British forces take Cape Town from the VOC

As French forces entered the Dutch Republic, William V left for Britain. His exile set in motion instructions that Dutch colonial governors should accept British occupation to keep colonies from...

The proclamation followed the collapse of the old Dutch Republic under French military pressure. Colonial administration and company privileges would soon be reorganized, but the new regime...

From exile, William V instructed Dutch colonial governors to hand their colonies to Britain to prevent French seizure. The letters enabled British occupation of Dutch possessions in Asia and the...

Tula and fellow enslaved people at Knip refused to work and demanded freedom. The movement spread across Curaçao and became the largest uprising against slavery in the Dutch Atlantic. Tula’s political...

British forces occupied Malacca after receiving the Kew instructions and negotiated its transfer with Dutch officials. The occupation was presented as protection from France, but it shifted control...

After a British campaign and negotiations, Colombo capitulated. The surrender ended VOC rule in coastal Sri Lanka. The British takeover was another European transfer of colonial power; it did not...

The VOC ceased to exist when its charter expired. The Dutch state took over its debts, possessions, and administrative responsibilities. Company rule ended, but colonial extraction and coercive...

British forces defeated the Batavian garrison near Cape Town. The battle opened the way to British occupation, but the change of European rulers did not end settler land seizure or frontier wars...

After the Blaauwberg defeat and the surrender of part of the defending force, Governor Janssens and the remaining Batavian troops capitulated. British occupation began through an imperial handover...

British forces landed on Java during the Napoleonic Wars, attacking a colony administered by Dutch personnel under French imperial authority. For Javanese people the invasion meant another...