Governorate of Ambon Gouvernement Amboyna | |||||||||
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| 1605–1796 | |||||||||
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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 Amboina around 1651 | |||||||||
| Status | Dutch colony | ||||||||
| Capital | Fort Victoria | ||||||||
| Common languages | Dutch | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1605–1611 | Frederick de Houtman | ||||||||
• 1618–1625 | Herman van Speult | ||||||||
• 1701–1706 | Balthasar Coyett | ||||||||
• 1724–1729 | Stephanus Versluys | ||||||||
• 1794–1796 | Alexander Cornabé | ||||||||
| Historical era | Imperialism | ||||||||
| 22 February 1605 | |||||||||
• British takeover | 1796 | ||||||||
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Ambon was a governorate of the Dutch East India Company, consisting of Ambon Island and ten neighbouring islands.[1] Steven van der Hagen captured Fort Victoria on 22 February 1605 from the Portuguese in the name of the Dutch East India Company. Until 1619, Ambon served as the capital of the Dutch possessions in East Asia. In that year Batavia was founded to function as the staple port for the Dutch East India Company in Asia. The island was the world center of clove production until the 19th century. The Dutch prohibited the rearing of the clove-tree in all the other islands subject to their rule, in order to secure the monopoly to Ambon.