- During the Dutch Republic (1588-1795), Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-1975)
- Gained independence from Spain in 1581
- Dutch East India Company (1602-1799) also known as VOC
- Dutch West India company (1621-1792) also known as WIC
- Colonies in North America, Caribbean, Brazil, Suriname, Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan
- Initially operated commercially
- Involved in the slave trade
- Dutch Gold Coast (Ghana) established in 1612
- New Netherlands (eastern North America) established in 1614
- Dutch Formosa (Taiwan) established in 1624
- Dutch Brazil established in 1630
- Dutch Cape Colony (South Africa) established in 1652
- Anglo-Dutch wars (1652-1784) lead to loss of colonies to Britain and France
- Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in 1942
- Indonesian National Revolution (1945-1949)
- Indonesia gained independence in 1949
- Ended when Dutch Guiana (Suriname) gained independence in 1975
- Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are autonomous constituent countries within the Kingdom of Netherlands
Sources
Wikipedia: Dutch colonial empire, Indonesian National Revolution
