Summary

This study describes and analyses a wide array of initiatives leading to the hunt, by Dutch whalemen, of whales and seals in Arctic waters, the temperate zones of the South Pacific and the waters of the Dutch East Indies. After an introductory chapter, analyses were presented of the formal financial arrangement on which whaling and sealing expeditions were based. Thanks to the personal involvement of King Willem I from 1815 onward, most of these initiatives found fertile ground. The King and his ministers were instrumental in stimulating whaling and sealing expeditions. Not only did Willem I invest heavily in shares of the respective companies, his government, in accordance with the Koninklijk Besluiten (Royal Decrees) of 1815 and 1816, spent considerable amounts of money on fitting out ships and on financial guarantees in case ships returned empty or with disappointing catches (wanvangst). The total premium could amount to ƒ 9,000 per ship per voyage, as compared to a modest ƒ500 per buis or hoeker setting sail for the herring fishery.

While discussing the governmental budget for 1850 members of Parliament (Tweede Kamer) brought to the fore that for the last several years prior to 1850 the annual subsidies for the herring fisheries amounted to ƒ200,000. The total sum of subsidies related to whaling and sealing in the nineteenth century must have amounted to over ƒ300,000. In comparison with other industries – above all, the herring fishery – governmental support for whaling cannot be considered impressive, that is, from the government's perspective. The fairly small-scale whaling companies, however, must have considered the investments to be substantial. As shown in Table 2.1, these premiums were paid almost systematically.

The King's personal commitment was not the only driving force behind winds of change. As of the early 1820s, political leaders in Europe became influenced by liberalisation. They first reduced and eventually abolished import tariffs. The Netherlands followed their example. Around 1850, protectionism and mercantilism made way for a continent-wide accepted form of free market. In line with these global macroeconomic developments, the first signs of a reduced premium system for the Dutch whaling industry can be discerned in the early 1850s.