Laos: Detail of doors at Wat Pa Khe, Luang Prabang, depicting Dutch merchants as they looked at the time of Gerritt van Wuysthoff (1641)

Detail of doors at Wat Pa Khe, Luang Prabang, depicting Dutch merchants as they looked at the time of Gerritt van Wuysthoff (1641). The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally ‘United East India Company’) was a chartered company established in 1602. It was also arguably the world's first mega-corporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies. Statistically, the VOC eclipsed all of its rivals in the Asia trade. The VOC enjoyed huge profits from its spice monopoly through most of the 1600s. The VOC became bankrupt and was formally dissolved in 1800.

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