"The VOC had three factories in seventeenth century Burma: the main office in Syriam and subsidiaries in Ava and Pegu City. The present research adds a new dimension to VOC as well as Burma studies seeing that till now, even Dutch historians were quite unaware of the fact that the VOC traded successfully with Burma for almost half a century. The vast archives of the Dutch East Asia Company (VOC) at the ARA (Algemeen Rijksarchief / General State Archives) at The Hague have yielded a veritable treasure trove of information on Dutch relations with seventeenth century Burma. This newly unearthed material enables us to finally determine what the VOC?s Burma trade entailed and how it fitted into the grand design of the Company?s inter-Asian commerce, where it was not as marginal as some historians would have it. This complete set of invaluable contemporary materials also allows us a unique glimpse of life in seventeenth century Burma. There are no lacunae at all in the collection of VOC documents covering the Burma years, consequently, it has been possible to compile complete series of indispensable statistics, such as shipping, import and export, profit and loss, wages and prices (standard of living), as well as details on all the Indian textiles the Dutch imported into Burma, together with their purchasing and selling prices and the margins of profit..."