The Dutch West India Company or WIC Dutch pronunciation: [ʋɛstˈɪndisə kɔmpɑˈɲi] was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors, formally known as GWC. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647) and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the Dutch West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America.
The West India House, headquarters of the Dutch West India Company from 1623 to 1647
Reinier Pauw, Portrait by Jan Anthonisz. van Ravesteyn
Willem Usselincx, co-founder of the Dutch West India Company
The Zwaanendael Colony along the Delaware
A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights by royal charter for the purpose of trade, exploration, or colonization, or a combination of these.
Share certificate of the Stora Kopparberg mine, dated 16 June 1288
The British East India Company's headquarters in London