How did the Dutch West India Company participate in the Atlantic slave trade and privateering?

The Dutch West India Company (WIC), founded in 1621, played a central role in the Atlantic slave trade and the use of privateering as instruments of economic warfare against Spain and Portugal.12

Participation in the Slave Trade

The WIC recognized that plantation agriculture in the Americas, particularly for sugar production, required large, consistent supplies of cheap labor. To meet this demand, the company acquired ports along the west African coast—dominating the region from Cape Verde to the Niger delta by 1642—to secure and transport enslaved people to plantations in the West Indies and South America. The company became preeminent in this trade during the 17th century, viewing the supply of enslaved labor to European colonies as a highly profitable business venture.312

Privateering and Economic Warfare

Privateering was a core component of the company's strategy, operating primarily out of Zeeland ports to prey upon Spanish and Portuguese shipping. These activities were intended to weaken the colonial empires of Spain and Portugal. A notable success occurred in 1628, when the Dutch seaman Piet Heyn captured a Spanish treasure fleet off the coast of Cuba, providing the capital necessary for the company to challenge Portuguese control in Brazil.21