The Dutch West India Company or WICDutch pronunciation:[ʋɛstˈɪndisəkɔmpɑˈɲi] was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors, formally known as GWC. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647) and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the Dutch West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America.
The United East India Company and commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered trading company and the first joint-stock company in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands existing companies, it was granted a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia. Shares in the company could be bought by any resident of the United Provinces and then subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets. The company possessed quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish colonies. Also, because it traded across multiple colonies and countries from both the East and the West, the VOC is sometimes considered to have been the world's first multinational corporation.
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company.
IJlst is a city in Friesland, Netherlands. It is located about 3 km southwest of Sneek. It lies within the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân and had a population of approximately 3,140 in January 2017.
Simon van der Stel was the first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1691), the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. He was interested in botany, establishing vineyards Groot and Klein Constantia, and producing a famous dessert wine. He is considered one of the founders of South African viticulture.
A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights by royal charter for the purpose of trade, exploration, or colonization, or a combination of these.
Isaac Titsingh FRS was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant. During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the Dutch East India Company. He represented the European trading company in exclusive official contact with Tokugawa Japan, traveling to Edo twice for audiences with the shogun and other high bakufu officials. He was the Dutch and VOC governor general in Chinsura, Bengal.
Rijcklof Volckertsz. van Goens was the Governor of Zeylan and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He was the Governor of Zeylan from 12 May 1660 to 1661, then in 1663 and finally from 19 November 1664 to 1675 during the Dutch period in Ceylon. He was also served as Council Member of India during 1679. Van Goens’ managed to monopolize the cinnamon trade, get hold of the Malabar pepper and drive away the Portuguese from Ceylon and the Coromandel Coast for the VOC.
Gerard Reynst was a Dutch merchant and later the second Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Femme Simon Gaastra was a Dutch Professor of maritime history at the University of Leiden and a leading expert on the history of the Dutch East India Company.
The Compagnie van Verre was one of the forerunner companies that were later merged (united) into the Dutch East India Company.
Pieter Anthoniszoon Overtwater, also known as Anthonisz. or over 't Water, was a merchant/trader and official of the Dutch East India Company.
Maximiliaan le Maire was a merchant/trader and official of the Dutch East India Company.
Mattheus de Haan (1663–1729) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1725 to 1729.
Isaac Le Maire was a Dutch entrepreneur, investor, and a sizeable shareholder of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He is best known for his constant strife with the VOC, which ultimately led to the discovery of Cape Horn.
Joan Paul Schaghen was an acting Governor of Ceylon in 1725 and 1726 and director-general of the council of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia from 1737 to 1741.
A voorcompagnie (pre-company) is the name given to trading companies from the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands that traded in Asia between 1594 and 1602, before they merged to form the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The pre-companies were financed by merchants from the Northern Netherlands and rich immigrants from the Southern Netherlands. Because of the deadly competition, the government forced the smaller trading companies to unite and form the (United) East India Company. In its turn, it received the exclusive rights for the trade with Asia for the following 21 years.
The Compagnie van De Moucheron was a pre-company and precursor of the Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie, from the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was founded by Balthazar de Moucheron, a ship owner from Antwerp in the Southern Netherlands. After the fall of Antwerp he moved his business to Zeeland. The fleet of the Compagnie van De Moucheron was made up of three ships, 'Ram', 'Schaap' (Sheep) and the pinasse 'Lam' (Lamb) and was headed by Joris van Spilbergen. Its fleet left on 5 May 1601 and returned to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in 1604.
The Veerse Compagnie was a pre-company from the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands that was founded by Balthazar de Moucheron, a ship owner from Antwerp in the Southern Netherlands. After the fall of Antwerp he moved his business to Zeeland. The fleet of the Veerse Compagnie was made up of two ships; 'Leeuw' (Lion) and 'Leeuwin' (Lioness) and was headed by Cornelis Houtman. Its fleet left from Veere on 28 March 1598 and returned to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in 1600.
The Battle of the Gianh River was a naval clash between the Dutch East India Company (VOC) navy and the Vietnamese Nguyen navy that took place off the coast of Gulf of Tonkin, at the mouth of the Gianh River. The Dutch fleet was in coordination with the northern lord Trịnh Tráng to assault the Nguyens in the south, but a Nguyen fleet commanded by prince Nguyễn Phúc Tần pursued the Dutch fleet and engaged them on the Gianh River, resulting in a Nguyen victory. This was the first time a Vietnamese navy defeated a European navy.
