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Geography of the Dutch Empire

Can you guess these facts about the geography of the Dutch Empire?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 11, 2022
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First submittedMarch 18, 2017
Times taken28,364
Average score65.0%
Rating4.71
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Question
Answer
Country formerly known as the Dutch East Indies
Indonesia
What the Dutch East India Company imported into Europe, primarily
Spices
Among African countries, the one with the most people of Dutch descent
South Africa
Dutch-derived language that is spoken in that country today
Afrikaans
Word, meaning "farmer", that was commonly used to refer to Dutch settlers in that country
Boer
Names of the ABC islands of the Caribbean
A
Aruba
B
Bonaire
C
Curaçao
Island country known as Dutch Ceylon between 1640–1796
Sri Lanka
South American country which speaks Dutch
Suriname
The two modern megacities that were once in the Dutch empire
New York City
Jakarta
Dutch names of those cities
Nieuw Amsterdam
Batavia
Explorer who discovered Tasmania in 1642
Abel Tasman
Bird that became extinct shortly after Mauritius was colonized in 1638
Dodo
English explorer, working for the Dutch, who discovered a river in New York
and a bay in Canada
Henry Hudson
African country once known as the Dutch Gold Coast
Ghana
Small Caribbean island which the Netherlands shares with France
Saint Martin
European country successfully "invaded" by the Dutch in the Glorious Revolution of 1688
England
+6
Level 81
Mar 18, 2017
Very nice quiz!
+3
Level 82
Mar 18, 2017
"Farmer" is singular, but the answer requires plural.
+2
Level 87
Mar 18, 2017
Yes, "Boer" is the correct answer to your question as phrased.
+2
Level ∞
Mar 18, 2017
Fixed the Boer issue.
+22
Level 80
Mar 19, 2017
i think thats what the ANC said. I'm south african, this will make no sense to anybody else
+11
Level ∞
Mar 19, 2017
Wasn't trying to go down that road ...
+2
Level 77
Mar 18, 2017
Boer, not boers. You should probably also accept St Marteen for St Martin.
+2
Level 79
Mar 18, 2017
They already accept Sint/St/Saint Maarten.
+7
Level 37
Jun 14, 2017
French: Saint Martin

Dutch: Sint Maarten

+2
Level 32
Sep 18, 2017
I tried Sint Marteen and it didn't work.
+5
Level 60
Apr 19, 2022
... because it's not correct?
+13
Level 37
Mar 11, 2018
It is "Sint Maarten" for the Dutch side and "Saint Martin" for the French side. St.Marteen is not the name of either one,so why should it be accepted?
+2
Level 72
Mar 19, 2017
The last question surprised me. I would have been guessing for a long time before i tried the correct answer.
+6
Level 90
Sep 18, 2017
I keep typing Johannesburg hoping it would take. After a minute or so I took a step back and said maybe I'm forgetting some place. Doh. But back to the question is Johannesburg a "megacity"?
+7
Level 90
Sep 18, 2017
According to Wikipedia, 10 million is the cutoff point so it's not but should be at some point in the next 20 years. Put that on your calendar, Quizmaster.
+3
Level 89
Jul 8, 2018
"According to Wikipedia" anyone, even the same person you're talking to anywhere else on the internet, can write and edit Wikipedia. Use a real source, even by checking the legitimate source that should be referenced in the Wikipedia claim.
+10
Level 73
Apr 9, 2019
I don't think Johannesburg was ever actually a part of the Dutch Empire was it? It wasn't established until after the gold rush in the late 1800's. I guess that will be my research project for next weekend.
+1
Level 69
Mar 17, 2022
It never was part of the Dutch Empire. The Dutch holdings in South Africa were basically limited to the portions of the old Cape Province.

When the British took over the Cape many of the Dutch settlers left the Cape Colony, establishing a series of independent Republics that were never part of the Dutch Empire. Johannesburg was founded in one of these Republics, the ZAR (South African Republic) and was never under Dutch control.

As to whether Johannesburg is a megacity is very much up for debate. The city proper doesn't have ten million people, but its metropolitan population exceeds ten million and for this reason many people consider it to be a megacity.

+4
Level 74
Sep 18, 2017
Thinking Ghana and SL were "English" Gold Coast and Ceylon respectively, I skirted all round the other countries in West Africa & Indian Ocean before thinking ... maybe they were Dutch too beforehand. D'oh!
+3
Level 77
Sep 18, 2017
Wow... I got 100... I am very impressed with myself. Surprised so few people knew Batavia though.
+2
Level 71
Apr 9, 2018
I'm surprised that many knew it.
+4
Level 77
Sep 18, 2017
Even old New York, was once Nieuw Amsterdam...
+3
Level 89
Jan 5, 2019
You mean the one in Yorkshire?
+2
Level 26
Jan 14, 2019
Nope the one in the US
+3
Level 72
Mar 9, 2020
...Why they changed it I can't say

People just liked it better that way...

+2
Level 58
Sep 19, 2017
When Hudson discovered Hudson he was not in Dutch service. Only his third voyage was in Dutch service, the Hudson Bay was discovered on the fourth.
+3
Level 37
Nov 22, 2017
The question did not specify on what voyage he discovered the Hudson, only that he did. e discovered the Hudson and was employed (at one time or another) by the Dutch. The is correct.
+2
Level 77
Aug 19, 2018
Excellent quiz - thanks.
+2
Level 66
Oct 17, 2018
I thought the Dutch name for Jakarta was Djakarta.
+2
Level 37
Nov 6, 2018
^ So did I. Apparently though, it was Batavia.
+3
Level 48
Nov 19, 2019
I kept writing Jakarta because that's what it's called in Dutch nowadays. Didn't think that one through...
+4
Level 67
Nov 28, 2018
Nice one....only had one that was really hard, the Hudson one. The rest i knew. But then again i'm Dutch, so i got this stuff force-fed at school.
+2
Level 48
Nov 19, 2019
Yeah, same. I just know this because of a simple subject called "geschiedenis" (history)
+2
Level 80
Apr 19, 2022
Could be worse. Any Texan who went to a public school can tell you that they teach the same events of Texas history every single year for like 10 years
+1
Level 59
Apr 19, 2022
We only had one year of Texan history, but it was really dumb. Even the world history was basically just Western History.

There’s already APEU history, you don’t need WHAP to be the same thing

+5
Level 75
Jan 5, 2019
I guess this doesn't fit easily within the context of empire, but the Dutch also had a bizarre presence for a couple of centuries cordoned off on a little human-built island called Dejima, about ten meters off the Nagasaki shore. I think they typically had about a dozen Dutch nationals there as the only Europeans allowed to trade in Japan.
+2
Level 67
Jan 5, 2019
Fun to notice some others now this as well, are you Dutch? Or did you go to Dutch school? My generation was teached this stuff, but facts like Dejima are, from what i've noticed, not that known outside of our 'history glorification' (i am historian, and way too much of historical writing makes stuff look and sound better than it was, like our (the Dutch) colonialism-period).
+1
Level 59
Apr 19, 2022
I had heard about this once when I was researching to understand the History of Japan I guess video.
+2
Level 57
Jan 5, 2019
Great Quiz. Lived and worked in Amsterdam "a few" years ago, last century:)) That city is truly colourful.
+2
Level 60
Jan 6, 2020
Suprised to see that Batavia has that few guess, I thought lots of you probably learned this at school like what I did, but apparently, I'm wrong.
+3
Level 71
Jan 17, 2021
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam...
+1
Level 69
Mar 2, 2021
Interesting to see nothing about stealing Portuguese colonies, but a great quiz regardless!
+2
Level 76
Apr 12, 2022
Since it is a Dutch quiz, perhaps use the Dutch spelling of St. Martin (Sint/St Maarten)?
+1
Level 59
Apr 19, 2022
Tasmania was not discovered by Abel Tasman, it had been inhabited by Aboriginal peoples for at least 30,000 years by the time he arrived.

Same deal for Hudson River/Bay.

I'd suggest changing the wording to something like 'first European to map'

+2
Level 82
Apr 19, 2022
You can discover something and not be the first homo sapien ever to do it. The wording of the clue is perfectly fine. Look up the definition of the word "discover"
+1
Level 82
Apr 21, 2022
There'd be a problem if it said "first discovered", but it doesn't.
+1
Level 60
Apr 19, 2022
Liked the quiz, maybe more spelling forgiveness on the ABC islands
+1
Level 75
Apr 19, 2022
Missed the question on who discovered Tasmania. Felt foolish when I saw the answer.
+1
Level 89
Apr 19, 2022
I tend to forget about him sometimes. When I took the quiz today it took me a few seconds to remember him
+3
Level 72
Apr 19, 2022
Visiting The Netherlands for the first time in my life today, opened Jetpunk to keep myself awake at Amsterdam Centraal Station so that I don’t miss the train back to the hotel and I see this quiz, featured with a subtitle asking if I’d “made friends with a Dutch Person today?” That was very unsettling to read, having had one of their funny cigarettes a while ago… I think I need to get myself some pancakes, pronto. And then a very long nap..
+1
Level 61
Apr 20, 2022
I'm a Dutch guy and a fellow Punk. So consider this mission accomplished!
+1
Level 58
Apr 26, 2022
Hudson was only in Dutch service on the third of his four voyages. He was indeed in Dutch service when he discovered Hudson River, but not when he discovered Hudson Bay (which happened on his fourth voyage). You might want to rephrase that clue.
+2
Level 72
Feb 22, 2023
Could something about Taiwan be added?
+1
Level 50
Mar 25, 2024
Taipei could be accepted for the Jakarta/NYC question