The VOC

Right here, in front of you, stands the old headquarters of the VOC, the Dutch East India Company. And not just any company, this was arguably one of the most successful businesses in all of human history. Today the building is home to the University of Amsterdam, so students now study where merchants once plotted global domination. Founded in 1602, the VOC built trading posts across Asia, from Indonesia to India, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Ships loaded with spices, textiles and other valuable goods kept flowing back to Amsterdam, making the Dutch Republic extraordinarily wealthy. 

Leaders like Jan Pieterszoon Coen and Antonie van Diemen pushed the company's reach further and further, with Van Diemen's expeditions reaching as far as Tasmania and New Zealand. Of course, this success came at a painful cost. The VOC was deeply entangled in colonialism, the slave trade and violent conflicts with indigenous peoples, and that part of its legacy is still very much part of the conversation today. 

Now, if you turn and look across the street, you'll spot the Trippenhuys. We've included a photo so you really can't miss it. Pay special attention to the chimneys, because the Trip brothers were arms dealers, and apparently if you sell cannons for a living, you build cannons into your roofline too.