Formation of the Dutch East India Company, 1602, (c1870). In June 1596 a four ship expedition commanded by Cornelis de Houtman arrived in Indonesia. The expedition had been sent to try to secure a foothold for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade dominated by the Portuguese, allies of Spain, with whom the Dutch United Provinces was at war. Further expeditions followed and The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602. In 1800 the Dutch East Indies formally became a colony of the Netherlands.