How did the Dutch Empire compare with other imperial enterprises? And how was it experienced by the indigenous peoples who became part of this colonial power? At the start of the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic emerged as the centre of a global empire that stretched along the edges of continents and connected societies surrounding the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In the Dutch Empire, ideas of religious tolerance and scientific curiosity went hand in hand with severe political and economic exploitation of the local populations through violence, monopoly and slavery. This pioneering history of the early modern Dutch Empire, over two centuries, for the first time provides a comparative and indigenous perspective on Dutch overseas expansion. Apart from discussing the impact of the Empire on the economy and society at home in the Dutch Republic, it also offers a fascinating window into the contemporary societies of Asia, Africa and the Americas and, through their interactions, on processes of early modern globalisation.
Author(s): Pieter C. Emmer, Jos J.L. Gommans
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 400
City: Cambridge
Contents
List of Figures
Cover Image
List of Maps
Note on Terminology
Preface
Introduction
Part I The Grumbling Hive
Introduction
1 The Eighth Province
2 The Empire at Home
3 Dialogue
Conclusion
Part II The Atlantic World
Introduction
4 The Caribbean
5 New Holland and New Netherland
6 Africa
Conclusion
Part III Monsoon Asia
Introduction
7 The Dutch Tropics
8 The Indian Ocean
9 The South China Sea
Conclusion
Coda
References
Index
