- What was the Dutch West India Company and why and when did it send people to New Netherland?
The Dutch West India Company (WIC) constituted Dutch merchants engaged in trade with other countries or regions outside Europe. The charter expanded through its establishment of trading posts in other countries as well as colonization of territories and other trade monopolies. Dutch merchants traded various goods and commodities such as food and spices, and alcohol and tobacco among others, and also largely participated in slave trade. During the early and mid-1600s, WIC established a post for fur trade in New ...