counts for one debit ledger account. Note in figure 4 that the top number always
indicates that it is a debit transaction for that ledger account and that it is a credit
transaction for the bottom (contra) ledger account.57 In addition, it is not always
necessary to have a contra account, for example in the case of transferring old
ledger account balances to a new ledger at the start of a new journal and ledger
book. The journal mechanisms will be illustrated with some examples of individ
ual transaction records of the voyage of the Princes van Oranje to the 'Spanish
West Indies'.
To learn more about income and expenses related to the ships and their trade,
we should understand the individual transaction records at the basis of these journal
entries. Paesie indicates that the officers on the ships would keep different kinds of
financial records related to the voyages. The cargaboek was used to keep track of
the cargo on the ships, the negotieboek was used for day-to-day purchases and sales,
and the monsterrol contained records of the wages of the crew.58 As we get closer to
the lower levels of the available accounting records, the archival inventory and the
categorization of the accounting records becomes less clear, and more fragmented.
The archive on the ship, the Princes van Oranje, contained a cargaboek, ne
gotieboek, and monsterrol, but these functioned as a separate administration on
the ship itself, without any reference to the central journal. When the ships re
turned the information in these books was transferred to the scheepsboek which
effectively functioned as a separate administration for each ship in Middelburg.
The scheepsboek was also used for profit and loss calculations of each voyage.59
Yet, in the scheepsboek direct references to the journal seem to be missing.60 How
ever, we can find references to the MCC journal in the bundle (liasse) of receipts
on the equipage and the cargazoenen. In economic terms, equipage can roughly
be defined as expenses (for example food, wages, and material for the ships), so
to equip the ships with necessary resources; whereas cargazoenen can be defined
as cargo, or merchandise (for example textiles) intended to be sold on the voyage.
The bundle of receipts of the equipage and cargazoenen relates to transactions
completed in Middelburg for the equipage, or expenses, and cargazoenen, mer-
Koen van der Blij
183
57 ZA, MCC, 1720-1889, inv. nr. 1632. Journaal, 1720-1889. 21 delen, 1743-1748 ('La F') (NL-Mdb-
ZA_20_1632_0289).
58 Paesie, Geschiedenis van de MCC, 117.
59 Paesie, Geschiedenis van de MCC, 117.
60 ZA, MCC, 1720-1889, inv. nr. 948. 'Scheepsboek', rekeningen van één voorgenomen reis en één
reis over 1748-1752, afgehoord 1748-1752. 1 deel (NL-MdbZA_20_948_0037).
