358. Spice Wars: The Rise of the Dutch East India Company (Ep 1)

About this episode

The episode explores the rise of the Dutch East India Company and the espionage involved in its creation.

What’s the real story behind the creation of the Dutch East India Company, and how was espionage involved? What made the VOC the first ‘mega-corporation’ in history? And what was the horrific human cost of establishing a colonial stronghold in the East Indies? Get the entire Dutch Empire miniseries early and ad-free by joining the Empire Club at empirepoduk.com William is joined by Dutch historian Herald van der Linde to explore the staggering rise of the Dutch East India Company - a company so rich it eclipsed the modern valuations of Apple and NVIDIA combined. They discuss how high-stakes espionage, revolutionary cargo ships, and military ruthlessness allowed the Dutch to dominate the 17th-century global economy. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/EMPIRE. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to ⁠www.goalhanger.com.⁠ Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Imogen Marriott Social Producer: Charlie Johnson Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: William

Guest: Herald van der Linde

Topics covered

• Dutch East India Company
• colonialism
• espionage
• 17th-century economy
• corporate history

Keywords

• Dutch East India Company
• VOC
• espionage
• colonial stronghold
• 17th-century economy
• mega-corporation
• human cost

Sponsors

BetterHelp

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dutch East India Company, VOC, Goalhanger Podcasts, Empire Club

More episodes of Empire: World History

• 367. Ancient Egypt: “Tut-mania” And Tutankhamun’s Tomb (Ep 6) · June 10, 2026 · 44 min
• 366. Ancient Egypt: Tutankhamun The Boy King (Ep 5) · June 7, 2026 · 54 min
• 365. Ancient Egypt: Who Was Nefertiti? (Ep 4) · June 3, 2026 · 51 min
• 364. Ancient Egypt: The Fall of Akhenaten (Ep 3) · May 31, 2026 · 53 min
• 363. Ancient Egypt: Destroyer Of Gods – Pharaoh Akhenaten (Ep 2) · May 27, 2026 · 57 min
• The Scandal That Shaped Partition: Heartbreak & Secret Deals · May 26, 2026 · 7 min