Holland. Cornelis de Houtman sets sail from Amsterdam for the East Indies, leading a small fleet of four ships financed by the city’s merchants. He will reach Indonesia by sailing directly from the Cape of Good Hope to Java, thus avoiding the Portuguese. Two years later, only three ships and one sailor in three will return. But, even in this case, the cargo of spices is more than enough to repay the investors with a profit. A second, larger mission is immediately prepared. Dutch domination of the seas has begun.
