Suratte
Encyclopedia
Suratte or Soeratte was a famous trading city on the north coast of what is now India, in the modern state of Gujarat, lying on the river Tapti. The city, now known as Surat
, became a directorate of the Dutch East India Company
in 1616. The British had established a factory in the Suratte in 1609 or 1612, after delivering a blow to the Portuguese. It is part of what is today known as Dutch India
.
established a Dutch trading post in Suratte in 1616, after previous efforts had failed in the years before. The Dutch East India Company
was compelled to form this post after the sultan of Aceh
no logner allowed them to buy cheap cotton on the local market.
By 1759, the Dutch East India Company's trade had fallen substantially. Trade had largely moved to British Bombay, with Suratte playing only a subordinate role. Due to the Kew Letters
Dutch Suratte was relinquished to the British in 1795.
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
, became a directorate of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
in 1616. The British had established a factory in the Suratte in 1609 or 1612, after delivering a blow to the Portuguese. It is part of what is today known as Dutch India
Dutch India
Dutch India is a term used to refer to the settlements and trading posts of the Dutch East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. It is only used as a geographical definition, as there has never been a political authority ruling all Dutch India...
.
History
Pieter van den BroeckePieter van den Broecke
Pieter van den Broecke was a Dutch cloth merchant in the service of the Dutch East India Company , and one of the first Dutchmen to taste coffee. He also went to Angola three times...
established a Dutch trading post in Suratte in 1616, after previous efforts had failed in the years before. The Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
was compelled to form this post after the sultan of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
no logner allowed them to buy cheap cotton on the local market.
By 1759, the Dutch East India Company's trade had fallen substantially. Trade had largely moved to British Bombay, with Suratte playing only a subordinate role. Due to the Kew Letters
Kew Letters
The Kew Letters were a number of letters, written by stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange between 30 January and 8 February 1795 from the "Dutch House" at Kew Palace, where he temporarily stayed after his flight to England on 18 January 1795...
Dutch Suratte was relinquished to the British in 1795.
Trading posts
| Settlement | Type | Established | Disestablished | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suratte Surat Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper... |
Factory | 1616 | 1795 | Founded by Pieter van den Broecke in 1616. After the British took the city of Suratte from the Mughal Empire in 1759, the trading post's role diminished. Eventually relinquished to the British in the Kew Letters Kew Letters The Kew Letters were a number of letters, written by stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange between 30 January and 8 February 1795 from the "Dutch House" at Kew Palace, where he temporarily stayed after his flight to England on 18 January 1795... . |
| Ahmadabad Ahmadabad Ahmadabad may refer to:Afghanistan* Ahmad Abad, Afghanistan, a place in AfghanistanAzerbaijan*Əhmədabad, Goranboy, Azerbaijan*Əhmədabad, Sabirabad, Azerbaijan*Əhmədabad, Tovuz, AzerbaijanIndia* Ahmedabad , a major city in India... |
Factory | 1617 | 1744 | Important trading port. The Dutch East India Company office was founded in 1617 and eventually abandoned in 1744. |
| Agra Agra Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most... |
Factory | 1621 | 1720 | Capital of the Mughal Empire Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids... . Due to the remote location of six weeks travel from Suratte, the trading post was almost never visited by inspectors of the Dutch East India Company. Private trading (forbidden by the Dutch East India Company) and corruption made traders here rich men. |
| Cambay Khambhat Khambhat , formerly known as Cambay, is a city and a municipality in Anand district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was formerly an important trading center, although its harbour has gradually silted up, and the maritime trade has moved elsewhere... |
Factory | 1617 | 1643 | Rather unsuccessful post due to the inability of ships to dock at the port at low tide. After problems with local merchants closed in 1643. |
See also
- Dutch MalabarDutch MalabarMalabar, also known by the name of its main settlement Cochin, was a commandment of the Dutch East India Company on the Malabar Coast between 1661 and 1795, and is part of what is today collectively referred to as Dutch India...
- Dutch Ceylon
- Dutch CoromandelDutch CoromandelCoromandel was a governorate of the Dutch East India Company on the Coromandel Coast between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1802. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the British according to the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Dutch...
- Dutch BengalDutch BengalBengal was a directorate of the Dutch East India Company in Bengal between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1802. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the British according to the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Dutch presence in the...
- François CaronFrançois CaronFrançois Caron was a French Huguenot refugee to the Netherlands who served the Dutch East India Company for 30 years, rising from cabin boy to Director-General at Batavia , only one grade below Governor-General...
- Mattheus de HaanMattheus de HaanMattheus de Haan was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1725 to 1729. .He was born in Dordrecht in 1663. On 26 October 1671 he left for the Indies, where his father had been appoined as Underbuyer in the Dutch East India Company...
- Hubert HugoHubert HugoHubert Hugo was a merchant in Dutch Suratte, a privateer on the Red Sea, and governor of Dutch Mauritius from 1672 to 1677.-Life:...
- Hendrik van RheedeHendrik van RheedeHendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein was a military man and a colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company and naturalist. Between 1670 and 1677 he served as a governor of Dutch Malabar and employed 25 people on his book Hortus Malabaricus, describing 740 plants in the region...
- Willem VerstegenWillem VerstegenWillem Verstegen was a merchant in service of the Dutch East India Company and chief trader of factory in Dejima.- Life :...
- Hendrick ZwaardecroonHendrick ZwaardecroonHendrick or Henricus Zwaardecroon was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1718 until 1725.-Early career:...
External links
- http://www.nationaalarchief.nl/amh/detail.aspx?page=dafb&lang=en&id=5336
- http://www.vocsite.nl/geschiedenis/handelsposten/suratte.html
- http://www.swaen.com/antique-map-of.php?id=1214
- http://www.voc-kenniscentrum.nl/prod-suiker.html