Verenigode Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) Currency & Banknote Values

The Verenigode Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) series of Ceylon in the World Currency contains 0 distinct entries.

The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company, VOC) was a chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies, it was granted a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia. The company possessed quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish colonies.

In 1640, the VOC obtained the port of Galle in Ceylon from the Portuguese and broke the latter’s monopoly of the cinnamon trade. In 1658, Gerard Pietersz Hulft laid siege to Colombo, which was captured with the help of King Rajasinghe II of Kandy. By 1659, the Portuguese had been expelled from the coastal regions, which were then occupied by the VOC.