Listen to the two lectures below, examining the Dutch East Indies Company in the 1600s and the 1700s. The Dutch East Indies Company was a very important part of the global trading networks during this period, and these lectures will help build your understanding of how they contributed to global trade, and global patterns of wealth and influence in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

These lectures can be watched as video lectures or listened to as audio lectures, according to your preference.

The first lecture explores the political and religious context that led to the creation of the Dutch East Indies Company. The monopoly established by the Netherlands brought vast wealth to the country, and challenged the economic and political power of Portugal and Spain.

The Dutch East Indies Company – The First 100 Years (1:03:38)

The second lecture examines how the gains of the first 100 years were slowly eroded, to the point where the company became bankrupt by the end of the eighteenth century.

The Dutch East Indies Company – The Second 100 Years (1:02:56)