EconAir

        INTRODUCTION   In 1600, England had been an insular and agricultural nation, trading primarily with nearby northern Europe. By 1700, England’s commerce was complex and global, as London competed successfully with Amsterdam for American produce and Asian luxuries.   Alan Taylor,   American Colonies:  The Settling of North America, 258.   A theme that runs through this essay is the global maritime rivalry with Holland. England and Holland became global trade rivals in the 1600s. They fought three wars that weakened Holland, eliminating it as a naval rival.    England’s main instrument in its rivalry with the Dutch in Asia was the English East India Company (EIC). In America and the West Indies, it was the Navigation Acts.   By the end of the century, England had become a global maritime trading and naval power. The Dutch had lost out in the Americas but had established a vast trading network throughout Asia, cen...

William Dalrymple’s new book, The Anarchy: How a Corporation Replaced the Mughal Empire, 1756-1803, will be published next year by Bloomsbury & Knopf   INTRODUCTION   The English East India Company (EIC) was an innovative new type of corporation. It is a model for the modern limited-liability, stockholder-funded modern corporation. The EIC also illustrates that the prototype of the modern multinational corporation was created to develop global trade.   HISTORIC BACKGROUND   The creation of the English East India Company (EIC) and its Dutch equivalent (the VOC) were part of the 400-year expansion of European power, trade, and influence. Much  of the rest of the world became colonies, part of imperial empires. By 1600, both England and Holland had a wealthy merchant and shipping class, bankers, substantial liquid capital (wealth) not tied up in land, and risk-takers. These categories overlapped. Both countries had limited monarchies. In England, the king and P...