The second man on the coast
How Willem Bosmans network contributed to the creation of his book
Willem Bosman was a Dutch man who worked for the West India Company (WIC) between 1687 and 1701 on the West coast of Africa. At the age of sixteen he sailed as a soldier to the castle St. George in Elmina where he eventually got promoted to chief merchant, or what he calls it 'the second man on the coast'. While working at the coast Bosman wrote letters to his friend and cousin Daniel Havart. When he got back to the Netherlands he sheafed these letters and published them under the name Nauwkeurige beschryving van de Guinese goud- tand en slavekust. The book was a great success and was translated into English, Italian, German and French. In these letters Bosman wrote about the forts at the coast, the organization of the states, the governmental system, the climate, nature, the habits of the local people and the slave trade. He also made a map of the region which you can see at the top of this page.
Figure 1: an image of Willem Bosman
Not only in the 18th century but also nowadays Bosman's book is used as an important source. Bosman gave a lot of information in his book from which you can see his great knowledge. According to the British historian Ivor Wilks Bosman wasn’t exceptionally intelligent and did not have much in common with the great topographers in Europe of that time. Nor was he that much involved with the local communities (although there are reports of a half African son). The Dutch historian Albert van Dantzig says Bosman was in an excellent position to provide the information that the European public was interested in at that moment. So it was perhaps Bosmans position that made his book successfull, Rather than being exceptionally intelligent or a brilliant topographer. This webpage focusses on that position by using the network theory. The main question is therefor: ‘How did Bosmans network play a role in the creation of his book Nauwkeurige beschryving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust?'. When using the network theory I hold on to the definition of the word network of Darin Barney. According to him a network is “a structural condition whereby distinct points (often called ‘nodes’) are related to one another by connections (often called ‘ties’) that are typically multiple, intersecting, and often redundant.” The main ties I focus on are first of all the network of the WIC and the position Bosman takes inside the Company, secondly Bosmans ties with the locals and third his tie with his friend and cousin Daniël Havart.
Not only in the 18th century but also nowadays Bosman's book is used as an important source. Bosman gave a lot of information in his book from which you can see his great knowledge. According to the British historian Ivor Wilks Bosman wasn’t exceptionally intelligent and did not have much in common with the great topographers in Europe of that time. Nor was he that much involved with the local communities (although there are reports of a half African son). The Dutch historian Albert van Dantzig says Bosman was in an excellent position to provide the information that the European public was interested in at that moment. So it was perhaps Bosmans position that made his book successfull, Rather than being exceptionally intelligent or a brilliant topographer. This webpage focusses on that position by using the network theory. The main question is therefor: ‘How did Bosmans network play a role in the creation of his book Nauwkeurige beschryving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust?'. When using the network theory I hold on to the definition of the word network of Darin Barney. According to him a network is “a structural condition whereby distinct points (often called ‘nodes’) are related to one another by connections (often called ‘ties’) that are typically multiple, intersecting, and often redundant.” The main ties I focus on are first of all the network of the WIC and the position Bosman takes inside the Company, secondly Bosmans ties with the locals and third his tie with his friend and cousin Daniël Havart.
Figure 3&4: On these two maps you can see the big presence of the Dutch and other European countries on the West African coast
,Locals
Near ties with the locals were very useful for trading, because the Europeans didn’t have any power outside of their forts. Inside trading network the Akanisten played a very important role as brokers between the Africans and Europeans. Not only in terms of trading, but also to provide Bosman the information he needed for his book, good relations with the locals were very important. Secondly this tie was important for the flow of information from the local people towards Bosman. Next to these ties with the brokers, Bosman had direct ties with the locals. For the places he couldn’t visit he used two letters of of Jan Snoek en David van Neyendeal to describe this areas.
Near ties with the locals were very useful for trading, because the Europeans didn’t have any power outside of their forts. Inside trading network the Akanisten played a very important role as brokers between the Africans and Europeans. Not only in terms of trading, but also to provide Bosman the information he needed for his book, good relations with the locals were very important. Secondly this tie was important for the flow of information from the local people towards Bosman. Next to these ties with the brokers, Bosman had direct ties with the locals. For the places he couldn’t visit he used two letters of of Jan Snoek en David van Neyendeal to describe this areas.
Daniel Havart
Nauwkeurige beschryving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust is mostly based on Bosmans letter correspondence with his cousin and friend Daniel Havart. He worked for the VOC in Coromandel in India and also had published his descriptions after he came back in The Netherlands. The correspondence were the book is based on is very unique. The informal nature of the letters had contributes greatly to the reliability of the work. If the disinhibition which Bosman writes with also contributes to the reliability of the book is unclear. It is very likely that Havert had spurred Bosman to the publication of his letters. |
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To conclude, Bosmans network contributed to his book in a few ways. First of all it was his bad reputation inside of the Company that let him back the Netherlands. Secondly, with publishing his book Bosman hoped to defend himself against this bad reputation. Third of all the Nauwkeurige beschryving wasn’t possible without accurate information which he got from his good job position but also from the local people in West-Africa. And last but not least, the near tie with his friend and cousin Daniel Havert contributed to the creation of his successful book. All of this shows that Bosmans network played a very important role in the creation of his work.
Further readings:
Bosman, W. Nauwkeurige beschryving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust, nevens alle desselfs landen, koningryken en gemene besten: van de zeeden der inwooners, hun godsdienst, regeering, regtspleeging, oorlogen, trouwen, begraven, enz. 3e editie Amsterdam: J. Verheide, 1737.
Engelen, M. van. Het Kasteel Van Elmina : In Het Spoor Van De Nederlandse Slavenhandel in Afrika. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2013.
Heuvel, A. Van der. Goud en slaven: een geillustreerd reisverslag van de 17e eeuwse handelaar Willem Bosman. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1981.
Malkin, I., C. Constantakopoulou en K. Panagopoulou. ‘’Preface: Networks in the Ancient Mediterranean’’ Mediterranean Historical Review 22, no. 1 (2007): 1-9.
Vrijman, L.C. Slavenhalers En Slavenhandel. Amsterdam: Van Kampen en zoon, 1937.
Sources figures:
figure 1: W. Bosman, Nauwkeurige beschryving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust, nevens alle desselfs landen, koningryken en gemene besten: van de zeeden der inwooners, hun godsdienst, regeering, regtspleeging, oorlogen, trouwen, begraven, enz. 3e editie (Amsterdam: J. Verheide, 1737).
figure 2: Den Heijer, Goud, ivoor en slaven: Scheepvaart en handel van de Tweede Westindische Compagnie op Afrika, 1674-1740 (Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1997), 74.
figure 3: Den Heijer, 70.
figure 4: Den Heijer, 167.