 During the 1750s Wehali approached the VOC, and in 1756 the Liurai Jacinto Correia signed a contract with the Dutch diplomat Johannes Andreas Paravicini.According to this contract the Liurai was the overlord over a large number of Timorese kingdoms, including Dirma, Laclo, Luca, Viqueque, Corara and Banibani.The Dutch hoped that the contract would automatically include most of East Timor in their sphere of power, but the ritual rather than executive authority of Wehali was insufficient for this.