Coen’s invasion fleet arrives at Fort Nassau

The expedition returned after more than two years, with only a fraction of its original crew. It brought back pepper and other commodities and demonstrated that Dutch ships could reach Asian ports,...

The States General merged competing Dutch pre-companies into the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) and gave it a monopoly over Dutch trade in a vast area between the Cape of Good Hope and the...

VOC Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen appealed to the company’s directors for more soldiers, ships, and money to confront Bandanese resistance and English competition. The appeal shows how the...

VOC forces captured the Javanese port town of Jayakarta. The company destroyed much of the settlement and built its fortified administrative centre there, later called Batavia (today Jakarta). This...

In a letter to the VOC directors, Coen argued that Banda should be subjugated and repopulated to secure the company’s nutmeg monopoly. The proposal made the colonial aim explicit: displace the...

A Dutch reconnaissance and landing party attempting to find a beachhead on Lontor came under fire and was pushed back. The defense demonstrates that Bandanese communities were active military...

Coen ordered a coordinated assault on several positions on Lontor. VOC troops captured strategic locations, driving defenders and residents toward the island’s interior. The campaign targeted the...

By the end of the assault, VOC forces held key lowland and coastal areas while Bandanese people retreated to the hills. Occupation did not end resistance. The seizure enabled the VOC to destroy...

VOC authorities arrested Bandanese orang kaya (community leaders) and used torture during interrogations about an alleged conspiracy. The proceedings supplied a justification for executions and...

VOC officials executed dozens of Bandanese orang kaya after coercive interrogations and a summary proceeding. Scholarly accounts commonly identify 44 people, while figures and descriptions vary across...