European traders began appearing in the seas of Southeast Asia in the 16th century in search of the legendary 'Spice Islands' (the Maluka Islands of eastern Indonesia). The Portuguese were the first to arrive, followed by the Dutch. Initially they caused little alarm: the region was long accustomed to trading with diverse peoples. If the Europeans did have one thing on their side, however, it was timing: the empires of the classical age had become stretched and brittle. The Dutch aggressively sought trade monopolies and their efforts embroiled them in Indonesian politics; eventually the Dutch would win control over Java and then, by the early 19th century, all of Indonesia (which was called the Dutch East Indies).