The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-12-20
HI.


OF the Dutch West India Company. and accord
insly In one OF the preliminary chapters tho
Rev. Daniel Van Pelt has sketehsd the history
OF that commercial corporation. As early as
1907 two Dutch merchants, Gerard Hikker OF
Amsterdam and John Leyen OF Enkhuyson. had
been each separately granted the privilege OF
forming company for purposes Of tsafao with
the West Indies, Subsequently hsse two men
combined their companies into one and built
In Amsterdam substantial warehouse which
on the formation Of the West India Company
pass3d Into It's possession. Under the au-
spices Of this private association some voyages
TO tho West Indies and the South American
continent were undertaken In 1bO7 and 1868,
but apparently with mesgrs results. Tho es-
tablishment of o national West Indln Company
was delayed by the twelve years truce between
the Netherlands and Spain, and charter was
not fipally granted by the States. General I'M
til 1921. The charter Gnve the company the OK
elusive privilege for twenty-four years OF send
ing ships for purposes OF traffic to the coun-
tries OF America and Africa bordering on the
Atlantic Ocean az we'll as TO those on the Pacific
coast Of the New World. The rost OF the globe
was assigned to tho East India Company.
whose success bod been beyond all procsdont.
for NJ to the year 1920 II had realised for each
shareholder as per cent upon his first In
company had enabled II to absorb all tho avail
ablo capital In tho Netherlands. or else there
was no expectations that equally lucrative re-
turns would la forthcoming from commerce
with the West At all events, the subscription
books OF the West India Company wsro stIll
open In 1o2a A capital. however, amounting
to more than seven millions Of forms. hay
ing been finally subscribed by October Of
the last-named year. the directors. about
six weeks later, dospstehed their first feet.
consisting Of about twenty-six vessels The OBJ
jective poiut Of the expedition. however. was
not Manhattan Island. although this had been
known aud frequently visited by Dutch ships
for nearly fourteen years. but Bahia or San Sal
vndor. the capital OF Brazil. tan Salvador was
taken In 1874. and two years afterward the
company's Adpairal captured the greater part
Of Spanish feet, whose carsoes nettod his
masters 10000 forms In sugar alone. In 1923
the same Admiral. Pet Heyn. took the Span
ish silver hest. whereby he secured booty
worth 100000 forms. while the value Of
the prizes brought home about the same
time by other sauadrons OF the West
India Company aggregated over 4!O00.OO0
forms. Tho company felt justified In de-
olaring dividend Of 60 per cent. In 1922
aud again In 1880 one OF Is Per cent The
sams degree OF SUCCESS. was never again
India Company acquired extensive terri
tories iu BrasA besides Curacao and other
islands In the Caribbean Sea. For o
time II seemed likely that this corporation
would found In tho west an empire oompara-
BILE In magnitude and opulence with that es-
tabilshed by tho East Mdia Company on the
island OF Java. W q mattor of fact. however.
II was found In l6S IS that its expenditures dur
Ing tha nseyious twelve years had amounted