Illicit riches

the long version

"Noteworthy study of transit trade in the Caribbean presents alternative view of Dutch seaborne empire. Argues that Dutch illegal inter-imperial commerce with Spanish, English, and French colonies was far more important than historians have realized. According to author, this Caribbean contraband trade, revolving around the entrepôts in Curaçao and Saint Eustatius helped Dutch to survive 17th-century loss of most of their territorial empire in the Western Hemisphere"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.