What would a Dutch Australia look like?

[Hawkatana]

I know there were various attempts to colonise Australia by the Dutch along Western Australia, but they basically all ended in failure. But what would happen if one or of them stuck? What would be the results of them actually founding a long-lasting colony on Australian soil?

 

[The Anglo-Dutch Union]

I don't think the Dutch ever tried to actually colonise Australia

 

[Hawkatana]

They did, actually. They tried setting up colonies on the west of the country, but never committed to any of them.

 

[Osman Aga]

@pompejus

 

[The Anglo-Dutch Union]

They did, actually. They tried setting up colonies on the west of the country, but never committed to any of them.

A quick search didn't show any results, could you give a source for that? because i believe that while they did explore Australia (at least it's coast) they did not settle it

 

[Hawkatana]

A quick search didn't show any results, could you give a source for that? because i believe that while they did explore Australia (at least it's coast) they did not settle it

In 1644, the explorer Abel Tasman found the west coast of Australia and claimed it in the name of the Dutch, and giving it the name "Nouvelle Hollande" (New Holland). It didn't stick, though, and the British under James Cook would officially claim it in the name of their colonial empire with the establishment of Sydney & the colony of New South Wales.

 

[Canadian Dragon]

In 1644, the explorer Abel Tasman found the west coast of Australia and claimed it in the name of the Dutch, and giving it the name "Nouvelle Hollande" (New Holland). It didn't stick, though, and the British under James Cook would officially claim it in the name of their colonial empire with the establishment of Sydney & the colony of New South Wales.

As Tasman was Dutch, that would've been Nieuw Holland. What you quoted was in French.

 

[Mitchell Hundred]

Would the Aboriginals have faced any difference in outcome had the Dutch colonized the land vs the British?

 

[ETGalaxy]

It‘a very likely that Dutch Australia would, at least initially, fall under the management of the VOC. “New Holland” therefore likely starts out as a series of coastal trading posts, but I’d imagine that the colony develops into a settler colony akin to the Cape Colony over time. It’s worth noting, however, that Australia isn’t really in a position to serve as a supply station in the same way that South Africa is, so I’d imagine that the early days of New Holland are made profitable through trade and alliances between the VOC and Aboriginals. Over time, however, my guess would be that the colonists decide to conquer Aboriginal territory instead.

If we’re to assume that VOC control of New Holland lasts for awhile, it’s very likely that the company maintains a monopoly on the economics of the colony like what they did with the Cape Colony in OTL. This could have interesting consequences in the long term, such as encouraging inward settlement to escape company control and possibly escalating into a war of New Hollander independence. I’d love to see what government structure and geopolitical strategy would emerge in a nation that fought for independence from the VOC and is probably in a really good position to expand its influence throughout the southern Pacific Ocean upon independence.

 

[The Anglo-Dutch Union]

In 1644, the explorer Abel Tasman found the west coast of Australia and claimed it in the name of the Dutch, and giving it the name "Nouvelle Hollande" (New Holland). It didn't stick, though, and the British under James Cook would officially claim it in the name of their colonial empire with the establishment of Sydney & the colony of New South Wales.

That's not really settling though?

 

[Hawkatana]

That's not really settling though?

Still enough of an impetus to beg the question. I don't see France, Germany, Spain or Portugal going near Australia.

 

[The Anglo-Dutch Union]

Still enough of an impetus to beg the question. I don't see France, Germany, Spain or Portugal going near Australia.

That's fair

 

[Jared]

I don't think the Dutch ever tried to actually colonise Australia

They did, actually. They tried setting up colonies on the west of the country, but never committed to any of them.

No, the Dutch claimed Australia - or at least the western two-thirds of the continent. They never tried to set up any colonies there. Despite claiming Australia from the early 1600s to 1788, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) never tried to plant a permanent settlement in Australia. Quite simply, there was nothing there which interested them enough.

The VOC was interested in profits. They weren't interested in planting colonies for the sake of it. They weren't aware of anything in Australia which would give immediate profits, and there were no meaningful trade prospects there either. It took a lot of time for them to be persuaded to set up a settlement at the Cape, and that was an essential victualling station. Once they had that working properly, they abandoned other nearby victualling stations (Mauritius) which were unnecessary when they had the Cape. They didn't need another victualling station in Western Australia, and there wasn't much other reason for them to try.

It's not beyond the bounds of possibility for the Dutch to try setting up a colony, but they really do need a reason. They didn't found colonies for the sake of planting the flag.

 

[Osman Aga]

I know there were various attempts to colonise Australia by the Dutch along Western Australia, but they basically all ended in failure. But what would happen if one or of them stuck? What would be the results of them actually founding a long-lasting colony on Australian soil?

Maybe like the Cape Colony?

Personally I see a colony in Australia as a bonus for the VOC. More people to trade with and a source of manpower for the Ships/militia and a safe haven for the VOC in case of war considering how remote the colony is.

 

[Comte de Dordogne]

What if a Dutch explorer discovered Australian gold during one of these expeditions (in OTL Western Australia or New South Wales)? This could attract the very stingy VOC and lead to Dutch colonisation.
The VOC could then import slaves from East Africa or South East Asia after probably massacring the indigenous Australians. There might even be plantations in the south of Australia (of sugar? See Insulindia spices).
It would be very brutal as a colony.

 

[Parma]

Let say Sandal wood was discovered in 1696, by Willem De Vlamingh. De Vlamingh commanded the rescue mission to Australia's west coast to look for survivors of the Ridderschap van Holland that had gone missing two years earlier, and had admiral Sir James Couper on board .[6] There were three ships under his command: the frigate Geelvink, captained by De Vlamingh himself; the Nijptang, under Captain Gerrit Collaert; and the galiot Weseltje, under Captain Cornelis de Vlamingh, son of Willem de Vlamingh.
On 10 January 1697, he ventured up the Swan River. He and his crew are believed to have been the first Europeans to do so. They are also assumed to be the first Europeans to see black swans,[10] and De Vlamingh named the Swan River (Zwaanenrivier in Dutch) after the large number they observed there. The crew split into three parties, hoping to catch an Aborigine, but about five days later they gave up their quest to catch a "South lander"
In OTL Willem de Valmingh wrote a report which conclude that the land had little or no value or any people to trade with.
Now his expedition take back de much prized Sandalwood back and he write a report which conclude that the Swan river system can sustain a colony.
The discovery of Sandalwood with the presence of fresh water river and a decree of the VOC to make a stop at the Swan river estuary of their ships enroute to Batavia in order to replenish and recover before the last leg to Batavia, could make a settlement around OTL Perth and Freemantle valuable or at least some sizable like the Cape colony.
The presence of a Dutch refreshing station and sandalwood plantations made it also more favorable for a much earlier Roggeveen expedition. Jacob Roggeveen discovered Eastern Island in an attempted to find the South Land. He did this since it was the last wish of his father who had the permission of an expedition the last quarter of the 17th century but could not get enough funding.
An earlier circumnavigation of Australia made it also more plausible for more Dutch settlements.
These settlements would not be very spectacular due to the enormous distances and except sandalwood in the West no presence of valuable commodities, or it have to be due to the establishment of plantations, for sugar or other luxury items as coffee, tabaco, and cocoa

 

[twovultures]

The presence of a Dutch refreshing station and sandalwood plantations made it also more favorable for a much earlier Roggeveen expedition.

Question about said sandalwood plantation-how long will it last, and can the colony survive without the product?

The reason I ask is that sandalwood is slow growing. An extractive enterprise like the VOC is very quickly going to destroy all groves in easy access, and even if the company had the patience to wait for new sandalwood to grow (unlikely) the new groves are likely to either be directly eaten as saplings by European livestock, or be less likely to grow due to environmental issues such as compacted soil caused by said livestock.

The slow growing nature of sandalwood combined with its value means that its a target for poaching in West Australia today. Will West Australia end up an abandoned colony like Mauritius in this scenario? Or do you think the VOC could be kept as a farming base, with perhaps alternative economic activities for the colonists (whaling, sealing, etc.)

 

[Jürgen]

I have a question to any people with knowledge about Australia, is there's a good reason for the Dutch not to be able to have a fort/small settlement at Carnarvon, Exmouth or Kalbarri? Because each lay where Dutch ships on the way to the East Indies reached Australia, while Perth seems have been a few hundred kilometers out of the way. The climate is obvious worse, but it's hot and dry, which is survivable for Europeans and there's access to water.

 

[Comte de Geneve]

Seized by the British during the Napoleonic Wars just like Cape Colony. A few Dutch settlers with no arable interior to migrate into will be absorbed into the British settlers. Impact: Same Van and Vander names in modern Oz.

 

[Jürgen]

Seized by the British during the Napoleonic Wars just like Cape Colony. A few Dutch settlers with no arable interior to migrate into will be absorbed into the British settlers. Impact: Same Van and Vander names in modern Oz.

I strongly disagree, if we go with similar settlement as the Cape even without the non-White speakers, we can expect around 3 million descendants of them by modern day mostly centered in Western Australia. If they also have a similar non-White demographic as the Cape, we can expect a modern population of 7 million.

But more than that, it's not given that UK will take New Holland, if the Dutch have similar settlement as the Cape and even if they do, they will likely only take the East. The Cape had a important strategic importance, Australia doesn't.