During the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company cornered the booming spice market and pioneered trade routes between Asia and Europe. It is widely considered the most profitable corporation ever created. But such success came with an overwhelming cost in human life. Adam Clulow sheds light on the Dutch East India Company's invasion and genocide of Indonesia's Banda Islands. [Directed by Hernando Bahamon, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Manuel Borda].

Adam Clulow: How one of the most profitable companies in history rose to power

How one of the most profitable companies in history rose to power

400 years on, Jan Pieterszoon Coen's legacy is contentious, embodying the complex interplay of commerce, power, and morality.

Dutch East India Company's brutal conquest of Banda led to a near genocide for nutmeg monopoly, sparking the Dutch Golden Age.

Jan Pieterszoon Coen’s ruthless tactics in Banda exemplify the dark underbelly of colonial commerce and its lasting legacies.