De Houtman Arrives in Banten
- When
- 1596
- Where
- Northwestern port at Java; Banten
- Episodes
- 2
In June 1596, Cornelis de Houtman's fleet arrived at Banten. De Houtman commanded the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies. The Sultan of Banten signed an alliance treaty with the Dutch, while local Portuguese traders grew suspicious of the newcomers' trading intentions.
Episodes
- Treaty with the Sultan of Banten
The Sultan of Banten entered into an alliance treaty with the Dutch, expressing friendship with Prince Maurice of Nassau.
- Dutch Fleet Arrival in Banten
The four-ship Dutch expedition commanded by de Houtman arrived at the port of Banten in June 1596.
Background and detail
Background. Cornelis de Houtman commanded the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies, departing Amsterdam in April 1595 with four ships. The voyage aimed to challenge the Portuguese monopoly on the spice trade, showing that this monopoly was vulnerable.
Arrival in Banten. After a difficult journey, the Dutch fleet reached Banten in June 1596. Banten was a northwestern port on Java where Portuguese traders had long been established.
Diplomatic Relations. De Houtman was introduced to the Sultan of Banten, who signed an optimistic treaty of alliance and friendship with the Dutch. However, local Portuguese traders became suspicious when De Houtman did not buy any black pepper and wanted to wait on the next harvest.
People involved
- Cornelis de Houtman · Commander of the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies
- Sultan of Banten · Ruler who signed an alliance treaty with the Dutch
Sources
- Cornelis de Houtman Wikipedia, revision of 2026-05-03
- Banten Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-06
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.