When the dutch first set foot in Indonesia in 1595 In 1595, four Dutch ships set sail from Amsterdam into the unknown, led by Cornelis de Houtman. After months of brutal hardship, they reached Bantam in Java-only to find themselves among traders from all across Asia. Hoping to secure spice contracts, De Houtman lost patience and ordered the city to be bombarded. Many of his crew would never return, dying from scurvy-an agonizing disease that rotted their gums and claimed their lives. The price o