History The First World War - The Dutch versus Iberians (Portugal/Spain) in Asia, Africa and the New World, End of the 16th century-1663

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Between the end of the 16th century and 1663, the Dutch engaged in global conflict with Iberian powers (Spain and Portugal).
This period marks the Dutch Republic's efforts to undermine Iberian dominance and establish their own global trade networks.
The Dutch expansion was intertwined with their struggle for independence and efforts to disrupt Iberian global trade dominance.

This conflict was an extension of the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands, with Portugal under the Spanish Crown rule for most of the period.
Battles were fought all over the world, from the fields of Flanders and the North Sea, to the extensive territories of the Portuguese and Spanish colonial empires.

The Dutch expansion motivations were to damage Iberian interests and benefit from trade to finance their own military efforts. Dutch efforts were driven by the desire to capture some of the wealth that Spain derived from its overseas colonies, which was used to fund Spanish military campaigns against the Dutch.

A significant milestone in Dutch global trade was the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie - VOC) in 1602, which unified regional companies into a powerful entity. The VOC was not only commercially successful but also served as a wartime instrument.

The union of the Spanish and Portuguese Crowns in the person of Philip II of Spain (Iberian Union) spurred the Dutch attack on the Portuguese colonial empire. The Crowns of Spain and Portugal remained united from 1580 to 1640. The Iberian colonial empire, stretched from Macao in China to Potosi in Peru, was thus the first world-empire on which the sun never set.

As the Iberian possessions were scattered around the world the fighting was waged in four continents and on seven seas. In the Atlantic islands, the west coast of Africa, the New World (the Americas), the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean. This widespread nature has led to suggestions that this should be considered the first global war.

Despite their vast empire, the Iberian powers had areas vulnerable to Dutch penetration, especially in trade routes and less defended colonies. The heaviest and most persistent Dutch attacks were directed at Portuguese rather than Spanish colonies.
Initially, Dutch efforts had minimal impact on Iberian trade circuits. However, they laid the groundwork for more significant disruptions after 1620.
The Dutch engaged in privateering, capturing Spanish and Portuguese ships, and established trade in regions like the Caribbean and along the coasts of the Guianas and North America.

Over time, the Dutch concentrated on attacking Portuguese settlements in Asia, Africa, and Brazil, which were more vulnerable than the inland Spanish viceroyalties of Mexico and Peru. Portuguese colonies, primarily coastal (penetration into the interior of the continents had not yet begun, in Brazil, in Africa), were easier targets compared to the land-based Spanish colonies of Mexico and Peru.

This part of the conflict was called The Dutch-Portuguese War (1598-1663). It was a series of armed conflicts between the Dutch Republic, represented by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and Dutch West India Company (WIC), and the Portuguese Empire.

This was a struggle for the spice trade of Asia, for the slave trade of West Africa, and for the sugar trade of Brazil.

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The conflict zone extended over the Atlantic Ocean, Northeastern Brazil, West Africa, Angola, East Africa, India, Ceylon, Burma, Strait of Malacca, Moluccas, Indochina, Macau, Formosa, Japan.

The conflict often involved third parties such as the English, Danes, Congolese, Persians, Indonesians, Cambodians, and Japanese, demonstrating its truly global reach. The war had a strong religious element, with the Catholic Portuguese and Calvinist Dutch seeing themselves as champions of their respective faiths, fighting God’s battles against their enemies.

This war ended with the signature of the Treaty of The Hague in 1661, although there were still some minor conflicts after that date.

The final result was, on balance, a victory for the Dutch in Asia, a draw in West Africa, and a victory for the Portuguese in Brazil.
In Asia the Dutch established a dominant trading position. They captured key Portuguese territories in the East Indies, including Malacca and parts of Ceylon.
In West Africa neither side gained a decisive upper hand. The Portuguese managed to retain control over Angola despite Dutch attempts to seize these area. In Brazil, the Portuguese managed to secure a victory, retaining control over their territories.

The Dutch-Portuguese War reshaped colonial empires and global trade dynamics. It marked the decline of Portuguese dominance in Asia and the rise of Dutch and later English power in global trade.

 
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We have discussed this before in this thread. There has been many world wars before what are commonly called the first and second world wars. I think you're right to say that this Dutch-Iberian war was the First World War.
 
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