[2] Dutch traders began trading with Loango-Angola in the early 17th century, driven south by increasing competition on the Gold Coast.

[4] Initially, the Dutch maintained the port city of Mpinda at the mouth of the Congo River as the southernmost border of their operations.

After Piet Hein captured the Spanish treasure fleet in 1628, the Dutch West India Company once again tried to set the Groot Desseyn plan in motion.

With plenty of resources to pay for their military expenditure, the Dutch successfully captured Recife and Olinda, the core region of Brazilian sugar cane plantations, in early 1630.

[9] The Dutch were not interested in conquering Angola, much to the chagrin of Kongo's King Garcia II and Njinga who had both pressed them to assist in driving the Portuguese from the colony.

However, Dutch authorities came to realize that they could not monopolize the slave trade from Angola just by holding Luanda and a few nearby places, and moreover, the Portuguese sent several relief expeditions to Massangano from Brazil.

[11] John Maurice had pled with the Dutch West India Company to put Luanda under his administration, but the Lords XIX eventually decided to make Loango-Angola, including São Tomé, a separate commandment.

[13] They decided that a triumvirate of three directors consisting of Moorthamer, Nieulant, and Hans Mols would rule the colony, the latter of whom was to be dispatched from the Dutch Republic.

Halfway 1644, Heynderick van Redinckhoven, who was appointed to fill up one of the directorship vacancies, arrived in Luanda to join Mols as head of the colony.

[18] The Lords XIX denied this request, but appointed former envoy Cornelis Hendrikszoon Ouwman as co-director on 6 July 1645, to relieve Van Redinckhoven of some of his tasks.