VOC chief traders in Japan

It was a name for the chief executive officer of a Dutch factory, in the sense of trading post led by a factor, i.e. agent.

The Dutch East India Company was established in 1602 by the States-General of the Netherlands to carry out colonial activities in Asia.

The VOC enjoyed unique success in Japan, in part because of the ways in which the character and other qualities of its opperhoofden were perceived to differ from other competitors.

Permission for establishing this permanent facility was granted in 1609 by the first Tokugawa-shōgun Ieyasu; but the right to make use of this convenient location was revoked in 1639.

[citation needed] In 1638, the harsh Sakoku ("closed door" policy) was ordered by the Tokugawa shogunate; and by 1641, the VOC had to transfer all of its mercantile operations to the small man-made island of Dejima in Nagasaki harbor.

The trade with Japan was continued by the Dutch at Batavia, with an interruption during the British occupation of Java, during which Stamford Raffles unsuccessfully tried to capture Dejima.

After the creation of the Kingdom of The Netherlands (1815) the trade with Japan came under the administration of the Minister of the Colonies by way of the Governor General in Batavia.

His successor, Jan Karel de Wit was Dutch Consul General in Japan, though still a colonial civil servant.