Claiming their Rights? Indian Sailors under the Dutch East India Company

Abstract

Late April 1747, Batavia. On a plank covered with a mat made of leaves, the dead body of an Indian sailor was laid down by his fellow workers. The sailor, known by the name of Jantje, was originally from Bengal and had worked as a rower in the service of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie: VOC) on the waterfront of Batavia. Mourning his death, the Indian sailors publicly and purposely ‘displayed’ Jantje’s dead body ‘to the ploezerscasie’ – the rowers department.¹

I am thankful for the lively debate and valuable comments of the participants of the ‘Working Lives Between the Deck and the Dock’ conference and especially the main organiser, Maria Fusaro. The research for this chapter has been conducted as part of a PhD project on intercultural relations between European and Asian sailors working for the Dutch East India Company (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 2008–2013).¹ Nationaal Archief, The Hague (NA), Archief van de VOC (VOC), inventory number