Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands

Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands
Part of the European colonization of Asia
Dutch map of the Banda Islands, dated c. 1599–1619
Date May 1609 – late 1621 Location Banda Islands Result VOC victory
Belligerents
Dutch East India Company (VOC) Supported by: Japanese mercenaries	Bandanese fighters Supported by:[1] East India Company  Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff † Piet Hein Gerard Reynst Jan Dirkszoon Lam Jan Pieterszoon Coen	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	Unknown. Total population including civilians estimated 15,000.[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	c. 14,000 dead, enslaved or fled elsewhere[3][2]

The Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands was a process of military conquest from 1609 to 1621 by the Dutch East India Company of the Banda Islands. The Dutch, having enforced a monopoly on the highly lucrative nutmeg production from the islands, were impatient with Bandanese resistance to Dutch demands that the Bandanese sell only to them. Negotiations collapsed after Bandanese village elders deceived and murdered the Dutch representative Pieter Willemsz Verhoeff. Under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen the Dutch resorted to a forcible conquest of the islands, which became severely depopulated as a result of Coen’s massacres, forced deportations, and the resulting starvation and disease.

The Dutch East India Company, which was founded in 1602 as an amalgamation of 12 voorcompagnies, had extensive financial interests in maritime Southeast Asia, the source of highly profitable spices which were in high demand in Europe. A Dutch expedition had already made contact with the islands in 1599, signing several contracts with Bandanese chiefs. The profitability of the spices was heightened by the fact that they grew nowhere else on Earth, making them extremely valuable to whoever controlled them. As the Dutch attempted to form a monopoly over the spices and forbid the Bandanese from selling to any other group, they resisted, and the Dutch decided to conquer the islands by force. With the aid of Japanese mercenaries, the Dutch launched several military expeditions against the Bandanese.

The conquest culminated in the Banda massacre, which saw 2,800 Bandanese killed and 1,700 enslaved by the Dutch. Along with starvation and constant fighting, the Bandanese felt they could not continue to resist the Dutch and negotiated a surrender in 1621. Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the official in charge of the fighting, expelled the remaining 1,000 Bandanese to Batavia. With the Bandanese resistance ended, the Dutch secured their valuable monopoly on the spice trade.