Indonesia: Dutch merchants trade for nutmeg in the Moluccas, known to Europeans of the 16th and 17th centuries as the Spice Islands.

Indonesia: Dutch merchants trade for nutmeg in the Moluccas, known to Europeans of the 16th and 17th centuries as the Spice Islands.

The Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money and establish colonies. The VOC was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese. Between 1602 and 1796, the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.

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