Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia (1598-1600)

The Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia was an expedition that took place from 1598 to 1600, one of the Dutch forays into the Indonesian spice trade that led to the establishment of the Dutch East India Company. It was led by Jacob Cornelius van Neck.

During the 16th century, the Portuguese dominated the spice trade, but after the first Dutch expedition to Indonesia under Cornelis de Houtman, the backers of the expedition decided that the time was ripe for further forays into the Indonesian spice market. The company behind the first expedition, the Compagnie van Verre, and the recently established New Company for Voyages to East India joined forces and between them managed to raise nearly 800,000 guilders, the most money that had ever been raised in the Netherlands for a private venture. A prominent Amsterdam cartographer, Petrus Plancius, was also interested in the venture, and pored over the accounts of the first expedition in order to write a set of sailing directions for the expedition.

Admiral Jacob van Neck was chosen as the leader, with Vice-Admiral Wybrand van Warwyck and arctic explorer Jacob van Heemskerck as his lieutenants. Also aboard was Willem Janszoon. On May 1, 1598, the fleet sailed from Texel.

The fleet was composed of eight vessels: the Mauritius and the Hollandia, which had sailed with the first fleet, as well as the Amsterdam, Zeelandia, Geldria, Utrecht, Vriesland and a smaller ship, the Overeyssel. These last five all named after Dutch provinces

The fleet made excellent time at first, rounding the Cape of Good Hope in only three months. However, soon after reaching the Cape the fleet was hit by heavy storms, and was split into two parts. Van Neck with three ships quickly recovered and landed on the East coast of Madagascar in order to replenish supplies, while the other ships under Warwyck could not land on Madagascar due to the storm.

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