“Quite indifferent to these things”: The Role of Emotions and Conversion in the D utch E ast I ndia C ompany's Interactions with the S outh L ands

This article situates the engagement of the D utch E ast I ndia C ompany (the V ereenigde O ostindische C ompagnie, or VOC ) with the S outh L ands in the context of diverse understandings of the missionary endeavour within the C ompany in the first half of the seventeenth century. In that light, it argues that both emotions and the idea of evangelising were critical to the objectives and experiences of the VOC in regards to the S outh L ands. Powerful feelings about evangelising informed both why and how the C ompany engaged with this region, shaping the nature of discussion within the C ompany archives about this endeavour. These sentiments were not consistent across the C ompany but were shaped by a wide range of factors that includes specific social, political, and economic motives for the C ompany, the hierarchical status of author and readership, the nature and purpose of the compositional form, individual social and confessional identities, professional expertise, and experiences in the region. Moreover, C ompany men's interpretations of the emotions of local peoples in regards to Company objectives were critical to their judgments about the susceptibility of these people to evangelising and the Company's decisions about its obligations to spread C hristian doctrine in the region.