The Dutch Empire is a collective term referring to diverse territories which had some kind of dominance or control from the Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th Century. The Dutch followed the examples of Portugal and Spain, creating an enormous colonial empire outside of Europe. The people of the Netherlands were skilled enough and had time to explore the world – the greatest shipmen and tradesmen came from there. Some of the renowned Dutch colonisation heroes were Henry Hudson, Abel Tasman, Willem Janzoon and Willem Barents.

The Netherlands didn’t want to fall behind the strong British and Spanish colonial empires. With fleet and ships used for trade, the Netherlands quickly caught up with its two powerful rivals. Its power rising rapidly as a major force from the late 16th Century, the Netherlands reigned supreme at sea, and dominated global commerce during the second half of the 17th Century. The period of colonisation started in the 16th Century and ended as late as the 20th Century. Even today, some parts of the Dutch East Indies, nowadays Indonesia, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles are still under the control of the Hague.

The Empire included the following colonies:

Dutch East Indies or Indonesia (partly)

In the beginning of the 17th Century, Portuguese trading posts in the Spice Islands were defeated by the Dutch, who outnumbered them and had more firepower.  In 1619, a fort was founded in Batavia, which became the capital of the Dutch East Indies, and very soon after that in Indonesia and its capital Jakarta. The Indonesians stayed under the rule of the Dutch until the end of World War II, when they declared independence.

Dutch Ceylon (nowadays Sri Lanka)

The Dutch first conquered Ceylon at the beginning of the 17th Century. They didn’t want to interfere with the religious beliefs of the indigenous population, but counted rather on the trade opportunities that the new lands provided. The island itself was an important source of animals and spices, like cinnamon, for example.

Formosa (nowadays Taiwan)

The Dutch fortified base on Taiwan, Fort Zeelandia was conquered by the ruler of Taiwan,  Koxinga, in 1662. The island itself exported cane sugar and animal skins, mainly deer. It was also a place for the Dutch to meet with merchants from China.

Malacca

The Dutch took Malacca (currently in West Malaysia) in the middle of the 17th Century. They extricated it from the Portuguese. As the treaty signed with royal representative William V of Orange stipulated, it was taken by the British in 1806, at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It was given back to Great Britain by the Netherlands after that in 1824.

Other important colonies of the Netherlands include: Deshima, New Holland (today Australia), South Africa Cape colony (The Republic of South Africa), Dutch West Indies (Antilles), Suriname, Guyana, Brazil, the Virgin Islands and more.