The Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company, also known as the VOC, was founded in 1602 as a joint stock company. The company existed for 200 years and brought great wealth to the Netherlands. The Dutch traded for coveted luxuries such as Asian tea, coffee, sugar, rice, rubber, tobacco, silk, textiles, porcelain, and spices such as cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves. The company was able to build forts in the colonies, maintain an army and navy, and sign treaties with native rulers. The company is now considered the first multinational corporation, which is a company that conducts business in more than one country. Some important former colonies in Asia include:Indonesia
Then known as the Dutch East Indies, the thousands of islands of present-day Indonesia provided many highly-desired resources for the Dutch. The Dutch base in Indonesia was Batavia, now known as Jakarta (Indonesia's capital). The Dutch controlled Indonesia until 1945.Japan
The Dutch, who were once the only Europeans allowed to trade with the Japanese, received Japanese silver and other goods on the specially-built island of Deshima, located near Nagasaki. In return, the Japanese were introduced to Western approaches to medicine, mathematics, science, and other disciplines.South Africa
In 1652, many Dutch people settled near the Cape of Good Hope. Their descendants developed the Afrikaner ethnic group and Afrikaans language.Additional Posts in Asia and Africa
The Dutch established trading posts in many more places in the Eastern Hemisphere. Examples include:- Eastern Africa
- Middle East- especially Iran
- India
- Malaysia
- Ceylon - presently Sri Lanka
- Formosa - presently Taiwan
The Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company was founded in 1621 as a trading company in the New World. It established colonies in the following places:New York City, United States
Led by explorer Henry Hudson, the Dutch claimed present-day New York, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Delaware as the "New Netherlands". The Dutch traded with the Native Americans, primarily for fur. In 1626, the Dutch purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans and founded a fort called New Amsterdam. The British attacked the important seaport in 1664 and the outnumbered Dutch surrendered it. The British renamed New Amsterdam "New York" - now the most populated city in the United States.Suriname
In return for New Amsterdam, the Dutch received Suriname from the British. Known as Dutch Guiana, cash crops were grown on plantations. Suriname received its independence from the Netherlands in November 1975.Various Caribbean Islands
The Dutch are associated with several islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Dutch still control the "ABC Islands," or Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, all located off the coast of Venezuela. The Dutch also control the central Caribbean islands of Saba, St. Eustatius, and the southern half of the island of Sint Maarten. The amount of sovereignty that each island possesses has changed several times in the last few years.The Dutch controlled parts of northeastern Brazil and Guyana, before they became Portuguese and British, respectively.
