Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company 1602–1798, chartered by the States-General of the Netherlands to expand trade and assure close relations between the government and its colonial enterprises in Asia. The company was granted a monopoly on Dutch trade E of the Cape of Good Hope and W of the Strait of Magellan. From its headquarters at Batavia (founded 1619) the company subdued local rulers, drove the British and Portuguese from Indonesia, Malaya, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and arrogated to itself the fabulous trade of the Spice Islands. A colony, established (1652) in South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, remained Dutch until conquered by Great Britain in 1814. The company was dissolved when it became scandalously corrupt and nearly insolvent in the late 18th cent., and its possessions became part of the Dutch colonial empire in East Asia.

Bibliography: See A. Hyma, The Dutch in the Far East (1942, repr. 1953); study by B. Gardner (1972).

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Dutch East India Company." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Dutch East India Company." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-EastIndD.html

"Dutch East India Company." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-EastIndD.html

Learn more about citation styles

Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company A CHARTERED COMPANY established (1602) under the aegis of Prince Maurice of Nassau to coordinate the activities of companies competing for trade in the East Indies and to act as an arm of the Dutch state in its struggle against Spain. It was involved in attacks on the Portuguese (then part of the SPANISH EMPIRE), and warfare with native rulers, and created a virtual monopoly in trade in fine spices (for example cloves, nutmeg, and mace) grown under its supervision in the Moluccas and the Banda Islands. In 1619 it made Batavia its headquarters. It ousted the Portuguese from Ceylon, set up trading posts in India, Persia, and Nagasaki, and made the Cape of Good Hope a base for Dutch ships en route to and from the East. In 1799 it was liquidated, its debts, possessions, and responsibilities being taken over by the Dutch state.


Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Dutch East India Company." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Dutch East India Company." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-DutchEastIndiaCompany.html

"Dutch East India Company." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-DutchEastIndiaCompany.html

Learn more about citation styles

Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company see East India Company, Dutch .

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Dutch East India Company." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Dutch East India Company." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-DutchEIC.html

"Dutch East India Company." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-DutchEIC.html

Learn more about citation styles

Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company See East India Company

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Dutch East India Company." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Dutch East India Company." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-DutchEastIndiaCompany.html

"Dutch East India Company." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-DutchEastIndiaCompany.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

VOC (Dutch East India Company) 1602-2002: 400 Years of Company Law.(Brief...
Magazine article from: Reference &amp; Research Book News; 11/1/2005
The Worlds of the East India Company.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 4/1/2004
The Worlds of the East India Company.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Albion; 1/1/2004
East India Company, Dutch images
Dutch East India Company building, Amsterdam. (Image by Iijjccoo,GFDL)