Table 3

Firearms, parts of firearms, ammunition and tools for ammunition as requested in the Generale Eis. For details see below.

Product unit 1656   1657   1658   1659   1660   1661   1662   1663  
Complete firearms
Carbines (with their belts and hooks) piece 50 50 100
Muskets piece 1800 400
Light muskets piece 1000 1000
‘Kalibers’ muskets with bandoleers piece 300 400 200
Long flintlock firearms (‘Snaphaanroers’) piece 100 300 200 100 50 300 150
Firearms for the officers piece 70
Bandoleer-arquebuses, with accessories piece 50 800 100
Arquebuses with accessories piece 100 200 50 150 50
Flinktlock pistols with holsters (for cavalry)  piece 35 100 40 100 50
Parts and accessories
Flintlock stones piece 2000 3000 10000 5000 5000 10000 10000
Firestones (for arquebuses) piece 500 1500 1000 3000 5000 1000 4000 2000
Bandoleers for muskets piece 200 1400 1000
Powder measures piece 5000 6000 1000 3000 10000
stampers tot muskets piece 2000 500
Ramrods of ashwood or walnut piece 300 1000 50
Ramrods for long flintlock firearms piece 500 500
Holsters for arqeubuses piece 200
Ammunition bags piece 500 150 100
Carbine hooks piece 100
Walnut planks for making stocks piece 20 100 50
Belts for ammunition bags piece 200 200
Belts and hooks for carbines piece 100
Armature for repairing muskets piece 2000 40
(Production of) ammunition
Long bullet molds for muskets, assorted piece 50 40 100
Bullet molds for arquebuses, assorted piece 300 100
‘Bullet biters’ and pincers piece 50 100
Round pincers piece 50
‘Hamerslag’ (scrap/grapeshot) piece? 500

Source for the data is the Generale Eis for the years 1656-1663, to be found in voc Archive 13473. Please note that the subcategories here applied are my own: there are no categories like “entire melee weapons” in the text of the actual Eis, which lists all needed items in a seemingly random order. In addition, not by far all goods listed in the Eis are included in these tables, which in that case would have become intolerably long and intransparent. As tools for making powder alternately show up in the category “for the armoury” and under “for the powder makers”, I have left those out here. In addition, materials that rarely showed up in the tables, in very small amounts, or did not seem particularly interesting to include in statistics are not listed. Products that have been left out for this reason are copper and iron thread, nails and screws, and needles and other sewing materials (mostly for making cartridges.)

As to the translation of the various products’ names: I have put quite some effort into this but I am no weapon’s expert. In addition, the Eis uses various names for several products. Where I was almost certain that two names signified one product, I have merged these. In some cases, it was however impossible to discover the distinction between categories. For example, ‘langscherp’ is a name that usually signifies chain shot or bar shot, but ‘draadkogels’, chain shot, is in many cases a separate category. Similar problems arose with all the various types of powder horns, which I have just left separate. In some cases, I suppose one would have had to work at the Company warehouses to be able to know what product was actually requested. The tables are therefore less exact than might be desirable, and only give an impression of the products requested and sent. Anyone who wants to use these data for his own research and finds my selection, categorizations and translation rather too sketchy, is welcome to contact me for my ‘raw material’, i.e. untranslated, uncategorized tables listing all products, plus notes.

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