What wa the Dutch East India Company?

The Dutch East India Company, often considered the world's first publicly traded company, was formed in 1602 when the States Generaal brought together six small, private East India companies in the Netherlands. The company's name was the United East India Company or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC), known to history as the Dutch East India Company.

What did the Dutch East India Company do?

The Dutch East India Company's primary purpose was trade, particularly obtaining a monopoly on the spice trade in Asia. In the course of its trading activities, the company became a colonial power in 17th-century Asia with the right to make treaties, build fortifications, and conduct military operations.

What happened to the Dutch East India Company?

The Dutch East India Company existed for nearly 200 years, from 1602 until its dissolution by the Dutch government on December 31, 1799.

What caused the decline of the Dutch East India Company?

Several factors caused the decline of the Dutch East India Company: high administrative costs, corruption, the heavy financial burden of arming company ships to fight off rivals such as the East India Company, and a decline in consumer demand for spices by the end of the 18th century.

Dutch East India Company Timeline

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Definition

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed in 1602 by the Staten-Generaal (States General) of the then Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The company was granted a 21-year charter with rights to trade exclusively in Asia and to buy valuable spices, such as nutmeg, mace, and cloves. Spices were in high demand in Europe to flavour food dishes and for use in medicines, and the company eventually gained a monopoly on spices.

More about: Dutch East India Company

Timeline

1602
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is granted a 21-year charter to trade in Asia and search for spices.
1602
The founding capital of the Dutch East India Company (6.4 million guilders) is raised from public share issues.
1602 - 1799
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is in existence.
1605
The Dutch East India Company secures its first base in Ambon in the Moluccas (Spice Islands). The Dutch called the fort Kasteel Victoria.
1619
Batavia (present-day Jakarta) becomes the Dutch East India Company 's main administrative centre and warehouse. It remains the capital of the colonial Dutch East Indies until 1942.
1619
Jan Pieterszoon Coen attacks the kingdoms of Banten and Jayakarta. Jayakarta is burned to the ground and Batavia is built on the city's ruins.
1621
The Banda Massacre. Jan Pieterszoon Coen, 1,655 soldiers and 250 Japanese mercenaries land on Lontor (present-day Banda Besar). More than 10,000 Bandanas are killed and the Dutch secure a monopoly on nutmeg.
1623
The Amboyna Massacre. Ten Englishmen, nine Japanese, and a Portuguese trader are tried and executed in Amboyna (present-day Ambon). The Dutch believe there is a plot to seize their fortress and assassinate the VOC governor-general.
1634
Abel Janszoon Tasman leaves Batavia in search of gold and silver for the Dutch East India Company and a sea passage across the Pacific to Chile.
1696
Willem de Vlamingh is sent to search for two Dutch East India Company ships and is instructed to chart parts of the Western Australian coast. He and his crew become the first documented Europeans to sight the Western Australian black swan.
1760
The annual profit for the Dutch East India Company is six million guilders.
1780
The Dutch clash with the English in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The British Navy destroys the Dutch fleet and severely disrupts its East Indies trading route.
1799
On December 31, 1799, the Dutch East India Company is formally dissolved by the Dutch government. The company existed for nearly 200 years.
1799
At its height, the Dutch East India Company’s stock is worth 78 million Dutch guilders (approximately USD 7.9 trillion).

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