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Governorate of the Banda Islands

Governorate of the Banda Islands
Gouvernement Banda-eilanden
Dutch colony
1609–1798
Flag Coat of arms
Map of the Banda Islands
Capital Fort Nassau (1609-1611)
Fort Belgica (1611-1798)
Languages Dutch
Political structure Colony
Historical era Imperialism
 •  Building of Fort Nassau on the ruins of a Portuguese fort 1609
 •  Nationalisation of VOC possessions by the Batavian Republic 17 March 1798
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Portuguese Empire
Dutch East Indies

The Banda Islands were a governorate of the Dutch East India Company. The governorate comprised Banda Neira, Banda Besar, Pulau Ai, Run, Banda Api, and some smaller islands.

The Banda Islands were the centre of nutmeg production.

The Portuguese first sailed to the Banda Islands in 1512, a year after Afonso de Albuquerque had conquered Malacca, which at the time was the hub of Asian trade. Only in 1529 did the Portuguese return to the islands, when Captain Garcia attempted to build a fort on Banda Neira. The local Bandanese turned against Garcia and his crew, forcing him to abandon his plans. From that moment, the Portuguese preferred to buy nutmeg from traders in Malacca.

The Dutch followed the Portuguese to Banda but were to have a much more dominating and lasting presence. Dutch-Bandanese relations were mutually resentful from the outset, with the first Dutch merchants complaining of Bandanese reneging on agreed deliveries and price, and cheating on quantity and quality. For the Bandanese, on the other hand, although they welcomed another competitor purchaser for their spices, the items of trade offered by the Dutch—heavy woollens, and damasks, unwanted manufactured goods, for example—were usually unsuitable in comparison to traditional trade products. The Javanese, Arab and Indian, and Portuguese traders for example brought indispensable items along steel knives, copper, medicines and prized Chinese porcelain.

As much as the Dutch disliked dealing with the Bandanese, the trade was a highly profitable one, with spices selling for 300 times the purchase price in Banda. This amply justified the expense and risk in shipping them to Europe. The allure of such profits saw an increasing number of Dutch expeditions. It was soon seen that in trade with the East Indies, competition from each would eat into all their profits. Thus in 1602, the competitors united to form the Dutch East India Company, which received a monopoly of trade with the East Indies from the States-General of the Dutch Republic.


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