Dutch East India Company archives: a lesson in the history of Asia

摘要

The history of Asia through Dutch eyes: the detailed logbooks kept by officials of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) contain a wealth of information on the former Dutch colonies. Over the next few years, Asian historians will work through piles of VOC archives as part of the Dutch government-funded Tanap project.In the 17th century, a lonely VOC official based on the island of Formosa (now Taiwan) would pour his heart into reports to the Governor-General in Batavia (now Jakarta), producing page after page of colourful descriptions of the world around him. The study of these missives has yielded much fascinating information about Taiwan's history. The aim of the Tanap projet, sort for Towards a New Age of Partnership, is to conserve most of these 25 million pages - some four kilometres of shelving - for use in historical research. A third of the papers are held in the Netherlands, and the rest in the countries where the VOC had stations: South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. Training will be given to local archivists and conservators.