Manado

During the VOC era Manado, in northern Sulawesi, was a residence with a limited number of staff. Here the Dutch were plagued by problems with the Spanish. During the period that G. Maetsuycker was governor (1653-78) the VOC set up a trading post in Manado. Alongside a stone lodge the Company also built a massive redoubt by the name of Fort Amsterdam. The fort was built after 1657, when the Company was called in to do battle with the Spanish. Manado chiefly traded tortoiseshell.