Dutch sailors already knew the way to the East-Indies round the Cape of Good Hope through employment on Portuguese vessels; and the trade-routes by which the Spaniards brought the treasures of the New World across the Atlantic were likewise familiar to them and for a similar reason.

The East-Indies had for the merchants of Holland and Zeeland, ever keenly on the look-out for fresh markets, a peculiar attraction.

At first the Cape route was thought to be too dangerous, and several attempts were made to discover a north-west passage along the coast of Siberia.

Balthazar de Moucheron was the pioneer in these northern latitudes.

He established a regular traffic with the Russians by way of the White Sea, and had a factory (built in 1584) at Archangel.