Whaling in the Netherlands

Whaling in the Netherlands was a centuries long tradition.The history of Dutch whaling begins with 17th century exploration of Arctic fishing grounds; and the profitability of whaling in the 18th century drove further growth. Increased competition and political upheavals in Europe affected the stability of this maritime industry in the 19th century; and a combination of these factors cut short any further growth of Dutch whaling in the Antarctic.

Modern, post-war whaling in the southern oceans was developed intensely, but continued growth of Dutch whaling was abbreviated as a result of multi-national treaties which similarly impacted other national whaling enterprises.Schokkenbroek, p. 19; Bruijn, J. R. " "De Nederlandsche Maatschappij voor de Walvischvaart, 1946-1967," Ecconomisch-en sociaal-historisch Jaarboek" ("ESHJ"). Vol. 48 (1985), pp. 233-257.]

The current Dutch government supports a moratorium on all whaling worldwide.Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs: [http://www.minbuza.nl/en/news/newsflashes,2008/03/The-Netherlands-investigates-anti-whaling-campaign.html "The Netherlands investigates anti-whaling campaign,"] 5 March 2008.]

Historic background

The beginnings of Dutch whaling are indirectly attributed to Willem Barentsz (anglicized as William Barents or Barentz) (1550-1597), who was a Dutch navigator and explorer, a leader of early expeditions to the far north. On his last voyage, Barentsz accompanied Jacob van Heemskerck as pilot, and Gerrit de Veer, the historian of the voyage, was on board as first mate. This expedition's discovery of the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen (now known as Svalbard) was to become the foundation for lucrative Dutch claims to the whaling grounds in and around the islands. [Schokkenbroek, pp. 26-35.] In the fierce competition for the best whaling grounds, the Dutch construed that that other nations had less right to hunt whales in waters which had been "discovered" by Dutch explorers.

The development of Dutch whaling and sealing saw changes in the composition of crews, in shipbuilding technology, in governmental involvement and in the profitability of the industries.Shokkenbroek, p. 24.]

17th century

The numbers of whaling ships outfitted in the Netherlands grew rapidly -- more than doubling in a decade to 70 ships in 1654, and more than doubling again to 148 ships in 1670.Richards, John F. (2003). [http://books.google.com/books?id=i85noYD9C0EC&pg=PA597&lpg=PA597&dq=whaling+netherlands&source=web&ots=ItYTgkTj8x&sig=0NrhpAowuxqrh4xAMQ7OOfKWQEI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA597,M1 "The Unending Frontier," p. 597.] ] The ships involved in whaling helped to make the Dutch Republic one of the richest nations of the seventeenth century, but this resource was ruthlessly exploited; and by the mid-17th century the catches decreased as the favoured whales became rare.National Maritime Museum (NMM): [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.3580/item/20/#descrip "A Dutch Whaling Fleet" by Jacob Feytsz de Vries (c.1640-1660), NMM-ID: BHC0798] , curatorial description; Bruijn, J. R. and C. A. Davids. " "Jonas vrij: de Nederlandse walvisvaart, in het bijzonder de Amsterdamse, in de jaren 1640-1664," ESHJ." Vol. 38 (1975), pp. 141-178.]

Whaling in the waters around Spitsbergen shifted after 1670 because of a modification of the whales migratory patterns. [Schokkenbroek, p. 35.] Some have attributed this change to a global warming trend which permitted the whales to return to their normal summer grounds off the northeast coast of Greenland, but it could have been simply that whales who had survived aggressive whale hunting in earlier seasons were simply avoiding the whalers. [Richards, p. 596; Troelstra, Simon. [http://www.geus.dk/departments/quaternary-marine-geol/posters/norclim_poster.pdf "Northern High Latitude Climate variability during the past 200 years: Implications for human settlement,"] Department of Paleoclimatology and Geomorphology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.]

In 1684, 246 Dutch whalers captured 1,185 whales in the waters off Spitsbergen. Typically, whaling expeditions hunted the Bowhead whale, which is a slow-moving unhurried creature which yields plenty of oil. Their high percentage of body fat also meant that they floated when dead and, therefore, were easy to tow back to the land.

18th Century

Dutch supremacy in whaling over other European competitors like France, Germany and Britain diminished in the second half of the 1700s. [Schokkenbroek, p. 37; van Bochove, Christiaan and Jan Luiten van Zanden, (2006). [http://www.iisg.nl/research/two-engines.pdf "Two engines of early modern economic growth? Herring fisheries and whaling during the Dutch Golden Age (1600-1800)."] ]

19th Century

Amongst the political and economic consequences of the Treaty of Amiens was that contol of the Cape of Good Hope was wrested from the British and restored to the Netherlands. This reanimated the prospects for profitable Dutch whaling in the antipodes.Schokkenbroek, pp. 40-42; Broeze, F J. A. "Whaling in the Southern Oceans: The Dutch quest for Southern whaling in the nineteenth century," "ESHJ." Vol. 40 (1977), pp. 66-112.] In the wake of the British and the Americans, the Dutch made attempts to organize whaling in the Southern Ocean, including the "Afrikaanse Visscheriji Societeit" (the African Fishery Society) which was founded in Amsterdam in 1802.

A significant system of subsidies issued by the King and his ministers supported Dutch entrepreneurs, which minimized a competitive disadvantage in a period of international whaling with similar financial incentives being funded by many national governments. In this context, a lack of quality in the art of shipbuilding and in the training of seamen has been regarded as very important factors in explaining the ultimate failure of the Dutch whaling industry in the late 19th century.

Dutch culture

Dutch and Flemish maritime paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries mirror the emergence of the Dutch Republic as a great maritime power and the rise of the seascape as a distinct art form in the Low Countries The works of this period included vessels sailing, trading, fighting, fishing and whaling; and each individually and collectively display aspects of an evolving Dutch culture [NMM: [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.3580/item/20/context/alternate/#descrip "Turmoil & Tranquillity: The Sea through the Eyes of Dutch and Flemish masters, 1550-1700,"] June 2008-January 2009.] The artists' depictions of whaling expeditions help to establish the economic importance of whaling to the Dutch during the late seventeenth century. and its "Golden Age." [Lack, Jessica. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jun/14/exhibition.art "Exhibitions preview,"] "The Guardian" (Manchester). June 14, 2008.]

In remarks at the opening of an exhibit of paintings which, in part, focus on Dutch whaling, the Dutch Ambassador to the Court of St. James suggests a relevant broader perspective::"The revolt against the most Catholic Spanish overlords and the subsequent menacing of the small rebel Dutch republic by virtually all great powers of Europe made them realise that their struggle for survival could only by won by the fierce protection of the freedom of the Netherlands’ single natural resource .... We learned to harness the sea; however, like a horse, the sea can never be conquered. Our national identity can be easily traced back to the whims of the water.... It is the Dutch and Flemish masters of the 16th and 17th centuries who have indeed come close to conquering the sea by fixing its capriciousness on panel and canvas." [NMM: [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.22654 P. W. Waldeck, Ambassador, The Netherlands Embassy (UK)] ] The economic success of the Dutch Republic were inextricably linked with the sea as were the emerging national identity and international reputation of the young state. [NMM: [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.3574 themes in painting] ] Many in the Netherlands earned their fortune in Arctic whaling; however the success of whaling scenes in Netherlandish painting cannot be entirely explained by economic interest. [NMM: [http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.3578 "foreign" and familiar themes] ]

Modern whaling

In 1964, the last Dutch factory ship, poetically named "Willem Barrentsz", was sold to Japanese whaling interests, thus bringing a conclusive end to the long history of Dutch whaling. [Johnston, Douglas M. (1987). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Vfs5vtLSCD8C&pg=PA407&lpg=PA407&dq=whaling+netherlands&source=web&ots=iNzq7_r9QU&sig=IK2FHvih9OH3w6gASk19AeXHN7g&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result "The International Law of Fisheries," p. 407.] ]

During the period 1946-1964, the involvement of the Netherlands in modern, post-war whaling in the Antarctic was aggressively pursued.

The current Dutch government opposes the practice of whaling; and the Netherlands is committed to seeing new and improved binding agreements made within the International Whaling Commission.

Notes

References

* van Bochove, Christiaan and Jan Luiten van Zanden, (2006). [http://www.iisg.nl/research/two-engines.pdf "Two engines of early modern economic growth? Herring fisheries and whaling during the Dutch Golden Age (1600-1800),"] in Simonetta Cavaciocchi ed., [http://www.istitutodatini.it/temi/htm/temi37.htm "Ricchezza del mare, ricchezza dal mare. Secoli XIII-XVIII."] (Prato, Italy: Fondazione Istituto Internazionale di storia Economica/Fondazione Datini.
* Johnston, Douglas M. (1987). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Vfs5vtLSCD8C&dq=whaling+netherlands&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "The International Law of Fisheries: A Framework for Policy-Oriented Inquiries."] ; Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 10-ISBN 0-898-38902-X; 13-ISBN 978-0-898-38902-9
* Richards, John F. (2003). [http://books.google.com/books?id=i85noYD9C0EC&dq=whaling+netherlands&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "The Unending Frontier: An Environmental History of the Early Modern World."] ] Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-24678-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-24678-2
* Schokkenbroek, Joost C. A. (2008). [https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/dspace/handle/1887/12669 "Trying-out: An Anatomy of Dutch Whaling and Sealing in the Nineteenth Century, 1815-1885."] Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers. 10-ISBN 9-052-60283-2; 13-ISBN 978-9-052-60283-7 (cloth)
* Tønnessen, Johan and Arne Odd Johnsen (1982). [http://books.google.com/books?id=HoiX87YZIa8C&dq=The+history+of+modern+Whaling&client=firefox-a "The history of modern Whaling."] London : C. Hurst & Co. 10-ISBN 0-905-83823-8; 13-ISBN 978-0-905-83823-6; [Canberra: Australian National University Press. 10-ISBN 0-708-10749-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-708-10749-2] ; [Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-03973-4] ; [OCLC 8860504]

ee also

* Whaling
* History of whaling
* Seal hunting
* International Whaling Commission

External links

* [http://www.nammco.no/ The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission]
* [http://www.iwcoffice.org/index.htm International Whaling Commission]
* Netherlands Maritime Museum: [http://www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam]