Pattimura’s forces capture Fort Duurstede

The formal capitulation transferred Java to British rule. Raffles later changed land and trade policies, but British rule remained colonial rule. For island communities it was another externally...

A royal decree barred Dutch ships from being equipped for the Atlantic slave trade. It followed British pressure and did not emancipate people already enslaved or end plantation slavery. Ending the...

The Convention restored many former Dutch possessions but left the Cape and Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice outside Dutch control. European governments negotiated territory without the consent of...

The Dutch resumed government on Java after British occupation. The restored state empire would expand through military campaigns and crop extraction; local rulers retained limited authority under...

Thomas Matulessy, known as Pattimura, led revolt against Dutch restoration in Maluku. Resistance opposed renewed colonial demands, forced deliveries, and loss of local autonomy. Indonesian public...

Dutch authorities executed Pattimura after suppressing the uprising. Executions and punitive force aimed to restore colonial controls over local labor and trade. His death did not extinguish...

Some Minangkabau adat leaders signed an agreement inviting Dutch intervention against Padri forces. It reflected internal conflict but also opened a route for Dutch expansion inland. It should not...

Britain and the Netherlands defined competing claims in maritime Southeast Asia. The agreement divided Malay political space between European powers and enabled Dutch consolidation across the...

The Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij was established to stimulate trade and shipping, later becoming a major conduit for colonial products. Its growth connected Dutch finance and industry to...

The scheduled handovers shifted British-held Bengkulu to the Dutch and Dutch-held Malacca to Britain. The exchange organized European spheres around the Strait of Malacca, disregarding political...