The study combines analysis of social change and resource exploitation by looking at the diplomatic network that the Dutch East India Company (VOC) developed in the Indian Ocean World in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the innumerable contracts and agreements that the VOC concluded with indigenous polities, slavery looms large. The management of slave trade and maintenance of slaves was an important part of the European establishment in Asian waters, which is clearly visible in the treaty texts. The article studies treaties from 1600-1700 and draws conclusions about the frequency of certain activities connected to slavery, and their relation to other forms of resource extraction.