The United East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie; abbreviated as VOC) was a Dutch chartered company which operated and traded goods across the Dutch colonies in the world. It was a rival company to the British East India Company, which served as a major naval force during the Golden Age of Piracy.
History[]
Operations in Macau[]
In the late 17th century, the Dutch East India Company began collaborating with the Portuguese Empire,[1] and by 1725, they had a headquarter established in the Portuguese colony of Macau. There, the Burnt Brian's Pub became a favourite haunt of Dutch sailors from the company.[2]
At some point prior to February 1725, the company organized an expedition to Indochina, where one of their navigators, Hendrik, stumbled upon the ruins of Angkor, the lost city of the Khmer Empire. While being stationed in Macau, Hendrik looked for a way to return to the ruins, but was targeted by the Templars, who also sought to find Angkor and to silence anyone who knew about its existence.[3] Hendrik's friend and fellow navigator, John Young, was also targeted due to having stolen Hendrik's story and boasting about his alleged discovery.[2]
While Hendrik was ultimately killed by the Templars in his room at the company's dormitories in Macau, Young was protected by the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who was also on Angkor's trail.[4] Young subsequently teamed up with Kenway to find the lost city, defecting from the company and stealing one of their ships in the process.[5]
Around this time, the company's Chief Navigator, Jan van Aert, collaborated with Alan Jacob of the Far East Company and Sun of the Hualien Trading Company to sabotage a rival trading company led by Lee Huiyin.[6] Their efforts included bribing the Dutch Navy to ignore pirate attacks on Lee's ships,[7] and having her ships detained in the harbor, to be investigated for smuggling opium, which was actually brought into Macau by the Far East Company.[8] However, after the company's opium trafficking was exposed by Edward Kenway, Jan had no choice but to detain its ships as well.[9]
Jan van Aert requesting Edward Kenway's help
The company suffered a major loss of trade when the Paracel Islands were taken over by pirates who turned them into their base of operations, from where they plundered numerous European ships in the region. To solve the issue, Jan van Aert enlisted the help of Edward Kenway to rid the islands of pirates, and in exchange promised to secure a five-year contract between his company and the Assassin's recently-established organization, the Zhang Wei Union.[10]
Following Kenway's success in his mission, a lucrative partnership between the Dutch East India Company and the Zhang Wei Union was born, where the company provided the Union with various shipping contracts.[11] This alliance also allowed both organizations to increase their influence in Macau, and together they became one of the three major powers in the city, opposing both Sun and Lee's companies.[12] However, following Sun's death during an attack on his gambling ship, Lee seized the opportunity to become Macau's dominant merchant.[13]
Activities in the Philippines[]
Not long after Sun's death, the members of the Zhang Wei Union left Macau to search for a possible lead to Angkor's location in the Philippines, without informing Jan. Despite this, the navigator still learned about their expedition and decided to accompany them. Assembling a crew and assuming command of a company ship, Jan sailed to the Philippines, where he rescued the Union members after their ship, the Fenghuang, came under attack by Lee's fleet.[14]
After Jan revealed to Kenway that he knew the Assassin was in search of an ancient treasure, he and his crew were allowed to accompany the Union on their "adventure". Before long, however, both Jan's ship and the Fenghuang came under attack by two Spanish Men O' War and were forced to surrender. Brought to Manila, the crews of the two ships were arrested by the Spanish authorities due to Jan's alleged involvement in the assassination of Governor Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda six years prior.[15]
Edward rescuing Jan and his crew from Fort Santiago
Jan and his men were subsequently imprisoned in the dungeon underneath Fort Santiago, but were rescued by Kenway, who infiltrated the fort during a riot in the streets. After the Assassin left to investigate the cause of the riot,[16] Jan and his crew made their way back to the Manila harbor and boarded their ship.[17]
Once all the Union members boarded the Fenghuang, the two ships set sail away from Manila, though they were chased by the Spanish Navy. Jan volunteered to distract their pursuers to give Kenway and his crew time to escape, and told the Assassin to reconvene in the Sultanate of Sulu, which maintained friendly relations with the Dutch East India Company.[18]
Seven Years' War[]
During the Seven Years' War, the Dutch East India Company's monopoly on Java was disrupted by Templar spies sent through Shay Cormac's fleet.[19]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (first appearance)
References[]
- ↑
Portuguese Macau on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 2
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 12
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 3
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 5
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 13
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 15
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 16
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 18
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 27
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 30
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 31
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 40
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 49
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 50
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 51
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 53
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 57
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Shay Cormac's fleet: "Trouble in the Java House"
