# Dutch East India Company > 1602–1799 Dutch trading company **Wikidata**: [Q159766](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q159766) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/dutch-east-india-company ## Summary The Dutch East India Company (commonly VOC; full names include United East India Company and Oost-Indische Compagnie) was a Dutch trading company founded in 1602 and dissolved in 1799. It is described in Wikidata as a 1602–1799 Dutch trading company and is classified in source material as a public company, business, chartered company, and enterprise related to trade and the historic spice trade. ## Key Facts - Inception: 1602 (structured property inception: +1602-00-00T00:00:00Z). - Dissolved: 1799 (structured property dissolved: +1799-00-00T00:00:00Z). - Wikidata description: "1602–1799 Dutch trading company." - Wikipedia title (structured property): Dutch East India Company. - Aliases: United East India Company; VOC; Oost-Indische Compagnie; Oost-Indië Compagnie; East India Company; Verenigte Ostindische Compagnie. - Sitelink count (structured property): 86. - Classified as: public company (company that offers its securities for sale to the general public). - Classified as: business (organization undertaking commercial, industrial, or professional activity). - Classified as: chartered company (company created to colonize and trade). - Classified as: enterprise (organizational unit producing goods or services with a degree of autonomy). - Classified as related to: trade (economic branch involving exchange of goods and services). - Classified as related to: spice trade (historic international commerce). - Former headquarters: Oost-Indisch Huis in Amsterdam (Oost-Indisch Huis inception: 1606; country: Q55). - Origin / Located in: Dutch Republic (predecessor state of the Netherlands, 1581–1795; inception: 1581-07-26). - Related location listed: Urup — island in the Kuril Islands, Russia (country identifiers provided in source). - Contains / Subsidiary: Dutch West India Company (inception: 1621-06-03; country: ; headquarters: ; industries: , ). - Part of / Parent entries: Labuhanbatu (regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia), Oost-Indisch Huis (former headquarters in Amsterdam; inception 1606), Raad van Indië (inception: 1609). - Owned / Operated ships and vessels associated with the company (as listed in source): Hollandia (ship; wrecked 1743 on her maiden voyage), Zeewijk (ship wrecked off the coast of Western Australia), VOC ship Akerendam, Prins Willem, Vergulde Draeck (ship wrecked off the coast of Western Australia), Amsterdam (18th‑century cargo ship of the Dutch East India Company), Batavia (ship wrecked in 1629 on Houtman Abrolhos with at least 110 men, women and children murdered during subsequent mutiny), Duyfken (ship, 1595; Dutch exploration vessel). - The Dutch West India Company appears both as a contained/subsidiary entity and again in the "owned / operated by" list in the source material. - Affiliations (selected persons from source with roles and identifiers): Hessel Gerritsz — Dutch engraver and cartographer (1581–1632); Isaack Gilsemans — Dutch merchant and artist (c.1606–1646); Engelbert Kaempfer — German botanist (1651–1716); Jan van Riebeeck — Dutch colonial governor (1619–1677); Willem Verstegen — Dutch trader and explorer; Seneca Inggersen — German pharmacist (1715–1786); Zacharias Wagenaer — saxon secretary, painter, merchant and administrator (1614–1668); Martin Vries — Dutch explorer of Japan (1589–1647); Nicolaes Couckebacker — head of the Dutch trading post in Hirado and councilman in Delft; Cornelis Jol — Dutch admiral; Johan Splinter Stavorinus — Dutch rear-admiral; Petrus Plancius — Dutch‑Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman; Nicolaes Witsen — Mayor of Amsterdam (1641–1717); Dutch Opperhoofd in Japan (Head of the Dutch trading post in Japan); François Valentijn — Dutch preacher, missionary, and historian (1666–1727); Daniel Gravius — Dutch missionary; Willem Janszoon — Dutch navigator and colonial governor (c.1570–c.1630); Hendrik Brouwer — Dutch explorer, navigator and colonial administrator (1581–1643); Piet Pieterszoon Hein — Dutch admiral (1578–1629); Witte Corneliszoon de With — Dutch admiral (1599–1658); Jan Carstenszoon — 17th‑century Dutch explorer of New Guinea and Australia; Pieter de Carpentier — 5th Governor‑General of the Dutch East Indies; Gerrit van Wuysthoff — Dutch merchant; Philippus Baldaeus — Dutch Christian missionary; Georg Eberhard Rumphius — German‑Dutch merchant, naturalist and botanist (1627–1702); Willem Blaeu — Dutch cartographer, atlas maker and publisher (1571–1638); Steven van der Hagen — Dutch admiral (1563–1621); Abel Tasman — Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant (1603–1659). - Raad van Indië (listed under Part of / Parent) has inception: 1609 (structured property). - Oost-Indisch Huis is repeated as both a former headquarters and as a Part of / Parent entity (inception: 1606). - Several associated ships have additional metadata in source entries (for example, some ships list country identifiers or sitelink counts). ## FAQs Q: What was the Dutch East India Company? A: The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was a Dutch trading company founded in 1602 and dissolved in 1799, described in the source as a trading company and classified as a public company, business, chartered company, and enterprise. Q: When was it founded and when did it end? A: It was founded in 1602 (inception +1602-00-00T00:00:00Z) and dissolved in 1799 (dissolved +1799-00-00T00:00:00Z). Q: What official names and aliases did it use? A: Recorded aliases include United East India Company, VOC, Oost-Indische Compagnie, Oost-Indië Compagnie, East India Company, and Verenigte Ostindische Compagnie. Q: Where was it headquartered and where did it originate? A: Its former headquarters was the Oost-Indisch Huis in Amsterdam (inception 1606), and it is listed as originating in the Dutch Republic (predecessor state of the Netherlands; inception 1581-07-26). Q: What kinds of organizations and industries is it associated with? A: The company is classified as a public company, a business, a chartered company, and an enterprise, and is related to trade and the historic spice trade. Q: What subsidiaries, related companies, or parent entities are connected to it? A: The Dutch West India Company is listed as a contained subsidiary (inception 1621-06-03). Part‑of / parent entries include Labuhanbatu, Oost-Indisch Huis, and Raad van Indië (inception 1609). Q: Which ships and vessels are connected to the company? A: Ships and vessels associated in the source include Hollandia, Zeewijk, VOC ship Akerendam, Prins Willem, Vergulde Draeck, Amsterdam (an 18th‑century cargo ship), Batavia, and Duyfken (1595). Q: Who were notable people affiliated with the company? A: The source lists many affiliated figures, including explorers, cartographers, administrators, missionaries and admirals such as Hessel Gerritsz, Isaack Gilsemans, Engelbert Kaempfer, Jan van Riebeeck, Abel Tasman, Piet Pieterszoon Hein, and others named in the Key Facts. Q: What is the source’s indicator of coverage or visibility? A: The structured property "sitelink_count" for the company is 86 in the provided material. ## Why It Matters The Dutch East India Company matters in the provided source material because it represents a long‑running organized commercial enterprise that spanned nearly two centuries (1602–1799) and is tied to multiple major categories of economic and political activity. As a public company and chartered company, it exemplifies an early form of corporate organization combining commercial, maritime, and administrative functions. The multiple classifications (public company, business, chartered company, enterprise) show its hybrid nature as both a market actor and an institution with special legal and political statuses. The company’s connections to trade, and specifically to the historic spice trade as a related topic in the source, situate it within major international economic networks. Its listed headquarters (Oost-Indisch Huis), parent or part relationships (Raad van Indië, Labuhanbatu), and an array of affiliated ships and people demonstrate a broad institutional ecosystem that included naval, cartographic, exploratory, administrative, and missionary elements. The persistence of numerous affiliated notable figures and specialized ships reflects its centrality to maritime commerce, exploration, and administration in the era covered by the source material. ## Notable For - Longevity: active between 1602 and 1799 according to structured inception and dissolution dates. - Multiple legal/economic classifications: simultaneously listed as a public company, business, chartered company, and enterprise. - Wide institutional network: headquarters (Oost-Indisch Huis), parent/part entities (Raad van Indië, Labuhanbatu), and a named subsidiary (Dutch West India Company, inception 1621). - Maritime assets: association with numerous named ships, including Batavia (noted wreck in 1629 with massacre reported in the source) and Hollandia (wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage). - Broad affiliations: large roster of explorers, cartographers, administrators, missionaries, naturalists and naval officers listed as affiliated persons in the source (including Abel Tasman, Petrus Plancius, Jan van Riebeeck, and others). - Cultural and geographic reach implied: connections to Amsterdam (Oost-Indisch Huis), the Dutch Republic, Urup island (Kuril Islands), and Labuhanbatu (North Sumatra). ## Body ### Overview and Identity - Name and aliases: The entity is known primarily as the Dutch East India Company and by aliases including United East India Company, VOC, Oost-Indische Compagnie, Oost-Indië Compagnie, East India Company, and Verenigte Ostindische Compagnie. - Core description: The structured source describes it succinctly as a "1602–1799 Dutch trading company." - Visibility metric in the source: sitelink_count = 86. ### Dates and Legal Existence - Inception date recorded as 1602 (structured property +1602-00-00T00:00:00Z). - Dissolution date recorded as 1799 (structured property +1799-00-00T00:00:00Z). - Raad van Indië, connected as a part/parent body in the source, has an inception date of 1609. ### Classifications and Economic Context - Classified as a public company by the source, defined here as a company that offers its securities for sale to the general public. - Classified also as a business (organization undertaking commercial, industrial, or professional activity). - Classified as a chartered company in the source’s related items; a chartered company is defined in the material as a company created to colonize and trade. - Listed as an enterprise (organizational unit producing goods or services with autonomy over resource allocation). - Related to the broader categories of trade and the historic spice trade in the source material. ### Headquarters, Buildings, and Locations - Oost-Indisch Huis: identified as the former headquarters of the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam. Oost-Indisch Huis has an inception in the source of 1606 and is tied to country identifier Q55. The Oost-Indisch Huis is also listed among Part of / Parent entries, linking building and institutional role. - Dutch Republic: the company’s origin / located-in entry is the Dutch Republic, described in the source as the predecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795) with inception 1581-07-26. - Urup: listed as a related location under "Located in / Origin"; Urup is identified as an island in the Kuril Islands, Russia, with country identifiers given in the source. ### Subsidiaries, Contained Entities, and Corporate Relations - Dutch West India Company: listed under "Contains / Subsidiaries" with inception 1621-06-03, country , headquarters , and industry identifiers and . The Dutch West India Company also appears under "Owned / Operated by" in the source, indicating multiple relational listings. - Part of / Parent: the source names Labuhanbatu (a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia), Oost-Indisch Huis (again), and Raad van Indië as entities under Part of / Parent. ### Ships, Vessels, and Maritime Assets - Hollandia: ship of the Dutch East India Company; the source notes it was wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage. - Zeewijk: ship wrecked off the coast of Western Australia (source lists country identifier ). - VOC ship Akerendam: listed as a ship associated with the company. - Prins Willem: listed as a ship associated with the company. - Vergulde Draeck: ship wrecked off the coast of Western Australia (source includes country identifier ). - Amsterdam: described in source as an 18th‑century cargo ship of the Dutch East India Company (country tag in source). - Batavia: ship wrecked in 1629 on Houtman Abrolhos; source specifies at least 110 men, women and children were murdered during subsequent mutiny. - Duyfken (ship, 1595): listed as a Dutch exploration vessel. - Several of the ships in the source entries include additional metadata such as sitelink counts or country tags. ### People Affiliated with the Company The source lists numerous affiliated people with brief descriptors or occupations and sometimes life dates. The following persons are named in association with the company in the source material: - Hessel Gerritsz — Dutch engraver and cartographer (1581–1632). - Isaack Gilsemans — Dutch merchant and artist (c.1606–1646). - Engelbert Kaempfer — German botanist (1651–1716). - Jan van Riebeeck — Dutch colonial governor (1619–1677). - Willem Verstegen — Dutch trader and explorer. - Seneca Inggersen — German pharmacist (1715–1786). - Zacharias Wagenaer — saxon secretary, painter, then merchant and administrator (1614–1668). - Martin Vries — Dutch explorer of Japan (1589–1647). - Nicolaes Couckebacker — head of the Dutch trading post in Hirado and councilman in Delft. - Cornelis Jol — Dutch admiral. - Johan Splinter Stavorinus — Dutch rear-admiral. - Petrus Plancius — Dutch‑Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. - Nicolaes Witsen — Mayor of Amsterdam (1641–1717). - Dutch Opperhoofd in Japan — title/office listed as Head of the Dutch trading post in Japan. - François Valentijn — Dutch preacher, missionary, and historian (1666–1727). - Daniel Gravius — Dutch missionary. - Willem Janszoon — Dutch navigator and colonial governor (c.1570–c.1630). - Hendrik Brouwer — Dutch explorer, navigator and colonial administrator (1581–1643). - Piet Pieterszoon Hein — Dutch admiral (1578–1629). - Witte Corneliszoon de With — Dutch admiral (1599–1658). - Jan Carstenszoon — 17th‑century Dutch explorer of New Guinea and Australia. - Pieter de Carpentier — 5th Governor‑General of the Dutch East Indies. - Gerrit van Wuysthoff — Dutch merchant. - Philippus Baldaeus — Dutch Christian missionary. - Georg Eberhard Rumphius — German‑Dutch merchant, naturalist and botanist (1627–1702). - Willem Blaeu — Dutch cartographer, atlas maker and publisher (1571–1638). - Steven van der Hagen — Dutch admiral (1563–1621). - Abel Tasman — Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant (1603–1659). Each listed person in the source is provided with occupations, citizenships, or life dates in the source material; those descriptors are included in the bullet list above as they appear in the source. ### Geographic and Administrative Connections - Dutch Republic: listed as the origin of the company and identified as the predecessor state of the Netherlands covering 1581–1795. - Oost-Indisch Huis: identified as the former headquarters in Amsterdam and also listed among Part of / Parent entries. Its inception is given as 1606 in the source. - Urup: listed among Located in / Origin entries and described as an island in the Kuril Islands, Russia. - Labuhanbatu: listed as a Part of / Parent entry; described in the source as a regency in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. ### Related Entities and Identifiers - Raad van Indië: listed under Part of / Parent with inception 1609. - Dutch West India Company: appears both as a contained/subsidiary (inception 1621) and in the Owned / Operated by listing. The Dutch West India Company has its own structured properties in the source (inception 1621-06-03; country ; headquarters ; industry tags and ). - Several ships and persons have additional metadata in the source such as sitelink_counts and country tags; those are included where given. ### Structured Properties Summary (from source) - aliases: United East India Company; VOC; Oost-Indische Compagnie; Oost-Indië Compagnie; East India Company; Verenigte Ostindische Compagnie. - dissolved: +1799-00-00T00:00:00Z. - inception: +1602-00-00T00:00:00Z. - sitelink_count: 86. - wikipedia_title: Dutch East India Company. - wikidata_description: 1602–1799 Dutch trading company. ### Cross‑references and Duplicate Listings - Oost-Indisch Huis appears multiple times in the source as former headquarters, as a Part of / Parent entry, and with a separate structured inception date (1606). - The Dutch West India Company appears in more than one relational category (both as a subsidiary/contained entity and in the owned/operated list), indicating multiple types of association in the provided material. ### Observations from Source Structure - The source aggregates many entity relationships (ships, people, buildings, subsidiary companies, geographic entities) tied to the Dutch East India Company. - Many affiliated persons span roles in navigation, cartography, natural history, governance, naval command, missionary work, and trade; these roles are enumerated in the source alongside citizenship and date metadata when provided. (End of entry.) ## References 1. BnF authorities 2. Virtual International Authority File 3. [Source](http://hdl.handle.net/10622/ARCH04043) 4. [1.04.02 Inventaris van het archief van de Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC), 1602-1795 (1811) | Nationaal Archief](https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/1.04.02) 5. [Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC). Nationaal Archief](https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/1.04.02) 6. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013 7. [Source](http://www.entoen.nu/voc) 8. BBC Things 9. BabelNet 10. [Source](https://tea.fandom.com/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company?oldid=13101) 11. NMVW-collection website 12. [Source](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/hollanda-dogu-hindistan-sirketi)