VOC BLADES: A comprehensive look

[Amuk Murugul]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Presently we are discussing the Sinhalese kastane on a concurrent thread and one of the features which seems to arise on many examples are the blades marked VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indisch Compagnie) and prominently marked year dates such as 1775; 1757; 1768 etc.

It seems these Dutch East India company blades not only occur with some consistency on the kastanes, but throughout the Indonesian and Malaysian archipelagos on various types of indigenous swords and edged weapons.

Many of the VOC blades have Amsterdam town marks but of course the other key VOC ports may have been represented as well.

I would like to look further into the diffusion of these blades, which appear to be specifically issued for trade, and hope those out there with examples or knowledge on these blades might come together here and share in discussion.

It seems these blades are invariably 18th century from around 1740s to 1770s, though some earlier examples with 1606 or 1660 seem to be talismanically used numbers or commemorative dates perhaps.

Hullo everybody!

Has anybody considered that during the latter part of the 18thC:
The proliferation of VOC-stamped blades throughout the Archipelago, especially towards the more eastern parts may be tied in with:
- The British were consolidating their interests in the Archipelago, mainly in the Straits and Soematera/Riaoe. Thus putting pressure on VOC trade.
- VOC (by this time often referred to as Vergaan Onder Corruptie) was in decline and facing bankruptcy. The blades were a sure source of revenue, as they were easier to procure by the locals than locally-made ones.

As for the the various city stamps, I either own or have seen blades with the initials for Amsterdam, Hoorn, Rotterdam and Middelburg. That leaves only Enkhuizen and Delft

Best,