United East India Company
[a]
|
Company flag (1630)
|
Native name
| - Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie
- Generale Vereenichde Geoctrooieerde Compagnie
(original name)
- Verenigde Nederlandsche Geoctroyeerde Oostindische Compagnie
(formal name)
|
---|
Company type
| |
---|
Industry
| Proto-conglomerate
|
---|
Predecessor
| |
---|
Founded
| 20 March 1602
; 422 years ago
(
1602-03-20
)
,
[1]
by a government-directed
consolidation
of the
voorcompagnieen
/pre-companies
|
---|
Founder
| Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
and the
States-General
|
---|
Defunct
| 31 December 1799
(
1799-12-31
)
|
---|
Fate
| Dissolved
and
nationalised
as
Dutch East Indies
|
---|
Headquarters
| |
---|
Area served
| |
---|
Key people
| |
---|
Products
| Spices
, silk,
porcelain
,
metals
, livestock, tea, grain, rice,
soybeans
,
sugarcane
,
wine
,
coffee
|
---|
The
Dutch East India Company
(Old Dutch:
Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie
), or
VOC
, started in 1602, when the
Netherlands
gave a group of small trading companies a 21-year
monopoly
to trade in
Asia
. It was the first
multinational corporation
in the world and the first company to issue
stock
.
[2]
The VOC had the power to start wars, make
treaties
, make its own money and start new
colonies
.
[3]
It was an important company for almost 200 years, but it became
bankrupt
in 1800.
[4]
The VOC's colonies became the
Dutch East Indies
, which later became
Indonesia
.
In the 16th century, trade with Asia was mostly controlled by
Portugal
. The Dutch government wished to take a foothold in the
spice
market, as Portugal could not keep up with the demand and rising prices in
Europe
. With government funding, the VOC set up its first trading post in what is now Jakarta, which eventually became its main base of operations in the continent.
In 1620, the VOC created a trade agreement with their biggest rival in Asia, the
English East India Company
. This lasted until 1623, when the
Amboyna Massacre
forced the EEIC to move its trading posts from Indonesia to other areas in the continent.
In the 1620's, the VOC extended their reach to the remaining Indonesian Islands, and established plantations on the colonised islands to increase the volume of their exports. This expansion continued, until eventually the VOC was the richest company in the world.
In 1640, the VOC founded a trading post in Ceylon (
Sri Lanka
), the last place where the Portuguese had a foothold. The VOC now had a total monopoly over trade between Europe and Southern Asia.
Ships from the VOC were among the early explorers of
Australia
. The first
Europeans
to live in Australia were left behind after the
mutiny
on the VOC ship
Batavia
in 1629. Many of the sailors who took part in the mutiny were
executed
, but two, Wouter Loos, a soldier, and Jan Pelgrom de Bye, a cabin boy, were left at Wittecarra Gully, near the mouth of the
Murchison River
. They were never seen again.
- ↑
The direct translation of the Dutch name
Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie
is "United East-India Company". For the VOC's different English-language
trade names
, see articles:
East India companies
; Greater India;
East India
;
East Indies
; Dutch East Indies;
Dutch India
;
Voorcompagnie
; List of Dutch East India Company trading posts and settlements.
- ↑
The so-called
voorcompagnieen
(or pre-companies) include:
Compagnie van Verre
(Amsterdam, 1594?1598),
Nieuwe Compagnie
,
Eerste Verenigde Compagnie op Oost-Indie
(Amsterdam, 1598?1601),
Oude Oost-Indische Compagnie
(Amsterdam, 1598?1601),
Verenigde Amsterdamse Compagnie
,
Nieuwe of Tweede Compagnie
,
Brabantsche Compagnie
,
Nieuwe Brabantsche Compagnie
,
Magelhaensche Compagnie/Rotterdamse Compagnie
,
Middelburgse Compagnie
,
Veerse Compagnie
(Zeeland, 1597),
Verenigde Zeeuwse Compagnie
(Middelburg & Veere, 1600),
Compagnie van De Moucheron
(Zeeland, 1600), and
Delftse Vennootschap
. Niels Steensgaard (
The Asian Trade Revolution of the Seventeenth Century
, 1973) notes, "the
voorcompagnieen
were not
incorporated
, but were run by a number of
bewindhebbers
, who were joined together like partners in a simple company, i.e. traded on joint account".
- ↑
As the VOC's board of directors
- ↑
As the VOC's
de facto
chief executives
Media related to
Dutch East India Company
at Wikimedia Commons