| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The VOC consisted of 6 Chambers (Kamers) in Amsterdam, Middelburg (for Zeeland), Enkhuizen, Delft, Hoorn and Rotterdam. Delegates of these chambers convened as the Heeren XVII (the Lords Seventeen). The Kamers contributed delegates to the seventeen in proportion to the capital that they had subscribed; Amsterdam's delegates numbered eight.
The company established its headquarters in Batavia on Java (now JakartaThis page is about the capital city of Indonesia. For an entry on The Apache Jakarta project, see Jakarta Project''. Jakarta known as Djakarta or DKI Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia, located on the island of Java. It has an area of 650 kmē and a, IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia the world's largest archipelago, is located between the Southeast Asian peninsula and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Indonesia borders Malaysia on the island of Borneo ( Kalimantan in Bahasa Indonesia), Papua N). Other colonial outposts were also established in the Dutch East Indies what later became IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia the world's largest archipelago, is located between the Southeast Asian peninsula and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Indonesia borders Malaysia on the island of Borneo ( Kalimantan in Bahasa Indonesia), Papua N, such as on the Spice IslandsThe term Spice Islands is most commonly used to refer to the Maluku Islands (formerly the Moluccas , which lie on the equator, between the Celebes and the New Guinea islands (see: map of southeast Asia), though it has also been used in reference to other ( Moluccas), which include the Banda IslandsThe Banda Islands Kepulauan Banda in Bahasa Indonesia) are are group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about 140km south of Seram island and about 2000km east of Java, and are part of the Indonesian province of Maluku. The capital city is Ba where the VOC forcibly maintained a monopoly over nutmegNutmeg and mace are two spices derived from the same plant, the nutmeg tree Myristica fragrans The nutmeg tree is indigenous to the Banda Islands of Indonesia but is also grown in the Caribbean, especially in Grenada. Several commercial products are produ and mace .
A VOC trade post on Deshima, an artificial island off the coast of Nagasaki, was for a long time the only place where Europeans could trade with Japan.
In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck established an outpost at the Cape of Good Hope (south end of Africa, currently in South Africa) to resupply VOC ships on their journey to East Asia. This post later became a conventional colony when other Europeans started to settle there. VOC outposts were also established in Persia (now Iran), Bengal (now Bangladesh and part of India), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Malacca (Melaka, now in Malaysia), Siam (now Thailand), mainland China ( Kanton), Formosa (now Taiwan) and southern India. In 1662, Koxinga expelled the Dutch from Taiwan. By 1669, the VOC was the richest company the world had ever seen, with over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, a private army of 10,000 soldiers, and paid a dividend of 40%.
The company was in almost constant conflict with the English; relations were particularly embittered after the Amboyna Massacre in 1623. During the 18th century, its possessions were increasingly focused on the Dutch East Indies. After the fourth war between the Dutch Republic and England ( 1780- 1784), the VOC got into financial trouble, and in 1798, the company was dissolved. The Dutch East Indies were awarded to The Netherlands by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.