To manage their colonies in Asia, the Dutch formed the Dutch East India Company in the year 1602 (Cipolla, 2000). They established their earliest trading post in late 1602 in Banten, Indonesia. Currently, the area is known as Batavia. From this trading post, the Dutch established their settlements in various parts of Indonesia. In these settlements, cloves and nutmeg were the major cash crops. By the year 1640, the Dutch had expanded their trade across Asia and opened another trading post at Ceylon. In the year 1652, the Dutch opened a trading post at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. This post provided goods to the ships destined to eastern Asia. Before the decline of the Dutch East India Company in the 1680s, more trading posts had been established in Persia, Bengal, Malacca, Siam, and Formosa. These trading posts provided supplies to the company and made it the wealthiest global company in the year 1669.
In the early 1600s, the British founded the British East India Company. Through the company, they established trading posts in Jakarta, Pulau AI, and Pulau Run in the year 1611. These trade posts were situated near Banda, where the Dutch had their own trade post. The trading post focused on spices and nutmeg trading. In their first 150 years of operation, the British company had established several trading posts across India (Cipolla, 2000). These posts were situated in Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, and Surat. During the year 1711, a new port was established in Canton, China, to tap into the opium trade. With these trading posts, the owners of the British company became very rich and powerful in England. They built several estates and had political influence in the British government.
Reference
Cipolla, C. M. (2000). Guns, sails and empires; technological innovation and the early phases of European expansion, 1400-1700. New York: Pantheon Books.