EconAir

    INTRODUCTION     Geopolitics looks at geography and history as inputs into the relations among nations. A corollary is that countries have “natural” opponents and allies. But how this works out depends on the domestic and foreign policies of the leaders and governments of the countries. The history of long-distance Eurasian trade highlights the crucial role of India and the Indian Ocean. For over 2,500 years, the Indian Ocean and its extensions of the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Malacca, were the vital routes of trade between Europe and the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and China. India was in the center of this trade, serving as the transshipment center of this trade.     The theme of this essay is the current and possible future the role of India in the evolving global balance of power. One topic is India’s strategic objectives in the Indian Ocean and stronger ties with other Asian countries. Another is the points of rivalry between...

The Mughal emperor Shah Alam hands a scroll to Robert Clive, the governor of Bengal, which transferred tax collecting rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the East India Company.  Illustration: Benjamin West (1738–1820)/British Library INTRODUCTION   The English East India Company (EIC) was an innovative new type of corporation. It was a model for the modern limited-liability, stockholder-funded modern corporation. The EIC also the prototype for the modern multinational corporation created to develop global trade. THE EIC: STRUCTURE AND STRATEGY The East India Company (EIC) was chartered in 1600 by Queen Elizabeth I to promote and monopolize English trade with Asia. England, a poor country in the 1600s but with colonial ambitions after defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588, outsourced its colonial ambitions to the East India Company and other private companies.    The East India Company was originally privately funded by 218 merchants and other investors. It was the ...