Jan 19

The Dutch were involved in producing cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace. The Dutch destroyed the crops of those who refused to sell only to the Dutch. Between 1624 and 1662, the Dutch East India Company hoped to produce for export deerskins, rice, and sugar. The Dutch monopoly excluded the British from the rich Spice Islands. The Dutch practiced "trade by warfare" in Indonesia. The Dutch and English traded pepper, textiles, tea, and coffee. In Japan a substantial Christian movement grew in the second half of the sixteenth century. Europeans were viewed as a threat to Japan's newly established unity. As a result, Japan suppressed the practice of Christianity and expelled Christian missionaries. Only the Dutch were permitted to trade with Japan at a single site. While closing off their country from European commerce, Japanese authorities kept their trading ties to Korea and China.