Dutch East India Company

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The United East India Company 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

In the late 17th century, the Dutch East India Company began collaborating with the Portuguese Empire 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.

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 sought to find 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 it. Hendrik's friend and fellow navigator, John Young, was also targeted due to having stolen Hendrik's story and boasting about his alleged discovery.

While Hendrik was ultimately killed by the Templars in his room at the company's dormitories in Macau, Young was protected by the Assassin Edward Kenway, who was also on Angkor's trail. Young subsequently teamed up with Kenway to find the lost city, defecting from the company and stealing one of their ships in the process.

Around this time, the company's Chief Navigator, Jan van Aert, under the Templars' influence, secretly collaborated with Alan Jacob of the Far East Company and Master Sun of the Hualien Trading Company to sabotage a rival trading company led by Madam Lee. Their efforts included bribing the Dutch Navy to ignore pirate attacks on Lee's ships, and later having her ships detained in the harbor, to be investigated for smuggling illegal narcotics, which were actually brought into Macau by the Far East Company. However, after the Far East Company's drug trafficking was exposed by Edward Kenway, the Dutch East India Company had no choice but to detain its ships as well.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple