The Dutch Colonial Empire: Small Metropole, Big Ambitions

Today, we know the Netherlands as a small democratic European state with advanced economies and cutting-edge technologies. It is a country that respects personal and national boundaries. However, during the establishment of capitalism, the Dutch were extremely active in colonizing all parts of the world. By the force of their arms and investments, they have built their own colonial empire, stretching from North America to the shores of South Africa and the islands of modern Indonesia. It all began in the second half of the 16th century, when the first bourgeois revolution in world history broke out in the Spanish Netherlands. The Dutch rebels, most of whom were Calvinist, a form of Protestantism, were dissatisfied with the religious repression of the Spanish Habsburg Catholic government. In addition, the Dutch resented the frequent tax increases that had been used to finance Philip II's new wars of conquest. Not only ordinary people, but also Dutch aristocrats were prepared for confrontation. They were deprived of positions of power in favor of Spanish professional officials. Despite an enormous advantage of the enemy, the Dutch rebels were able to defeat the Spanish Habsburgs and create an independent oligarchic republic, the United Provinces of the Netherlands. However, the Spanish monarchs managed to reconquer the southern provinces of the historic Netherlands. For several years, the independence of the Netherlands was never legally recognized by the Habsburgs, and there were periodic wars between the two sides. The Netherlands' future brilliant economic recovery was made possible by the development of maritime trade. In the early 17th century, Dutch merchants controlled about 65% of trade in the Baltic and North Seas. In addition, the Netherlands was a leader in shipbuilding. Their merchant marine fleet in the first half of the 17th century was ahead of English, Portuguese, and French fleets. The constant threat of an invasion by a powerful and larger enemy led to the militarization of the Netherlands. Each city had to form garrisons and train soldiers. In addition, they created a professional national army, the main force of which was infantry, armed with firearms, arquebuses, and muskets. Prince Maurice of Orange was the first to introduce elements of progressive linear tactics, allowing to quickly destroy light or heavily armored enemy units by the use of active volley fire. The new Dutch school of fortification and siege art, which was at the forefront of Europe at the time, developed rapidly. It should be said that the Netherlands was extremely urbanized at that time, about 40%, while having a tiny amount of vacant land. This has led to the intensive spread of new technologies that have helped to produce high yields. In addition, the small amount of land led to resettlement of the population to cities, where people have become wage laborers or have gone on voyages. Township craftsmen and manufacturers produced a variety of goods, including quality weapons, ships and ship tools, and a wide range of clothing and household items. This strategy of economic development brought more added value and contributed to the quicker enrichment of the Dutch bourgeoisie. The growth of revenues also led to the development of banking. One of the world's first stock exchanges was founded in Amsterdam by shareholders of the Dutch East India Trading Company in 1602. The war with the Spanish Habsburgs effectively cut off the Dutch market from direct supplies of spices. The spices were mostly smuggled into the United Provinces, but as a result the goods became more expensive and scarce. The genesis of Dutch colonization and expansion can be traced back to 1594, when the Compagnie van Weer was established in Amsterdam. The company's two expeditions to the Moluccas were led by Dutch sailors who had sailing experience on Portuguese ships in the Indian Ocean. Despite the high mortality rate among the crew and the loss of ships, the spice trade was profitable at 400%. The success of the company immediately inspired the competitors, but with the mediation of the state, these enterprises were merged into the Netherlands East India Trading Company. It was this company that became one of the first joint-stock establishments and the engine of Dutch colonialism. Its statutory capital was about 6 million guilders, 11 times bigger than the asset of the English East India Company. The company had the rights to recruit its own army and navy. It could establish diplomatic contacts and also had some legal immunity in the territories it had seized. The main competitors of the Dutch were the Portuguese. Their military and trade positions were weakened after the establishment of the Iberian Union. The flotillas of the Dutch East India Company carried out methodical attacks on Portuguese shipping and drove competitors out of the purchasing areas of spices, tea and other valuable raw materials. The Dutch East India Trading Company first established forts in the territory of present-day Indonesia and from 1609 began to methodically conquer lands owned by the Portuguese or local Muslim sultans. Jan Pieter Zoon Cohen, under whose command the Jawa island was conquered, was particularly proactive and cruel. In the course of the conquest, local residents who had resisted or lived in a rebellious region were mercilessly killed. After this, the Dutch captured large areas of Sumatra, Borneo, conquered Malacca and the Moluccas and eliminated the Portuguese from the region. Upon the initiative of Jan Cohen, the Republic of Formosa, a modern-day Taiwan, was also captured, from where the Dutch eventually drove the Spanish out. In the conquered territories were established spice-growing plantations, for which the local population and black slaves were forced to work. In addition, the Dutch East India Company established extensive trade with China and Japan, from where Dutch ships supplied tea and silk to European markets. The Dutch were actively colonizing the New World as well. In the early 17th century, Dutch navigators led by Henry Hudson and Adrian Bloch explored the coast of the modern northeastern United States. They declared the area a possession of the United Provinces and named it New Netherland. In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was formed to explore, trade and occupy new lands. It was its representatives who actively participated in the creation of commercial forts in North America, the Caribbean, South America and West Africa. In 1625, a Dutch trading fort was built on Manhattan Island. This settlement later grew into a town called New Amsterdam. By the mid-17th century, the European population of New Netherland did not exceed 9,000. The colonists engaged in fur trade, trade with the local Native Americans, growing wheat and tobacco. However, the colony did not generate significant income. At the same time, the Dutch West India Trading Company was actively colonizing the islands of the Caribbean region. Most of the land there was reconquered from Spain, but their aggregate area was tiny and further attempts to drive the Spanish out of the Caribbean waters failed. The Netherlands also made an ambitious attempt to establish itself in South America. At first, the Dutch captured lands in northeastern Guyana and from 1630 they defeated the Portuguese and conquered much of Portuguese Brazil. In the South American colonies, the Netherlands grew sugarcane and tobacco. They also harvested valuable timber and mined gold. Their economic activity involved the intensive use of slave labor. The capture of large Brazilian lands with their rich deposits seemed promising. However, an attempt by the Dutch to convert Portuguese colonists and native Indians into Protestantism provoked an uprising supported by Portugal. As the First Anglo-Dutch War continued, the Dutch government was unable to send the aid and the Dutch colonists were completely defeated and surrendered in 1654. One of the priorities of the Netherlands East India Company was the establishment of trading posts in India. The first Dutch trading posts were established in Pulicat, Surat, and Orissa. There, the Dutch bought spices, precious stones, and fabrics for resale in European markets. They exchanged these goods for weapons and ammunition. Subsequently, the company's troops, with the participation of local allied princes, drove the Portuguese from the Malabar and Coromandel coasts and captured Cochin. On the conquered lands, the cultivation of spices and rice was set up. At that time, the Dutch East India Company also captured the territories of Portuguese Ceylon, which later became one of the most profitable Dutch colonies. In the second half of the 17th century, the company reached the peak of its power. Its fleet numbered about 200 ships, its private army numbered 10,000 soldiers, and the price of shares grew by 10% each year. At the same time, the Dutch faced strong, active opposition from the English East India Company in India, which tried to eliminate competitors. The Netherlands has made considerable efforts to establish its colonies on the African continent. The Dutch built forts at the mouth of the rivers Senegal, Gambia, Congo, and Mozambique. The Dutch colonization that took place in Ghana had a bigger scale. There, in 1637, the Dutch formed a colony that later covered much of the Gold Coast. These estates became a source for the purchase and capture of slaves, the extraction of gold and diamonds, and the purchase of elephant tusks. In 1652 in South Africa, Jan van Riebeeck founded the Cape Colony, which served as an important stronghold on the road to the eastern Dutch colonies. In the second half of the 17th century, in addition to long-standing confrontations with Spain and Portugal, the Netherlands have been attacked by England. The cause of the three Anglo-Dutch wars was the struggle for colonies and procurement markets in all colonial regions, Asia, Africa, and America. The English had beneficial geographical location and more manpower, but the Netherlands had a slightly better financial position and a minor advantage in the size of the merchant fleet at the beginning of the confrontation. The first war ended with the victory of England. According to the peace treaty, Dutch merchants de facto were losing the English market. In the second Anglo-Dutch war, although the English army and navy were more numerous, the Dutch gained an advantage in key naval battles thanks to the skillful Admiral Michael Adriaenszoon de Ruyter. However, the British fought better on land in the colonies. The result of the war was an exchange of territories. England received the captured New Netherlands. New Amsterdam was renamed New York. The Netherlands received the lands of Suriname. There were no victors in the third Anglo-Dutch war either, but the Dutch economy suffered terrible damage from English maritime piracy and the invasion of England's new ally, France. Risky and failed attempts to drive Spain and Portugal out of Central and South America were one of the reasons for the Dutch West India Company's bankruptcy. The Anglo-Dutch wars and further competition with larger British forces led to the gradual stagnation of the Dutch colonial empire. In the end, the Netherlands gave way in the colonial race to more powerful states with more population, military power, and capital.