How Dutch trade grew into territorial empire

The Dutch approached empire as traders seeking factories and ports rather than as conquerors beginning with a territorial blueprint. Attacks on those commercial outposts created a need for fortifications. Forts required permanent garrisons, and garrisons attracted families, shops, and the other services of a settlement. At the same time, excellent farming culture could not create more land in the crowded Netherlands, leaving many people without a prospect of inheriting farms. Overseas settlement, including the communities that developed in southern Africa, therefore joined security needs in turning trade positions into territorial empire.