Dutch Empire

The Dutch Empire owned several territories that were in control by the Dutch Republic (also known as the United Provinces). The Dutch had created colonial empires, which were similar to those of Portugal and Spain. The Dutch used their skills in shipping and trade with other empires. However, they were trying to be independent from Spain. With the British, the Dutch first built up colonies. The colonies were based on state capitalist corporate colonialism by the Dutch East and the West India Companies. The Dutch explored and went on voyages. Some of them were led by Willem Barents, Henry Hudson and Abel Tasman, who found new places for Europeans.

Dutch Empire
An anachronous map of the Dutch colonial Empire. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by the Dutch East India Company; dark green the Dutch West India Company. Countries today  Netherlands  Belgium  Brazil  India  Indonesia  Malaysia  South Africa  Sri Lanka  Suriname  Taiwan  United States An anachronous map of the Dutch colonial Empire. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by the Dutch East India Company; dark green the Dutch West India Company. Countries today Netherlands Belgium Brazil India Indonesia Malaysia South Africa Sri Lanka Suriname Taiwan United States

The Dutch naval power was increasing. The Netherlands began to dominate global commerce during the second half of the 17th century. This was called the Dutch Golden Age. The Netherlands lost many colonies and its global power to the British after the country fell to French armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. The rest of the Dutch Empire (such as the Dutch East Indies) were in control of the Dutch until the decline of European imperialism afterWorld War II.

Today, the Netherlands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten form the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Dutch Empire Media

• Kaart van de Banda-eilanden, 1599, RP-P-OB-75.391.jpg

  Dutch map of the Banda Islands, dated c. 1599–1619

• Victor Meirelles - 'Battle of Guararapes', 1879, oil on canvas, Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, Rio de Janeiro 2.jpg

  The Portuguese victory at the Battle of Guararapes ended Dutch presence in Brazil.

• DutchPortugueseWar1661.png

  Dutch and Portuguese colonial empires at their Treaty of the Hague war settlement in 1661

• Dutch and Portuguese in Asia c 1665.png

  Primary Dutch and Portuguese settlements in Asia, c. 1665. With the exception of Jakarta and Deshima, all had been captured by the Dutch East India Company from Portugal.

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  Dutch conquests in the West Indies and Brazil

• Grote partij bij het opperhoofd van Dejima.jpg

  Dejima trading post in Japan, c. 1805

• Dutch East Indies Expansion.gif

  Expansion of the Dutch East Indies in the Indonesian Archipelago

• Presiden Sukarno.jpg

  Sukarno, leader of the Indonesian independence movement

• Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 10019010 Groep Nederlandse kolonisten op de bo.jpg

  Dutch colonists in Suriname, 1920. Most Europeans left after independence in 1975.

• Verwantschapslanden.png

  Contemporary countries and federated states which were significantly colonised by the Dutch. In the Netherlands, these countries are sometimes known as verwantschapslanden (kindred countries).

Other websites

• (in Dutch) De VOCsite
• Dutch and Portuguese Colonial History
• (in Dutch) VOC Kenniscentrum Archived 2023-08-14 at the Wayback Machine