- ISSN: 0040-7518
- E-ISSN: 2352-1163
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oa Taking the Companies to Court
Wage Litigation against the Dutch East and West India Companies in the High Court
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, Volume 131, Issue 3, Oct 2018, p. 409 - 430
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- 01 Oct 2018
Abstract
Taking the Companies to Court. Wage Litigation against the Dutch East and West India Companies in the High Court
Both the Dutch East and West India Companies were taken to court in the Republic. Court cases were pursued to the highest court in the Republic, the appellate Hoge Raad van Holland, Zeeland en West-Friesland (High Court), by subjects of the States General and by foreigners, individuals, and groups. This article focuses on wage claims which involved issues of inheritance, shipwreck, and illegal private trade. They show the wide pool of litigants who took on the companies, and the use of the court to manage labour disputes. Litigation involving the VOC and WIC has long been ignored by scholars, but this article showcases the contribution that can be made to the fields of social, economic, and legal history through analysis of the High Court records.
