used a modern business administration.29 There is no strong consensus on the
exact definition of double-entry bookkeeping. Double-entry bookkeeping could
simply be defined as a 'bookkeeping system constantly in equilibrium in which
the only criterion is the equality of debits and credits, according to James O. Win-
jum.30 Nevertheless, using some basic criteria to assess the nature of the MCC
bookkeeping, may help us understand the system better. Jane Gleeson-White
in Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance, defines
double-entry bookkeeping with six principles.
The first criterion by Gleeson is: 'the idea of an owner or a business as an ac
counting entity whose books record its financial relationships with others! This
criterion evidently holds in the MCC records and reports. The second criterion
is: 'entries are in one monetary entity, so summation is possible. This second cri
terion holds, as the Flemish pound is used consistently in the records accompa
nied by the summation of this currency. The third criterion is: 'it [=double-entry
bookkeeping] relates the following opposition: increases and decreases in phys
ical holdings of cash or goods; increases and decreases in debts by or to other
individuals or entities; and increases and decreases in the business's own assets
and liabilities. The MCC uses the typical double-entry structure of debit (left)
and credit (right) in the balance sheet, so the third condition holds. The fourth
criterion is: 'owner's equity is shown as the sum of assets and liabilities. The fourth
condition is satisfied, the MCC uses a clear balance sheet which displays equity as
a summation of assets and liabilities at a specific point in time (1752 in this case).
The fifth criterion is: 'profit is understood to be the net increase in the owner's
equity (and loss net decrease). Lastly, the sixth criterion is: 'the profit or loss is
measured over a clearly defined accounting period. Although least obvious, the
fifth and sixth conditions are fulfilled, as the increase in the ledger account Ree-
kening van Avance from one specific financial year to the next is the increase in
equity and thus profit (or a decrease, and thus loss).31
Paesie indicates that the MCC bookkeeping consists of two integrated parts,
one for the capital invested by different investors, to keep track of transactions in
174
Accounting in the Dutch Transatlantic Slave Trade
29 Ruud Paesie, Geschiedenis van de MCC: Opkomst, Bloei en Ondergang. Zutphen, 2014, 115.
30 As quoted in Chiapello, 'Accounting, 269.
31 Jane Gleeson-White, Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance.
New York, 2012, 20-21; Zeeuws Archief (hereafter ZA), 20 Middelburgse Commercie Compag
nie (hereafter MCC), 1720-1889, inv. nr. 1712. 1711-1715 Balansen, 1722-1887. 5 pakken, 1712.1.
1747-1752 (NL-MdbZA_20_1712.1_0135-38).
