematically been done for the intra-Asiatic and
intercontinental document flow of the Company during the years 1737-1750.20
The series found in the archive of the Heeren XVII and Kamer Amsterdam are
split into documents the Asian outposts sent directly to the Republic and in the
"Batavia's ingekomen brievenboek" (Batavia's collection of incoming letters).
This division also appears on map 1. The first series are displayed in grey, the
second in black.
All trading posts in Asia - like Gamron - were required to send a complete copy
of their administration to Batavia. For example, the incoming and outgoing
correspondence, the resoluties (decisions) of the board, the dagregisters (daily
reports), and all financial documents. In Batavia, all documents had to be
processed and copied several times. The work was divided throughout the whole
organization. At the top of the pyramid, every member of the Hoge Regering
(which consisted of seven persons, including the governor-general) was held
responsible for the correspondence with a number of outposts. This is also
COLONIAL LEGACY IN SOUTH EAST ASIA -
THE DUTCH ARCHIVES
Dutch Republic
Persia
Satavij
Map 1. Document flow as part of the information network of the VOC, 1737-1750.
If no arrows are displayed, the document flow goes both ways. B Bantam, C Cheribon,
Jambi, P Palembang, SW Sumatra's West Coast (Padang and Sillida).
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