The history of the synthetic colourants in a nutshell shows important developments during the nineteenth century. Prior to this development, scholars experimented with the treatment of natural colourants creating new dyes and dye mechanisms. Although the foundation of synthetic chemistry was already laid down in the first half of the nineteenth century, the main developments took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. This resulted in a rainbow of new dyes, a much more steady supply of colourants and new dyeing mechanisms, eliminating the need for the laborious dyeing procedures used for natural colourants. The dye industry at that time was of great commercial importance, which was stimulating for the discoverers of synthetic dyes since they could make great profits.