Episodes
The Dutch Colonial Governor Who Defied the VOC
In 1629, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the ruthless architect of the Dutch East India Company's spice monopoly, returned to Batavia to find a city in crisis. But his most dangerous enemy wasn't a rival trader or a native prince—it was his own successor, Jacques Specx, and the members of the Council of the Indies who had grown fat on corruption. In Episode 207, we step into the tense world of Dutch colonial governance, where ambition, greed, and a single letter from the Heeren XVII in Amsterdam could…
The Dutch East India Company's Spice Monopoly: Nutmeg and the Banda Islands
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Dutch East India Company secured its monopoly on nutmeg, the most coveted spice of the seventeenth century. They trace the VOC's brutal campaign on the Banda Islands, the role of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the massacre at Banda Neira, and the exile of the Bandanese people. The story covers the Company's ruthless enforcement of the monopoly, the forced cultivation of nutmeg, the use of hired assassins like the Japanese ronin, and the eventual decline of…
The Dutch Slave Trade: Profit, Pain, and the Middle Passage
In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the Dutch role in the transatlantic slave trade, a dark chapter that fueled the Golden Age. They follow the journey of the WIC ship St. Jan, which in 1637 carried the first enslaved Africans from Angola to Brazil, and discuss the brutal conditions of the Middle Passage. Lucas explains how the Dutch captured Elmina Castle from the Portuguese in 1637, gaining a key foothold in the trade, and describes the growth of Curaçao as a major slave depot. The…
The Dutch Beemster Polder: Engineering an Empire's Breadbasket
When the Dutch dug the Beemster lake dry in 1612, they didn't just reclaim land — they invented a new kind of landscape. This episode follows the financiers, engineers, and laborers who turned a dangerous inland sea into a grid of fertile pastures, transforming Dutch agriculture and influencing city planning for centuries. We meet Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater, the master millwright who oversaw the draining, and uncover the surprisingly modern financial machinery — shares, options, even a real…
The Dutch Brazil Adventure: Sugar, War, and the Fall of Recife
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the Dutch Republic's boldest Atlantic gamble: the conquest of Brazil's sugar coast. From the 1624 capture of Bahia to the fall of Recife in 1654, they follow the rise and fall of Dutch Brazil, a colony that nearly became the centerpiece of a global empire. Along the way, they meet the brilliant but controversial governor Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, whose patronage of science and art earned Recife the nickname 'Mauritsstad' and made it a beacon of…
The Dutch Whale Trade: Oil, Bones, and Arctic Ambition
In the seventeenth century, Dutch whalers braved the icy waters of the Arctic to hunt bowhead whales, turning blubber into oil that lit Europe's lamps and bones into corsets. This episode follows the rise of the Smeerenburg settlement on Spitsbergen, the brutal competition with English and Danish rivals, and the ingenious 'flensing' techniques that made Dutch whaling the most efficient in the world. We meet the whalers of the Noordsche Compagnie, the Basque harpooners who taught them the craft…
The Dutch Herring Trade: How a Humble Fish Built an Empire
Before the VOC, before the tulips, there was herring. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the improbable rise of the Dutch Republic on the back of a small, silvery fish. From the invention of gibbing – a technique that preserved herring at sea – to the massive haringbuizen that dominated the North Sea, the herring trade was the Netherlands' first global industry. Discover how the Dutch wrested control from the Hanseatic League, how the fish fueled the Golden Age economy, and how it even…
Dutch Innovations: The Windmill Sawmills of the Zaan
In this milestone episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna explore the ingenious wind-powered sawmills of the Zaanstreek, the industrial heart of the Dutch Golden Age. They trace the rise of the houtzaagmolen — a revolutionary technology that mechanized timber sawing and fueled the shipbuilding boom. Discover how Cornelis Corneliszoon's patent in the 1590s transformed the region into a manufacturing powerhouse, producing warships, merchant vessels, and windmills for markets…
The Dutch East India Company's Tea Trade and the Rise of Amsterdam
In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the Dutch East India Company's pivotal role in bringing tea from China to Europe, transforming Amsterdam into the continent's tea capital by the late 17th century. They discuss the challenges of the China trade, the first direct shipment of tea in 1607, the establishment of a trading post at Canton, and the VOC's shift from pepper to tea. Along the way, they explore the cultural impact of tea on Dutch society, the rise of the tea garden, and the medical…
The Dutch WIC: Privateers, Slaves, and Atlantic Ambition
In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was founded to strike at Spain's Atlantic empire. This episode follows the WIC from its early privateering triumphs — Piet Heyn's capture of the Silver Fleet at Matanzas Bay — to its darker ventures in the transatlantic slave trade, and its eventual decline. Lucas and Luna explore how the company's letters of marque blurred the lines between warfare and piracy, how Curaçao became a hub for smuggling and enslaved people, and how the WIC's collapse reshaped…
The Dutch Sea Beggars: Privateers Who Forged a Nation
Long before the Dutch East India Company ruled the waves, a ragtag fleet of dispossessed nobles, fishermen, and pirates—the Sea Beggars, or Watergeuzen—turned the tide of the Eighty Years' War. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace their rise from outlawed exiles to the unlikely liberators of Brielle in 1572, a towns-by-town conquest that ignited the Dutch Revolt. We follow their early defeats at the Battle of Heiligerlee, their brutal winter raids along the frozen Zuiderzee, and the strange…
The Dutch Hanseatic City of Kampen and the Botter Fleet
In this episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna explore the lesser-known but crucial role of the Hanseatic city of Kampen and the botter, a flat-bottomed fishing boat that sustained local communities for centuries. They discuss Kampen's rise as a trading hub on the IJssel, its rivalry with Amsterdam, and the gradual decline of its maritime power. The conversation then shifts to the botter, its design suited for the shallow Zuiderzee, the cooperative fishing system of the botter…
The Dutch Grain Trade: Amsterdam's Baltic Lifeline
In this episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna explore the Dutch grain trade, the foundation of the Republic's economic miracle. They trace the shipment of rye and wheat from the Vistula River in Poland to Amsterdam's bustling harbors, where Dutch ships controlled the Baltic routes. The conversation covers the moedernegotie, or 'mother trade,' which fed the Dutch cities and fueled the Golden Age. They discuss the role of the Dutch East India Company's rival, the Baltic trade…
De Gouden Eeuw: The Dutch Diamond Polishing Revolution
In this episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna uncover the dazzling world of the Dutch diamond trade — a story of craftsmanship, monopoly, and the cutting edge of 17th-century technology. Discover how Amsterdam became the world's diamond capital, from the invention of the scaif by Lodewijk van Berquem to the secretive workshops on the Nieuwe Zijds Achterburgwal. Learn about the rough stones arriving from Golconda and Surat, the voyages of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and the…
The Dutch Wood Trade: Timber, Ships, and the Baltic Lifeline
Before the VOC's spice fleets and the WIC's Atlantic ventures, there was wood. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the Dutch wood trade from the Baltic forests of Norway and Poland to the shipyards of the Zaanstreek, where oak and pine became the bones of the Golden Age. They follow the flottas down the Vistula, the sawmills of Saendam, and the timber yards of Amsterdam, showing how a seemingly mundane cargo underpinned Dutch naval power, urban construction, and even the very polders they had…
The Dutch Beemster Polder: A Seventeenth-Century Land Reclamation
In 1612, Dutch engineers drained a shallow lake north of Amsterdam and turned it into a patchwork of fields and canals that still shapes the landscape today. This episode tells the story of the Beemster Polder — a bold experiment in land reclamation that became a model for the world. We trace the technical marvels: the windmills that lifted water, the careful surveying that divided the land into geometric plots, and the private investors who bet fortunes on turning water into soil. We meet the…
The Dutch Polder: How Windmills and Water Built a Nation
In this episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna explore the ingenious and relentless Dutch battle against the sea—the creation of polders. From the earliest terpen and dikes to the revolutionary windmills that powered the Golden Age, we trace how the Dutch literally shaped their own land. We meet the engineers and innovators like Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater, whose daring plans drained the Beemster and Schermer lakes, and the hydraulic genius Simon Stevin, who designed the water…
Amsterdam's First Coffeehouse: A Sip of the Golden Age
Before the VOC sailed east, before the Wisselbank smoothed out the currency, before the tulip bulb ever changed hands, Amsterdam's first coffeehouse opened its doors in 1663. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace how a single cup of coffee brewed a revolution in Dutch society. From the Ottoman world where coffee was a political tool to the cramped, smoke-filled rooms of the Warmoesstraat, they explore how these new establishments became the unofficial stock exchanges, newsrooms, and debating…
The Founding of the Dutch East India Company
In 1602, the Dutch Republic did something unprecedented: it merged a patchwork of rival Asian trading companies into a single, state-backed monopoly. This episode unpacks the political manoeuvring behind the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC), focusing on Johan van Oldenbarnevelt's role, the Staten-Generaal's charter, and the creation of the Heeren XVII. We explore how the VOC gained quasi-sovereign powers—the right to wage war, mint coins, and sign treaties—and how its innovative…
Abel Tasman: The Dutch Navigator Who Found New Zealand
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable voyages of Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer who, in 1642-1644, became the first European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand, and parts of Australia's coast. Commissioned by the VOC under Governor-General Anthony van Diemen, Tasman set out from Batavia to chart the mysterious 'Great South Land'. Lucas recounts the journey's dramatic moments: the naming of Van Diemen's Land, the tense first contact with Māori in Golden Bay that ended in violence…
The World’s First Stock Market: Amsterdam’s Financial Revolution
In 1602, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) launched the world's first initial public offering, creating shares that could be traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. This episode explores how the VOC’s need for massive capital led to the invention of modern corporate finance, complete with dividends, speculation, and the first recorded short seller, Isaac le Maire. Join Lucas and Luna as they trace the birth of the stock market, the role of the Amsterdam Beurs, and the innovative financial…
The Dutch in Ceylon: Cinnamon, Conquest, and the VOC’s Island Empire
In the 1600s, the Dutch East India Company set its sights on the spice-rich island of Ceylon, today's Sri Lanka. Already famous for its cinnamon, the island was controlled by the Portuguese, who had monopolized the trade for decades. This episode follows the Dutch conquest—from the treaty with King Rajasingha II of Kandy to the capture of Colombo, Galle, and Jaffna under the brilliant but ruthless commander Rijckloff van Goens. We explore the brutal labor of cinnamon peelers, the VOC's shift…
The Dutch Spice Monopoly: Nutmeg and the Banda Islands
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Dutch East India Company (VOC) seized control of the world's most valuable spice: nutmeg. They travel to the remote Banda Islands in the eastern Indonesian archipelago, where nutmeg and mace grew naturally nowhere else on earth. Lucas recounts the VOC's early trade agreements with Bandanese leaders, the arrival of English competitors, and the ruthless turning point under Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen. In 1621, Coen orchestrated the…
New Netherland The Dutch Colony That Became New York
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Dutch colony of New Netherland, the fur-trading outpost that grew into the multicultural heart of the future New York. They trace the colony's founding by the West India Company in 1624, the iconic purchase of Manhattan by Peter Minuit, and the turbulent governorship of Peter Stuyvesant. The conversation covers the colony's diverse population, the patroon system, and its surprising surrender to the English in 1664 without a shot fired. Along the way…
The Dutch at the Cape: Jan van Riebeeck and the Birth of Cape Town
In 1652, the Dutch East India Company established a tiny refreshment station at the southern tip of Africa—a place that would grow into Cape Town. This episode follows the early years of the Cape Colony under commander Jan van Riebeeck. We explore the VOC's strategic need for fresh supplies on the long voyage to Batavia, the encounters with the indigenous Khoikhoi, the introduction of slavery in 1658, and the first free burghers who began farming the land. It's a story of trade, conflict, and…
The Dutch Tulip Trade: Bulbs, Bubbles, and the First Crash
In the 1630s, the Dutch Republic became gripped by a frenzy over tulip bulbs—a speculative mania that saw single bulbs trade for more than a skilled craftsman's annual wage. This episode explores how the tulip, originally from the Ottoman Empire, became a luxury status symbol, the role of the VOC in importing bulbs, and the rise of 'florists' who bred rare color patterns. We follow the story of the Semper Augustus bulb, the notorious 'sailor and the onion' anecdote, and the sudden crash of…
The Dutch in Formosa: Sugar, Deer, and the Fall of Fort Zeelandia
In Episode 181 of The Story of the Netherlands, we explore a lesser-known but pivotal chapter of Dutch colonial history: Formosa (Taiwan). The VOC established a colony there in 1624, building Fort Zeelandia on the southwestern coast. We delve into the colony's economic backbone—sugar cultivation by Chinese settlers and the lucrative deer hide trade with Japan. The episode details the tense relations with indigenous tribes and the eventual dramatic siege by Ming loyalist Koxinga (Zheng…
The Dutch in Brazil: Sugar, Slavery, and a Lost Colony
Long before the Dutch lost New Netherland, they had another American colony: Brazil. In 1630, the West India Company captured Recife and Olinda, building a sugar empire in the Northeast. Under Governor Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, Dutch Brazil became a laboratory of tolerance, art, and natural science—but also a brutal slave society. This episode traces the rise and fall of New Holland (1630–1654), the sugar engenhos, the artists Frans Post and Albert Eckhout, and the legacy of a colony…
The Dutch and Japan: Deshima Island's Two-Century Trade
In the early 1600s, the Dutch were the only Europeans permitted to trade with Japan during its isolationist Sakoku period. This episode explores the unique conditions of the Deshima trading post in Nagasaki Bay, where VOC merchants were confined to a small artificial island from 1641 to 1853. We discuss the annual hofreis pilgrimage to Edo, the goods exchanged—silk, porcelain, copper, and scientific instruments—and the flourishing of Dutch learning (rangaku) among Japanese scholars. Figures…
Amsterdam's Diamond Trade: How the Dutch Polished the World
Before diamond districts and De Beers, Amsterdam was the world's diamond cutting capital, a title it held for centuries. This episode traces how the Dutch East India Company (VOC) first brought rough diamonds from the mines of Golconda to the canals of Amsterdam, and how a community of Jewish diamond cutters transformed them into brilliant gems that adorned European royalty. We explore the legend of Lodewijk van Berquem, the actual innovations of the 16th and 17th centuries, the shift of the…
The Dutch Salt Trade: White Gold and the Baltic-Salt Connection
Salt was the silent engine of the Dutch Golden Age — essential for preserving herring and butter, for tanning leather, and as a chemical base for industries from gunpowder to glass. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the Dutch salt trade from the brine of the Portuguese Setúbal coast to the flatpans of the Caribbean islands Bonaire and Sint Maarten. They explore how the Revolt against Spain forced Dutch merchants to find new sources after Philip II closed Iberian ports, leading the VOC to…
Hendrick Lonck and the Capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet
In 1628, Dutch privateer Piet Heyn captured the Spanish treasure fleet in Matanzas Bay, an event that fundamentally altered the balance of power in the Eighty Years' War. But the story behind the capture, the financing of the expedition through the West India Company's innovative share system, and the political fallout in both Madrid and The Hague reveal the calculated brutality of the Dutch Golden Age. Lucas and Luna discuss Admiral Hendrick Lonck's role, the staggering 11 million guilder…
The Dutch Herring Trade: How Cured Fish Built an Empire
Lucas and Luna explore the humble herring that fueled the Dutch Golden Age. From 14th-century innovations like William Beukelszoon's gibbing technique to the massive herring busses that sailed the North Sea, they trace how a simple fish became the foundation of Dutch economic power. The episode covers the Haringvliet in Rotterdam, the role of the VOC in preserving techniques, the conflict with Scottish and English fishermen, and the decline of the trade after the Napoleonic Wars. A story of…
The Dutch Whale Hunt: Arctic Oil and Bone
In the 17th century, Dutch whalers braved the icy waters of Spitsbergen and Jan Mayen to hunt bowhead whales for oil and baleen. This episode explores the rise and fall of the Dutch Arctic whaling industry, focusing on the base of Smeerenburg, the 'Blubber Town' that once bustled with thousands of men. We discuss the role of the VOC and the Noordsche Compagnie, the dangerous techniques of open-boat whaling, and the environmental impact that nearly drove the Greenland right whale to extinction.…
The Dutch Peat Trade: How Turf Fueled the Golden Age
Before coal and gas, the Dutch Republic ran on peat — a humble, boggy fuel that powered its cities, industries, and even its empire. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the vast peatlands of Holland and Friesland, tracing how the 'turf' trade turned wetlands into energy. They follow the peat barges from the Drenthe moors to Amsterdam's hearths, meet the turf diggers who drained entire lakes for fuel, and explore the environmental cost: sinking land, lost lakes, and a landscape reshaped by…
The Dutch India Company: Herman van den Berg and the Bengal Saltpeter Trade
In this episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna explore the little-known story of Herman van den Berg, a Dutch factor in Bengal who became a key figure in the VOC's saltpeter trade. Starting from the 1660s, when the VOC sought to secure supplies of saltpeter for gunpowder—essential for European wars and colonial expansion—van den Berg navigated the complex politics of the Mughal Empire, competing with English traders and local officials. The episode covers the VOC's shift from…
The Dutch Delftware: How Blue and White Conquered Europe
In this episode of The Story of the Netherlands, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of Delftware — the iconic blue-and-white pottery that became a global sensation in the 17th century. They trace its origins from Chinese porcelain, which the Dutch encountered through the VOC and could not replicate exactly, leading to a uniquely Dutch adaptation. Discover how potters in Delft, like the Van Eenhoorn family, developed tin-glazed earthenware that mimicked porcelain's look. Learn about the role of the…
The Dutch Beer Trade: How Amsterdam Brewed a Golden Age
Long before Heineken, the Dutch Republic was awash in beer—a vital commodity for a maritime nation where water was often unsafe to drink. In this episode, hosts Lucas and Luna explore how Amsterdam became a brewing powerhouse in the 17th century, supplying not just local taverns but ships bound for the East Indies. They trace the rise of the brouwersgilde, the role of clean water from the dune-filtered canals, and the shift from gruit to hops that made Dutch beer a global export. Along the way…
The Dutch Gunpowder Trade: Saltpeter, Powder Mills, and Empire
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the explosive Dutch gunpowder trade that powered the Golden Age. From the saltpeter fields of the Mughal Empire and Baltic forests to the powder mills of the Zaanstreek, they trace how the Dutch Republic became Europe's leading arms supplier. They discuss the strategic role of Amsterdam's Wisselbank in financing gunpowder, the VOC's massive powder orders for its fleets, and the dangers of an industry where a single spark could level a neighborhood. Along…
The Dutch Baltic Fleet: How Amsterdam's Timber Lifeline Survived War
In 1658, the Dutch Republic faced a sudden crisis: the Baltic Sea was blockaded and the timber ships that built Amsterdam's ships and houses could not get through. For a trading empire dependent on Norwegian and Polish wood, this was an existential threat. This episode follows the dramatic story of the Dutch Baltic fleet of 1658 — the largest single convoy ever assembled by the Republic. We track how Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam negotiated with Denmark…
The Dutch Gin Trade: How Jenever Built Amsterdam's Distilling Empire
In the 17th century, Amsterdam wasn't just a hub for spices, herring, and tulips—it was also the center of a booming gin trade. This episode explores how Dutch distillers, particularly the Bols family, turned a medicinal grain spirit into a global commodity. Lucas and Luna trace the story from the earliest malt wine recipes to the rise of jenever as the Dutch national drink, its role in the Eighty Years' War, and the innovations that made Amsterdam the distilling capital of Europe. They also…
The Dutch Bible Trade: How Amsterdam Became Europe's Scripture Publisher
In the seventeenth century, Amsterdam was the world's capital of Bible printing. While the Dutch Republic officially favored the Reformed Church, its presses churned out Bibles for Catholics, Lutherans, Mennonites, and even Jews — in Dutch, French, German, English, and Spanish. This episode explores how the same commercial pragmatism that fueled the spice trade drove an unlikely industry: scripture publishing. We look at the famous 1637 States Bible (Statenvertaling), the clandestine Catholic…
The Dutch Amsterdam Wisselbank: How Banking Built an Empire
The Amsterdam Wisselbank, founded in 1609, was the cornerstone of Dutch financial dominance. This episode dives into how the bank's innovative practices—like the agio system, deposit security, and bills of exchange—stabilized currency, lowered interest rates, and fueled global trade. We explore its role in the VOC's success, the bank's strict secrecy, and its eventual decline. Featuring key figures like Pieter van der Horst and the influence of the Bank of Amsterdam on modern central banking.…
The Amsterdam Entrepôt: How Dutch Warehousing Built Global Trade
In the 17th century, Amsterdam didn't just trade goods—it stored them. The Dutch Republic's vast warehouse complexes, known as 'pakhuizen', turned the city into the world's first modern entrepôt, where commodities from Baltic grain to Asian spices sat waiting for buyers. This episode explores the physical infrastructure—the brick warehouses lining the canals, the specialized storage for bulky goods like timber and grain, and the role of the Wisselbank in financing inventory. We follow a typical…
The Dutch Textile Trade: Wool, Linen and a Golden Age Industry
In the shadow of the VOC and the Wisselbank, the Dutch Republic quietly dominated another global industry: textiles. This episode follows the rise of the Leiden lakenindustrie (cloth industry), where skilled weavers from the Southern Netherlands brought their craft after the fall of Antwerp. Lucas and Luna explore the brutal working conditions of the saaiwerkers (serge workers), the role of the Wisselbank in financing wool imports from Spain and England, and the stunning innovation of the…
The Dutch Coffee Trade: From Mocha to Amsterdam
After exploring cocoa, beer, and tulips, we turn to another brew that transformed the Dutch Republic: coffee. In the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) smuggled coffee plants from the Yemeni port of Mocha, breaking the Arab monopoly. By 1700, Amsterdam was Europe's coffee hub, with plantations in Java, Ceylon, and Suriname. But the trade came at a cost: forced labor, colonial extraction, and environmental change. Lucas and Luna trace the journey from Sufi monks in Yemen to…
The Dutch Windmill: How Technology Powered an Empire
Windmills defined the Dutch landscape and powered the economy of the Golden Age. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the engineering innovations behind the polder mills, sawmills, and industrial mills that transformed the Netherlands. They discuss the role of the octagonal smock mill, the invention of the wind-powered sawmill by Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest, and how the famous Zaanse Schans became the world's first industrial zone. Learn how windmills drained the Beemster Polder…
The Dutch Tulip Mania: Tulip Speculation and the Amsterdam Flower Trade
In 1637, the Dutch Republic experienced one of history's most famous speculative bubbles: the tulip mania. But what really happened? In this episode, Lucas and Luna separate myth from fact as they trace the tulip's journey from the Ottoman Empire to the gardens of Leiden, the rise of the tulip trade in Haarlem and Amsterdam, and the mechanics of the windhandel — the 'wind trade' in futures contracts. They discuss the role of professional florists and speculators, the collapse in February 1637…
The Dutch Grain Trade: How Baltic Wheat Fueled the Golden Age
Ever wonder how the Dutch Republic fed its booming cities and launched its Golden Age? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 'mother trade' that made it all possible: the Baltic grain trade. They follow the route from the vast fields of Poland and Prussia, through the Sound tolls at Elsinore, to the warehouses of Amsterdam. Along the way, they meet the sturdy fluyt ships that carried the cargo, the Dutch merchants who cornered the market, and the city officials who built Amsterdam's grain…
The Dutch Slave Trade: Amsterdam's Darkest Commerce
Episode 158 of The Story of the Netherlands examines the Dutch involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Lucas and Luna trace the rise of the Dutch West India Company as a purveyor of enslaved Africans, from the capture of Curaçao in 1634 to the massive profits generated by the Middle Passage. They discuss the role of Amsterdam's Wisselbank in financing slaving voyages, the brutal conditions aboard slave ships, and the resistance of enslaved people. The episode also covers the Dutch East…
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