@Avectoijesuismoi they def left their mark on the places they had trading outposts. Some NYC places still have Dutch names . (Van Wyck expressway , spuyten duyvil, etc..)

@AthrillatheHunt The reason you probably don't see alot of criticism of the Dutch colonial Empire (they called themselves that) outside the Netherlands is because of this historical fantasy that they were just a merchant navy that by magic stumbled into having global colonies.

Being the middle man as you put it was survival. It was plan B. They were being taken apart by the British Empire and it was cooperate or die.

They lost their colonial naval ambitions because they got their ass kicked.

Not unlike the German Empire of the Kaiser or Mussolini's attempt at a colonial empire.

For those that lived under Dutch Colonial rule it was not much different from the British or the French, or Spaniards and Portuguese.

@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow that’s what I said. They learned early on they were not destined for a military empire and pivoted to mercantilism instead. They were the bagmen for the British Spanish and Portuguese. They were never colonial rulers in the conventional sense (taxes to the crown , military inscription , loyalty oaths etc..). They just wanted to trade , not rule .

@Quimliqer People were fighting for it and doing good things. It's surprising Biden got anything done with the GOP strings being pulled by DJT and his Fascist backers.

@Avectoijesuismoi Not even sure what that is supposed to mean but whatever. Starmer is just a Tory that got lost.

@Avectoijesuismoi It means I just packed up and left and relocated to California but it is only a base camp I often off exploring other places.

@JT123 Sorry, but you know what I've said is true. Live with it, MAGAt.