[Dutch Commercial Trade]. [Royal Naval College]. [Kweekschool]

[Broadside]. Publicatie. De Staaten van Holland en Westvriesland...ten weeten op Schepen van de Ostindien en de kaap... van de Westindien kust van Guine America

The Hague: Isaac Scheltus, 1785. Broadside. Text in two columns. Large woodcut of coat of arms of the Dutch Republic along with the arms of all member states, woodcut initial also with modified Dutch Republic arms. Crease down the vertical and horizontal middle, other small creases in the lower half, ink offsetting from folding on lower half, small tears and chips along edges, small dark stain just above top woodcut. Very Good. Item #2954

The origins of the Dutch Naval College.

Fascinating broadside detailing tax duties on ships trading in the East and West Indies, America, the Cape of Good Hope, and elsewhere, levied for - and applied towards - the newly founded Dutch Royal Naval College ("Kweekschool voor de Zeevaart" or Seminary for Navigation) which produced officers for the Dutch Sea Service. Notably, these officers were not trained at sea but in the classroom -- and in the courtyard where the navy erected large model training ship for the ultimate experiential learning. The vessel was large enough for young students to climb the rigging. It is with good reason that graduates were described as "paper sailors."

According to this broadside, the Dutch Republic approved and consented to the establishment and maintenance of the Kweekschool in the year 1781, for which the bespoke taxes were collected. The academy was officially opened in 1785, the same year that this "Publicatie" was printed. Taxes were only levied on ships of the East Indies (Oostindien) and the Cape of Good Hope (Kaap).

It was with some urgency that the Kweekschool was developed: at this time there was a radical shift in the balance of maritime power: the power of the Dutch East India Company was in gradual decline, in deference to the rising British East India Company which came to dominate global trade. In particular, 1785 marks the first full year following the end of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, which broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies during the War of American Independence.

The broadside is signed in print by Caspar Clotterbooke (1711-1791) who was Secretary of the States of Holland at the time.

OCLC shows no copy in any institution outside of the Netherlands. Our copy appears to be the only one on the market; it is probable that this is the only one in private hands.

Literature: See especially Margaret E. Schotte, Sailing Schools: Navigating Science and Skill, 1550-1800 (JHU Press, 2019, passim).

Price: $750.00