Dutch Colonial Policy in the Seventeenth Century

During the seventeenth century the Dutch had possessions in almost every continent, but their main interest was and continued to be the Malay Archipelago, now known as Indonesia. The search for these islands, known to be the source of spices, had launched die Age of Discovery with the explosive effect of opening the whole world to the countries of Western Europe. The Portuguese and Spanish had divided the world between themselves by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). Their aim was twofold: exploitation of newly discovered lands and a crusade to spread the Christian faith. England and the Dutch Republic, both Protestant, refused to abide by this arbitrary division, which had been sanctioned by die Pope. Both countries defended the principle that “the sea was as free as the air.”