Cornelis de Houtman

Cornelis de Houtman was the first Dutchman to double the Cape of Good Hope and discover a new sea route from Europe to Indonesia. He reached Sumatra and Bantam in 1596.

• In 1602 the private companies for trade with the East were all amalgamated by the Dutch Government into the Dutch East India Company. Within half century the Dutch were able to establish factories on the continent, in Ceylon, in Sumatra, in the Persian Gulf, and in the Red Sea.
• The first Dutch settlement in India was at Masulipattanam in 1605, followed by Pulicat, in 1610 about 20 miles north of Madras.
• The Dutch settled at Surat in 1616.
• In 1619 they laid the foundation of the city of Batavia, in Java, as the seat of the supreme government of the Dutch possessions in the East Indies, which had previously been at Amboyna in the Malaccas.

At about the same time the Dutch discovered the coast of Australia (1606-1644); while in North America they founded the city of New Amsterdam in 1613-1626, which is known as New York now.