Begin ende voortgangh van de Vereenighde Nederlantsche Geoctroyeerde Oost-Indische Compagnie ("Beginning and progress of the United Dutch Chartered East Indian Company"), compiled by the Dutch historian Isaac Commelin (1598-1676) from Amsterdam in the middle of the 17th century, is an illustrated collection of voyages, containing the journals of 21 navigators to the East and West Indies, representing the material for any research on Dutch exploration of trading routes.
A fuller title is: [1]
Begin ende voortgangh van de Vereenighde Nederlantsche geoctroyeerde Oost-Indische compagnie. Vervatende de voornaemste reysen, by de inwoonderen der selver provincien derwaerts gedaen. Alles nevens de beschrijvinghen der rijcken, eylanden, havenen, revieren [sic], stroomen, rheeden, winden, diepten en ondiepten [...] met veele discoursen verrijckt: nevens eenighe koopere platen verciert. Nut ende dienstigh alle curieuse, ende andere zee-varende liefhebbers. Met dry besondere tafels ofte registers, in twee delen verdeelt: waer van 'teerste begrijpt, veerthien voyagien, den meeren-deelen voor desen noyt in 't licht geweest [...].
(roughly translated)
Beginning and progress of the United Dutch Chartered East Indian Company. Containing the principal voyages made thither by the inhabitants of the said provinces. Together with descriptions of the kingdoms, islands, harbours, rivers, streams, roadsteads, winds, depths and shallows […] enriched with many discourses; and adorned with several copper engravings.Useful and serviceable to all the curious, and to other lovers of seafaring.With three special tables or indexes, divided into two parts: of which the first comprises fourteen voyages, for the most part never before brought to light […].
The third edition was published in 1646 in Amsterdam (Joannes Janssonius). It contains contributions by 21 authors and is the most important compilation on the history of the Dutch East India Company. The work is illustrated with many maps and plates. Some unpublished accounts are printed in it for the first time. It is a valuable record of exploration during the 16th and 17th century, the history of early Pacific exploration as well as for the development of the East Indies. Among the voyages are those of the Arctic discoveries of Heemskerk and Barentsz, the East-India voyages of Houtman and Van Spilbergen, the circumnavigations by Van Noort, Le Maire, Schouten and Van Spilbergen.
The 21 parts are: [2]
