The question often arises as to why the Dutch
were able to maintain their position in the island
world for so long.
• In part, the reason lies in the profusion of small
political units which had always been a feature of
the island world and which the VOC helped to
perpetuate by working to prevent regional
alliances which might form the basis of an antiDutch
coalition.
• Furthermore, the Dutch were always able to find
one Indonesian group to use against another
because local rulers themselves often saw a VOC
alliance as a means of gaining an advantage over
some long-time enemy.