Eastern Indonesia, c. 1630–1800

Abstract

By about 1630 the Dutch had made much progress towards laying the military foundations for commercial hegemony over the seaborne trade of Indonesia. They were established on Ambon, in the heart of the spice-producing islands, and had their headquarters at Batavia in the west of the archipelago. In 1641 Portuguese Malacca fell into VOC hands, and in 1648 the Thirty Years’ War ended in Europe, bringing to a close the state of hostility between the Netherlands and Spain. It became clear in the middle years of the seventeenth century, however, that VOC hegemony could not be established merely by peace treaties, the erection of fortresses and the maintenance of naval supremacy. Both major and minor Indonesian powers were still able to frustrate the VOC’s plans. The VOC was therefore obliged to adopt an even more aggressive military policy, with direct intervention into the internal affairs of several Indonesian states. Thus were laid the foundations for what may be called the first Dutch empire in Indonesia. Among the Governors-General who presided over this more expansionist phase Antonio van Dieman (1636–45), Joan Maetsuycker (1653–78), Rijklof van Goens (1678–81) and Cornelis Janszoon Speelman (1681–4) stand out, not usually as paragons of virtue, but as architects of the VOC’s military expansion.