Netherlands. A drastic and far-sighted government intervention put an end to the chaos of the expeditions to the Indies and established, in the form of a joint-stock company, the Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (East India Company). This company was granted an exclusive monopoly on the routes to the Indies and related trade, as well as powers of conquest, defense, and government over all territories in the area. This was a private decision radically different from the Portuguese, which was instead statist in nature. One by one, several Portuguese forts in the area of present-day Indonesia were attacked and conquered.
