Gouverneur-generaal Jan Pietersz Coen

Coen, governor general of the Dutch East Indies, took the first steps towards creating a colonial empire with the foundation of Batavia in 1619. His pursuit of overseas land ownership went against the wishes of the Dutch East India Company’s directors, who were interested solely in establishing trading posts. Coen used violent military force in the process. For instance, he exterminated the population of the Banda Islands (part of the Moluccas) to obtain the monopoly on nutmeg.