Sri Lanka / Ceylon: The reception hall in the palace of the King of Kandy, in the foreground kneeling VOC officials and in distance the king on his throne. Watercolour, Jan Brandes, 1785

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.

It was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia, including establishing colonies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India.

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