Dutch West India Company (Dutch: West-Indische Compagnie or WIC) was a company of Dutch merchants. On June 3, 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the West Indies (meaning the Caribbean) by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over the African slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America. The area where the company could operate consisted of West Africa (the area between the Tropic of Cancer and Cape of Good Hope) and the Americas, which included the Pacific Ocean and the eastern part of New Guinea. The intended purpose of the charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese, between the various trading posts established by the merchants. The company became instrumental in the Dutch colonization of the Americas. Merchants function as professionals who deal with trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to produce profit. ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... Events February 9 - Gregory XV is elected pope. ... The arms of the British South Africa Company A chartered company is an association formed by investors or shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonisation. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... This article is about the Dutch United Provinces. ... Slave transport in Africa, from a 19th century engraving The African slave trade dates back thousands of years to Biblical times and continues today unabated in most parts of Africa. ... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean, (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen) or the West Indies, is a group of islands and countries which are in or border the Caribbean Sea which lies on... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... The Tropic of Cancer (cancer (♋) is Latin for crab), one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth, is the parallel of latitude that lies 23° 26 22 north of the Equator. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... World map showing the Americas The Americas commonly refers to the lands of the Western hemisphere, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... During the 17th century, Dutch traders established trade posts and plantations throughout the Americas; actual colonization, with Dutch settling in the new lands was not as common as with settlements of other European nations. ...

The WIC was organised similar to the (far greater and richer) Dutch East India Company (VOC), which had a trade monopoly for Asia (mainly present Indonesia) since 1602, except for the fact that the WIC was not allowed to conduct military operations without approval of the Dutch government. Like the VOC, the company had five offices, called chambers (kamers), in Amsterdam, Rotterdam (both in Holland), Middelburg (in Zeeland), Hoorn and Groningen (city) (in the north), of which the chambers in Amsterdam and Middelburg contributed most to the company. The board consisted of 19 members, known as the Heeren XIX (the Lords Nineteen). Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... This page is about the year. ... Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 742,951(1 January 2005) Coordinates Website www. ... For other places named Rotterdam, see Rotterdam (disambiguation) Rotterdam ( (help· info)), located in the province of South Holland, is the second largest municipality in the Netherlands (after Amsterdam). ... This is about the city in the Netherlands. ... Hoorn is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... Groningen (or Grunn in the local dialect) is a municipality and a middle-size city in the north of the Netherlands, and capital of Groningen province. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The company was initially relatively successful; in the 1620s and 1630s, many trade posts or colonies were established. The New Netherland area, which included New Amsterdam, covered parts of present-day New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey. Other settlements were established on the Netherlands Antilles, several other Caribbean islands, Suriname and Guyana. In 1630, the colony of New Holland (capital Mauritsstad (modern Recife)) was formed, taking over Portuguese possessions in Brazil. In Africa, posts were established on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and briefly in Angola. Events and Trends Permanent Dutch settlement of New York Bay and the Hudson River. ... Events and Trends Thirty Years War in full swing in Europe September 8, 1636 - A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes Harvard College as the first college founded in the Americas. ... Map based on Adriaen Blocks 1614 expedition to New Netherland, featuring the first use of the name. ... Dutch Revival buildings from the early 20th century on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan recall the Dutch origins of the city. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 48th 5,549 sq mi  14,371 km² 70 miles  113 km 110 miles  177 km 12. ... Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 49th 6,452 km² 48 km 161 km 21. ... Official language(s) None defined, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 47th 22,608 km² 110 km 240 km 14. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... Boa Viagem district. ... Flag of Gold Coast Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa. ...

Another success for the WIC was the capture of a fleet carrying silver from the Spanish colonies to Europe by Piet Hein in 1628 - piracy was one of the objectives of the WIC. Piet Heyn, 1577-1629 Piet Pieterszoon Hein (also written as Heyn) (November 25, 1577 – June 18, 1629) was a Dutch naval officer and folk hero during the Eighty Years War between the Netherlands and Spain. ... Events March 1 - writs were issued in February 1628 by Charles I of England that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. ...

In the Americas, fur (North America) and sugar (South America) were the most important trade goods, while African settlements traded slaves - mainly destined for the plantations on the Antilles and Suriname - gold and ivory. A dogs fur usually consists of longer, stiffer, guard hairs—which can be straight, wiry, or wavy, and of various lengths, hiding a soft, short-haired undercoat. ...

However, the successes quickly ended. New Holland was lost to Portuguese Brazil in 1654, after a long war, and many other trading posts were also destroyed or captured by rivaling European nations. The New Netherland colonisation effort did not spread further either, in part due to a fierce rivalry with the English, who conquered New Netherland in 1664, and in part due to the difficulty of attracting settlers under the company's initial policy of the Patroon system, which granted vast power over settlers to the men who brought them to the colony. Map based on Adriaen Blocks 1614 expedition to New Netherland, featuring the first use of the name. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... A patroon was a proprietor of a tract of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America. ...

After years of debts, the original WIC folded in 1674, and a new, reorganised company was formed. Piracy was abandoned, and it concentrated primarily on the African slave trade and remaining possessions in Suriname and the Antilles. Events February 19 - England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

After the English took control of Suriname for several years in the 1780s, the WIC appeared unable to recover from this, and in 1791, the stocks of the company were bought by the Dutch government, and the territories were placed under its control. Nothing much really happened in the 1780s only that Mary-Anne Tobin was hung in public for wearing a flase beard and voting. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

WIC ships

• Halve Maen
• To be completed

The Halve Maen (Half Moon) was the name of a Dutch East India Company yacht which sailed in what is now New York harbor on September 11, 1609. ...

See also

• Dutch East India Company
• British East India Company
• French East India Company
• List of director generals of New Netherland

Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company which was granted an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... The French East India Company (French Compagnie des Indes Orientales) was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies. ... This is a list of Directors-General, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland (Nieuw Nederland in Dutch) in North America. ...

External links

• Dutch Portuguese Colonial HistoryDutch Portuguese Colonial History: history of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ceylon, India, Malacca, Bengal, Formosa, Africa, Brazil. Language Heritage, lists of remains, maps.
• WIC ship halve maan The WIC ship the Halve Maan.