Once They Were Dutch Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sri Lanka

The key to the expansion of the Dutch colonial empire was the foundation of the Dutch East India Company (Vereinigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or VOC) in 1602. Due to their maritime expertise, the Portuguese were the main rivals of the Dutch when the latter sought to establish their rule in various overseas territories.

In the first half of the 17th century, the two powers clashed for control of the coastal area of the island of Ceylon, which the Dutch retained until the end of the 18th century, when the British took over.

The island country, now called Sri Lanka, became independent from the United Kingdom in 1948. Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital and largest city, was also the capital of the Dutch maritime provinces, and part of the highly coveted cinnamon-producing lands.

The Dutch influence can still be found in the form of loanwords in the island's two official languages, Sinhalese and Tamil.

Answer: Ghana

Though the Dutch had a substantial presence in West Africa, most of their possessions were trading posts rather than full-fledged territories. The Dutch possessions on the coast of Guinea, however, were among the earliest Dutch colonies. The Dutch Gold Coast (so called because of its abundance of gold mines) included a number of coastal forts and castles on the western coast of what is now Ghana - the most important of which was the castle of Elmina, located on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean.

After years of conflicts with local powers such as the Ashanti Empire, the abolition of the slave trade marked the decline of the Dutch Gold Coast, which was ceded to the British in 1872.

The town of Elmina is now an important tourist destination for its vestiges of the colonial period - including a Dutch Cemetery and the original Portuguese castle. Ghana became independent from the UK in 1957.

Answer: Belgium

Not all former Dutch possessions are exotic places in the tropics. For many centuries, what is now the modern country of Belgium was ruled by a long series of dukes, kings and emperors. Named after the Belgae, the Gallo-Germanic tribe that inhabited the region when Julius Caesar arrived there, the former Belgium Austriacum was annexed to France by Napoleon in 1795; then, in 1815, it became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, when the Congress of Vienna reorganized the whole of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. Following 1830's Belgian Revolution, Belgium became officially independent from the Netherlands on 19 April 1839. Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union, and many of the Union's foremost institutions are headquartered in the city of Brussels, the country's capital.

It is a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Chocolate and beer are among the country's most popular exports.

Answer: Suriname

Located in the northern part of South America, Suriname - formerly known as Dutch Guyana - is sandwiched between Guyana (a former British colony) and French Guiana (an overseas department of France). South America's smallest nation, Suriname became a Dutch colony in the late 17th century, when the Dutch won it from the British - who were compensated for the loss of Suriname's extensive sugar plantations with the North American territories of New Netherlands (present-day New York). On 25 November 1975, Suriname became independent from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, though still keeping close ties to the European nation.

In fact, Suriname is the only overseas country where Dutch is spoken as a mother tongue by the majority of the population. A very diverse country, Suriname comprises a wide variety of ethnic group and religious faiths; it is also remarkable for the biodiversity found in its natural environment.

As an example of 17th and 18th century colonial architecture, the inner city of Suriname's capital, Paramaribo, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002.

Answer: Indonesia

The densely populated, modern island nation known as Indonesia comprises most of the Dutch East Indies - probably the most important of the Dutch overseas territories. The extensive archipelago located between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, numbering over 17,000 islands, was first reached by the Dutch in 1595.

A few years later they founded Batavia (present-day Jakarta), which became the centre of the Dutch East India Company's trading network - at first based mostly on spices, and subsequently also on other cash crops such as coffee, tea, rubber and sugar. By 1800, the Dutch East Indies had officially become a colony; Dutch colonial rule lasted until September 1945, when nationalist leaders Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed independence.

In 1949, after four years of struggle, the Dutch were forced to recognize the country's independence.

Modern Indonesia is an incredibly diverse country, both in terms of population and environment. Its capital, Jakarta, is projected to become the world's largest megacity by 2030; its former name of Batavia comes from a Germanic tribe that inhabited part of the Netherlands in Roman times.

Answer: Mauritius

The island of Mauritius lies about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) off the southeast coast of Africa; the nearest landmass is the island of Madagascar. Though visited by the Portuguese in the early years of the 16th century, it was not considered interesting as a port of call because of its isolation, and no permanent settlement was established. On the other hand, a Dutch expedition reached the island in 1598, and named it after Prince Maurits (Mauritius in Latin) of Nassau, the "stadtholder" (steward) of the Dutch Republic.

The island was settled in 1638, and the Dutch remained there - in spite of numerous hardships - until 1710, when they finally abandoned it, and the French soon took over. One rather unsavoury aspect of the Dutch colonization of the island was the destruction of the island's endemic population of dodo birds, which became extinct in the 1660s.

Modern-day Mauritius is a republic that also includes three other smaller islands; it became independent from the UK in 1968. A major tourist destination because of its beautiful beaches and rich biodiversity, Mauritius is also home to a multicultural population that enjoys a relatively high standard of living.

Answer: Luxembourg

The world's only remaining grand duchy, Luxembourg is a landlocked country bordered by France, Belgium and Germany, and one of Europe's smallest nations in terms of area and population. In spite of these apparent limitations, it ranks amongst the world's wealthiest countries, and is one of the founding members of the European Union.

Indeed, its capital, Luxembourg City, is one of the three official capitals of the Union together with Brussels and Strasbourg, and also a UNESCO World Heritage site (added in 1994).

The city's strategic position and its impressive fortifications, built in the Middle Ages and mostly dismantled in 1867, contributed to its importance in the eyes of Europe's rulers, especially those of neighbouring countries. In 1815, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg became independent from France, and entered a personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which ended in 1890.

The Grand Dukes of Luxembourg descend from the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau.

Answer: Brazil

Though Brazil's colonial history would be associated by most with Portugal, between 1630 and 1654 the Dutch kept a substantial presence in the north of the South American country. The capital of New Holland, as the colony was named, was Mauritsstad, now known as Recife, which became the headquarters of the Dutch West India Company (WIC).

The capital of the state of Pernambuco in Northeast Brazil, Recife is one of the country's largest urban areas. Its name means "reef" in Portuguese, while its Dutch name came from Governor Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, under whose rule the city thrived and became the foremost cultural centre of the New World. Recife is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean, and the presence of many waterways and bridges has earned it the nickname of "Brazilian Venice".

Other major cities of Northeast Brazil, such as Fortaleza, Natal and Joćo Pessoa, were also part of New Holland.

Answer: Taiwan

Until the 1970s, the East Asian island of Taiwan was known by the Portuguese name of Formosa (from "Ilha Formosa", beautiful island). In 1624 the Dutch East India Company established its presence in the southern part of the island. However, the colonizers' attempts to impose Western customs (including the Christian religion) on the local population undermined Dutch rule, in spite of the innovations introduced by the European rulers - especially regarding the cultivation of rice and sugar cane. The Dutch were eventually expelled from the island in 1662. Taiwan has been officially called Republic of China (RoC) since 1st January 1912.

In spite of its controversial relationship with most international organizations, the island republic is a highly advanced economy, with a high level of technological development.

Answer: South Africa

Located halfway between the Dutch colonies in the West Indies and those in the East Indies, the Dutch Cape Colony - the ancestor of modern-day South Africa - was first established in 1652 near the Cape of Good Hope as a resupply port for East India Company ships bound for Asia.

Then it grew into a much more extensive territory, attracting settlers from various parts of Europe. Though in 1814 its sovereignty was transferred to Great Britain, most of the Dutch settlers - later to be known as Boers (Dutch for "farmers") - remained there.

The modern nation of South Africa became independent from the United Kingdom at the end of 1931; it became a republic in 1961. Known as "Rainbow Nation" because of its multiculturalism, South Africa has three capitals (Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein) and 11 official languages. One of them, Afrikaans, is a Germanic language that developed from Hollandic, the most common dialect of Dutch.