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Dave de Ruysscher and Jeroen Puttevils look into the complex interaction – typicalof the Low Countries – between various stakeholders (economic agents, citygovernment and central government) that shaped the legislation of economic practices. Eschewing top-down (the central government imposes its rules) and bottom-up (merchants sought to have their customs legalised) models, and taking into account the powers enjoyed by city governments in the Low Countries, which were both ample but also constrained by the central government, the authors trace the development of one particular type of contract and transaction – sixteenth century marine insurance, a growing sector for which Antwerp became the key centre. By laying bare the negotiation process which preceded the compromise, they find that decisions on the legislation regarding marine insurance were both politically and economically induced. The three major agents (merchants, city government and central government) were not monolithic blocs: within the Antwerp mercantile community different opinions on marine insurance and its legislation could be heard. There were ‘national’ differences and small-time insurance purchasers thought differently about state legislation than their larger colleagues and insurers. Parties with political clout also had a stronger voice in negotiations. De kunst van het compromis. Onderhandelingen over wetgeving voor hetzeeverzekeringswezen in Antwerpen (c. 1550-c. 1570)De wetgeving rond economische praktijken in de zestiende-eeuwse Nederlanden werd in belangrijke mate bepaald door de complexe interactie tussen verschillende belangengroepen (economische agenten, stedelijke overheid en centraal gezag). Dave de Ruysscher en Jeroen Puttevils zijn van mening dat top-down (de vorst legt zijn regels op) en bottum-up modellen (kooplieden willen hun gewoonten omgezet zien in wetten) weinig afdoend zijn en stellen zich vragen bij de reikwijdte van de macht van stedelijke overheden. Door op zeeverzekering te focussen, een praktijk die sterk groeide in de zestiende eeuw en waarvoor Antwerpen een belangrijk centrum werd, wordt het onderhandelingsproces en het zoeken naar een compromis tussen de verschillende belangengroepen duidelijk. De beslissingen over wetgeving waren daardoor het resultaat van zowel politieke als economische dynamieken. De verschillende belangengroepen werden door interne spanningen gekenmerkt: zo verschilden Antwerpse handelaars qua participatie in de zeeverzekeringssector, ‘nationaliteit’ en contacten met de politieke machthebbers.

Negotiating the Asiatic Route: Financing the Dutch East India Company, Enkhuizen Chamber, 1602-1622During its first twenty years the Dutch East India Company, or voc, struggled with the disadvantages of operations being spread over six local chambers, as imposed by its 1602 charter. Mirroring the Dutch Republic’s urban particularism, this operational fragmentation effectively bankrupted chambers if ships failed to return. Using the ledgers of Enkhuizen, one of the smaller chambers, we detail the difficulties with which it grappled and chart the slow process of overcoming them through the harmonisation of administrative procedures and other trust-building measures. These culminated in the company directors claiming limited liability for debt, which until now they were generally thought to have possessed from the start.

K.E. Sluyterman, J. Jonker, J.L. van Zanden, S. Howarth, Geschiedenis van de Koninklijke Shell, I, Van nieuwkomer tot marktleider, 1890-1939, II, Stuwmotor van de koolwaterstofrevolutie, 1939-1973, III, Concureren in turbulente markten, 1973-2007, [IV], Bijlagen, cijfers, toelichting, volledige bibliografie en index [inclusief drie dvd's] Some Reflections on the History of Royal Dutch ShellThe first positive feature of this impressive book is its unrelenting focus on a number of key issues. As a result, the authors succeed in presenting a coherent analysis of this complex global company. Another strong feature is the comprehensive and clear overview it provides of the rapid technological developments within the oil industry. Nevertheless, the origins of this fascinating firm could have been dealt with more thoroughly. The way in which the financial problems were solved during the start-up phase, in particular, remains shrouded in mystery. Furthermore, an interesting dimension could have been added had the concepts of Chandler been used. In addition, the chapter has not yet been closed on the ongoing conflict between Royal Dutch Shell and the local population in Nigeria.

The foundations of change. Integration and diversification in the Antwerp book trade during the second half of the seventeenth centuryWar, ruthless international competition, high import and export duties on books, and unforeseeable changes in the taste of readers all posed a serious threat to the survival of the book trade in the Southern Netherlands during the late seventeenth century. Nevertheless, some Brabantine printers not only survived the crisis they even managed to prosper. This article provides additional insights into the survival strategies adopted at the time based on material from the archives of Balthazar II Moretus’ Officina Plantiniana and the medium-sized publishing house of Hieronymus III Verdussen. Although both entrepreneurs reacted to the crisis by imposing harsh reforms, restructuring, and implementing innovative techniques such as sale on approval, their actual management choices differed greatly. The Officina Plantiniana focused more on the industrial component by opting for large-scale printing. Moretus cut back deliveries to smaller markets and dealers and concentrated on the major booksellers instead as they were able to order in bulk and resell the books to their smaller colleagues which meant that he no longer had to pay for transport and marketing. Moretus also abandoned the inefficient barter system and insisted upon cash payments so that he no longer had to take on books with a limited market value. Verdussen on the other hand followed a completely different path and seemed to renounce printing. He outsourced more and more printing work to jobbing printers in Germany or the United Provinces, thereby externalizing the risk of overstocking or losing out due to a drop in demand. By cultivating a number of advantageous alliances, Verdussen was also able to drastically reduce his custom and transport costs. As the registers of their guild reveals, in order to survive the crisis the majority of publishers in Antwerp chose Verdussen’s course of commercial capitalism as opposed to the industrial approach followed by Moretus.

Adam Clulow, The Company and the Shogun: The Dutch Encounter with Tokugawa Japan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014, 352 pp., isbn 978 0 2311 6428 3).

Nigel Worden (ed.), Cape Town between East and West: Social Identities in a Dutch Colonial Town (Johannesburg, Hilversum: Jacana, Verloren, 2012, xxii + 264 pp., isbn 978 1 4314 0292 2, 978 90 8704 290 5).

Alexander Claver, Dutch Commerce and Chinese Merchants in Java. Colonial Relationships in Trade and Finance, 1800-1942 (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 291; Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2014, xxiv + 442 pp., ISBN 978 90 04 25657 6).

Recent historiography has reconsidered the idea that the Dutch role in the early modern Atlantic was of little significance, particularly in comparison to the accomplishments of the Dutch East India Company (voc) in Asia. Revisionist studies have emphasised that in spite of the limited and fragmented nature of the Dutch Atlantic ‘empire’, the Atlantic contribution to the Dutch economy was significant and possibly even greater than the voc’s share. Moreover, this scholarship stresses the vital role of Dutch Atlantic colonies (Curaçao and St Eustatius), (partly Jewish) networks and individuals in connecting the various subempires of the Atlantic. While Oostindie subscribes to many of these conclusions, he argues against excessive revisionism. His analysis of the development of the lesser Dutch Guianas, adjacent to Suriname, is used as a counter-weight to this revisionist impulse. He demonstrates that the spectacular economic and demographic development of these colonies was due mainly to British and (British) American involvement culminating in the eventual British takeover of ‘Guiana’.