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Trumpeting the VOC’s success

The ship’s trumpeters were important crew members aboard the VOC ships during the seventeenth century. Most ships carried at least one trumpeter, sometimes even three. These multi-talented men were well paid and wore distinctive uniforms. Their trumpets were of simple construction; a few metres of brass tubing with a mouthpiece and a funnel-shaped end called a bell.

The trumpeters had a cabin near the captain, and would eat and drink with him and other senior members of the crew. They were given responsibility to deliver important messages, and were often required to negotiate with Indigenous leaders. In many cases they were not hired for their musical ability at all, but more as a trusted assistant for the ship’s captain.

The duties of a ship’s trumpeter were varied. They used their instruments to signal to other ships about which way to go, to be ‘careful here’, ‘attack’ or ‘retreat’ or even ‘we’re lost’! Onboard, they signalled the arrival or departure of important visitors to the ship, the change of watch, meal and prayer times.

On board entertainment

Perhaps most importantly, they provided music for the captain, crew and passengers, as music was one of the few entertainments that helped break the monotony of the eight-month voyage from the Netherlands to the East Indies. The trumpeters were expected to provide this entertainment, and the better musicians would have had many tunes memorised as very little music was written down. They would join amateur musicians amongst the crew and passengers, playing flutes, whistles, drums, fiddles and bagpipes creating mixed ensembles. The resultant singing and dancing assisted in soothing potentially difficult and fractious relationships in the confined spaces, provided exercise and helped ease the boredom of daily life at sea.

The popular tunes of the seventeenth century that were heard and played aboard these ships reveal familiar themes. Songs about love, broken hearts, forgiveness, sex, stupidity, making and losing fortunes, grief, death and homesickness. Hymns and psalms were also popular and offered spiritual consolation. The trumpeters were regularly called upon to signal at the many burials at sea, with numerous fatalities from outbreaks of disease on board.

The VOC insisted on the continuation and display of Dutch tradition and ceremony within its tightly controlled outposts. The trumpeters assisted in conveying the necessary impression of ceremonial splendour and ostentation, with their shiny instruments and magnificent uniforms, loud signals and music.