The disappeared VOC warehouse 'Amsterdam'

Pakhuis Amsterdam on a map from around 1753

The Factorij or the trading post of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) in Ayutthaya has already caused a lot of ink to flow. Much less was published about the VOC warehouse in Amsterdam, south of Bangkok.

However, the importance of this trading post should not be underestimated because for decades it held a key position within the VOC infrastructure in Southeast Asia. The construction of this smaller trading post not only demonstrated the privileged position of the VOC in Siam, but also testified to the cunning and mercantilism of the VOC leaders.

Ships trading with Ayutthaya had to pass the settlement of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya, on their way to and from the sea, where a fortification had been built at a large sandbank that served as a toll house. Here they had to indicate where they came from and how many people, artillery and merchandise they had on board. At a second toll house, a little further on, toll, either import or export tax, had to be paid on these goods.

However, the Dutch, who had forced the Siamese into privileges, still had to pay tolls like everyone else, despite their privileged position, and of course they didn't like that too much. Because these taxes depressed the profits of the VOC and therefore some creativity had to be shown. Under the pretext that the water level of the Chao Phraya sometimes dropped so low in the dry season that the Dutch ships could not reach Ayutthaya due to their deep draft, or got stuck there, the VOC built around 1630 a few kilometers downstream from Bangkok at Pak Nam, the mouth of the Chao Phraya in present-day Samut Prakan on the western bank of the place where the Bang Pla Kod channel flows into the river, a warehouse, which was endowed with the name of Amsterdam. Because of the simple fact that this trading post was opposite the first and in front of the second toll house, the VOC cunningly managed to evade a considerable amount of import and export duties and trade could still be conducted even at low water levels. So two birds with one stone.

Within a short period of time, this economic-strategic masterstroke proved to be lucrative. Originally built as a large wooden storage shed on stilts, this building was already expanded in 1634-1636 with a brick factory building. Coincidence or not, but in that same year the VOC had lent a hand to the Siamese monarch Prasat Thong in his attack on the rebellious southern sultanate of Pattani and perhaps he showed his gratitude by turning a blind eye…. Incidentally, 1634 was also the year that the Logie, the imposing brick main building in the VOC factory in Ayutthaya, was completed and it is quite possible that the masons and carpenters who had been involved in this project also built the Amsterdam warehouse.

Pakhuis A'dam (nr.5) on Dutch map

Goods were stored in the Amsterdam warehouse that Siam supplied to the VOC for export, such as tin, rice, oil, wood, deerskins, ivory tusks of elephants and ray skins. The latter were used as a kind of sandpaper to polish tropical hardwood. But the Amsterdam warehouse also stocked imported goods such as fabrics, wool and linen. Shortly after the brick building was completed, a number of residences for VOC employees were also built nearby and the entire site was reinforced and fortified in order to secure the merchandise. There was a large hut that served as quarters for a detachment of soldiers, which averaged about twenty men, and according to the scant documents that have survived about this site, there were also a blacksmith shop and a carpenter's workshop on the site of the warehouse. This trading post, unlike the main house in Ayutthaya, did not offer an attractive living environment. Various contemporary testimonials show that this VOC outpost was located in a swampy area that was infested by, among other things, thick swarms of mosquitoes, while the massive presence of saltwater crocodiles, eager for a tasty Dutch snack, were always lurking...

After the fall and subsequent destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767 brought an abrupt end to the VOC's trading activities in Siam, the Amsterdam warehouse fell into disrepair and was swallowed up by the encroaching mangrove forest. Until late in the nineteenth century, some travelogues still mentioned the ruins on this site, which, according to these authors, were often described by the Siamese as the 'Dutch Foolishness'.

In April 1987, a number of Shell engineers commissioned by the Siam Society and led by HJ Krijnen inventoried, measured and mapped the remains of the Amsterdam warehouse. A few wall fragments and foundations were all that remained. It was probably as a result of this inventory that a plaque with the following text was placed on this move:

'New Amsterdam City was one of the significant historical sites which was situated at Tambon Klong Bang Pla Kod, Phra Samut Chedi district. In Samut Prakan Province in those days a large number of Dutch men came to trade with Thailand. These Dutch men were well-behaved and cordial in conducting their business with Thai people. Some of them provided good service to the government. They were thus bestowed with some land on the western bank of Bang Pla Kod Canal to be used for storage and residences. The place looked so nice that it was known among the Dutch men living there as New Amsterdam or the Holland Buildings. Later, the mutual relationship began to deteriorate until the end of the Ayutthaya Period an so did the significance of New Amsterdam. Time also strengthened the decline of the riverbank where the Holland Buildings were situated. They were eroded by the tide. That is why no traces of such places can be seen today.'