Oostindische

Oostindische is a Dutch adjective meaning "East Indian" or "from the East Indies" (Oost-Indië). Historically, the term designated things connected with the Dutch East Indies, the colonial realm the Netherlands controlled in Southeast Asia, especially what is now Indonesia.

The most famous usage is in the name Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), the Dutch United East India Company, founded in 1602 to organize trade with Asia and to manage Dutch interests there. The adjective appears in the names of ships, offices, and goods associated with the East Indies, and more broadly in 17th- and 18th-century descriptions of commerce, navigation, and colonial administration.

Geographically, Oost-Indië referred to the Dutch possessions and sphere of influence in Asia, principally present-day Indonesia, but also to the broader East Asian trade network of the period. In modern Dutch, the term is mostly encountered in historical contexts or in the preserved language of the VOC era, including in the full name of the company and in museums, literature, and archival sources. The usage of Oostindisch or Oostindische as descriptors has diminished outside of historical writing, with contemporary references to the region typically using more current terms related to Indonesia rather than the obsolete administrative label.