The Economist (US), December 25th, 1999
1614
The East India companies
TO JAN COEN, writing home in 1614 to his bosses in the Dutch East India Company, it was simple commercial fact:
Trade in Asia must be maintained under the protection of our own weapons; and they have to be paid for from the profits of trade. We can't trade without war, nor make war without trade.
Within five years, "war" had become "land". Coen seized a small port called Jakarta, renamed it Batavia and fortified it. The idea was not new. Throughout the east, Asian traders had long, de facto, run the districts of foreign ports where they lived and did busines...
HighBeam Research, Free Preview: 'International trade.(influence of Dutch East India Company and English East India Company)(Brief Article)'... Full Membership required for unlimited access. Free 7-day trial.
Subscribers: HighBeam content is only available to HighBeam subscribers. Click the link above for more information.
