Dutch East India Company, byname of United East India Company, Dutch Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, trading company founded in the Dutch Republic (present-day Netherlands) in 1602 to protect that state’s trade in the Indian Ocean and to assist in the Dutch war of independence from Spain. The company prospered through most of the 17th century as the instrument of the powerful Dutch commercial empire in the East Indies (present-day Indonesia). It was dissolved in 1799.

On this site you will find out all about the world's first multi-national company - Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (United (Dutch) East Indies Company), or VOC, - and their mariners, ships and the impact they had on Western Australia long before white colonialisation in 1829.

Spice trade, the cultivation, preparation, transport, and merchandising of spices and herbs, an enterprise of ancient origins and great cultural and economic significance.

In 1602, a company was established to manage commerce with Asia - the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC). There were confrontations with Spaniards and Portuguese; even naval engagements. But the Dutch, having discovered a lucrative trade, were not about to let themselves be excluded.

Roaring forties,, areas between latitudes 40° and 50° south in the Southern Hemisphere, where the prevailing winds blow persistently from the west. The roaring forties have strong, often gale-force, winds throughout the year. They were named by the sailors who first entered these latitudes.

Dutch captain Hendrik Brouwer can be credited with bringing the first European ships into close contact with the coast of Western Australia when in 1611 he discovered a quicker trade route to Indonesia’s spice islands. Brouwer’s route – which halved the time it took to reach Indonesia – used the ‘roaring forties’, a band of strong winds in the southern oceans, to speed the passage of ships in an easterly direction.

The Roaring Forties bring wild winds, wet weather and cold temperatures to Tasmania and southern Australia. The bane of sailors since Cook first circumnavigated Antarctica, these mighty winds influence everything from delicate native rainforest rodents to parrots and penguins.