British trading company. East India Company

East India Company ships in the port of Amsterdam.

On March 20, 1602, the world's first joint-stock company, the Dutch East India Company, was established.

Having existed for two centuries, it had a tremendous influence on the development of world trade and politics. Many of the company's projects turned out to be so successful that they continued to exist even after its death. The company itself, as befits a capitalist monster, ended its existence with an epic bankruptcy that shook the world economy.

The product of war capitalism

At the end of the 16th century, almost the entire trade in spices, which were valued more than gold in Europe, was controlled by Portuguese and Spanish merchants. The Dutch had no access to the extremely profitable Asian markets. And the Portuguese were not going to tolerate competitors, destroying Dutch ships at every opportunity.

Nevertheless, the thirst for gold often pushed Europeans to unthinkable accomplishments. Beginning in 1594, separate groups of herring traders founded several companies that were supposed to deal with the direct supply of spices from Asia. Over almost a dozen subsequent years, the Dutch did not achieve significant success, but in 1602 the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands intervened in the process. By their decision, six companies were merged into one large one - the East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, abbreviated as VOC), and so that traders could consolidate more vigorously, new structure granted the right to monopoly trade with Asian countries.

REFERENCE : According to a patent issued by the Estates General on March 20, 1602, onlyThe VOC had the right to trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Strait of Magellan. Thus, the sphere of monopoly trade of the East India Company included the Pacific and Indian oceans, occupying half the planet.

It can be said that the East India Company was equally the product of war and commerce: Holland waged a desperate struggle with Spain, and trade was for the authorities an additional source of funds for the maintenance of the army. In addition, the VOC's trade successes in colonial countries undermined the economic power of the main Dutch enemy, and its ships were directly used to fight the Spanish fleet. Subsequently, the VOC became the most effective instrument that the young state opposed military power the then world hegemon.

Founders of the united East India Company. Photo: sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id

The first joint-stock empire

The commercial know-how of that time played a vital role for the East India Company - the enterprise became the first joint-stock company in history.

From the very beginning, VOC had the characteristics of a public company: all 73 of its founders agreed to share responsibility for lost ships and share all profits equally. By printing and issuing shares, the founders collected 6.5 million florins of authorized capital - an amount that at that time exceeded the budgets of some European countries.

REFERENCE : During the first two years of existenceVOC company shares rose in price by 10%, and when they managed to arrange supplies of Chinese tea from Java, they began to rise in price by 10% per year. Over 120 years, shares have risen in price by 1260%.

It is important that investments were not managed by lone entrepreneurs acting on the basis personal experience and intuition, but real narrow professionals: shipbuilders, sailors, sales agents, lawyers, market specialists. In terms of efficiency, the East India Company was as superior to the merchant guilds as the manufactories were superior to craft workshops. At the same time, due to the higher margin, the company had a capital turnover that could not be achieved in any production of that time.

Betrayal and smuggling

At the peak of its power, the VOC had 25,000 employees in Asia and 3,000 in the Netherlands. The total number of states around the world reached 50 thousand people. About 10 thousand of them were heavily armed mercenaries, and at times the number of armed employees amounted to half the company's personnel. The fleet consisted of 150 commercial ships and 40 warships, armed with cannons, capable of dealing with pirates and sinking British and Portuguese warships.

By the way, it was Portugal throughout the 17th century that was the main “food competitor” of the Dutch monster. The fight against her ships and trading posts was fought to the death.

In 1641, the East India Company managed to win a full-fledged colonial war without turning to its government, solely at the expense of its own troops and ships. However, having dealt with the Portuguese, the VOC received new opponents - the British and French East India Companies, created in its image and likeness.

The desire to obtain maximum profit played a cruel joke on the company. Like modern managers, VOC management preferred to save on salaries. Whenever possible, everyone was underpaid: from Asian farmhands to hired foreign captains. As a result, employees began smuggling en masse, hiding both the goods being transported and part of the profits from management. The self-indulgence of the staff slowly but surely undermined the company's profitability. However, in general, plunder of the colonies, monopoly of trade and skilled management of resources allowed the VOC to operate successfully until the 80s of the 18th century.

Giant Skeleton

By developing a trading infrastructure, the VOC created a huge network of trading posts, ports and fortresses - at the Cape of Good Hope, in Bengal, Malacca, China, and the Kingdom of Siam (present-day Thailand). The city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta), rebuilt from scratch, was proclaimed the capital of the company. The second most populous city in South Africa, Cape Town is none other than the former Kapstad, VOC supply base.

The successful development of trading posts in Africa attracted many Dutch and German colonists to the south of the continent. Their descendants formed the Boer people. The modified Dutch became the Afrikaans language, and its speakers created several states: Transvaal, Orange Republic, South Africa. Thanks to the VOC, Ceylon, Indonesia developed; The company also financed the British Henry Hudson, who in 1609, trying to open a northern route to India, explored the coast of Canada and described the bay that now bears his name.

It was the East India Company that created the skeleton of the globalized world, which is still well recognized today, despite the changes and redistribution of spheres of influence.

Final according to the laws of the genre

Powerful infrastructure and accumulated capital allowed the VOC to survive all the crises of the 17th and most of the 18th centuries. The special legal status of the company – “a state within a state” – played a huge role. The leadership of the VOC had its own court, enjoyed the right to conclude international treaties, and minted coins that circulated throughout Asia. To reduce employee mortality, the company's management even sponsored botanical research, during which pharmacists searched for new medicinal plants.

The end of the giant, like its beginning, turned out to be closely connected with the fate of the state. During the 4th Anglo-Dutch War, the company suffered colossal losses: about 60 million... no, not people - guilders. The financial balance was disrupted, and the winners imposed conditions on the Netherlands that were contrary to the interests of the company.

However, the sharks of capitalism would not be themselves if they had not been able to transfer the problems of the corporation to the state. In March 1795, the company, already virtually incompetent, was nationalized, and its debts, which had grown to 120 million guilders, were taken over by the government.

People who have followed the development of the debt crisis in the EU may be surprised to recognize in this story the scenario of slapping the state with private bank debts, which took place in Iceland, Ireland and partly in Portugal in 2009–2011. Yes, there is nothing new under the sun - including corporate scams.

After nationalization, the company existed for another three years and was abolished on March 17, 1798.

Vasilyeva Anastasia Stepanovna

scientific supervisor, teacher of the Department of Economic Theory, National Research University Higher School of Economics-Perm, Russian Federation, Perm

A few years after the destruction of the Spanish Armada by England, Elizabeth I decided to create a company that received major advantages for trade in India, the company included merchants from London and was called the British East India Company. The management of the company was a governor and a board of directors, who were responsible to the meeting of shareholders, who at the time of creation numbered 125, and their total capital was initially equal to 72,000 pounds sterling.

In general, all East India companies, and there were many of them (Dutch, Netherlands, Swedish, British in particular), had as their main goal the possible monopoly of trade in the East Indies, but, despite the main goal - trade, such companies expanded over time their powers, strengthened their influence and capital.

Just like the Dutch Company, the British East India Company began to list its shares on the stock exchange, and in addition to commercial functions, it soon acquired military and government functions, which undoubtedly increases the degree of influence of the company. The name of the British East India Company also included the terms "Honorable East India Company" and "Bahadur Company".

In order to secure routes to the British Isles, the British East India Company also collaborated outside India. The company also tried to carry out some aggressive actions, for example, in 1620 there was an attempt to capture Table Mountain, which is located on the territory of South Africa of our time; a little later the company conquered the island of St. Helena. The company not only had successes, but also some problems, one of which was piracy, which reached its peak in 1695.

The main operations of the British East India Company were carried out, understandably, in India, although in addition to them there were also active actions in China.

The company itself was founded in 1600. worthwhile events in India, aimed at economic control of trade in this country, were started only in 1612, because it was in 1612 that the company was allowed to open a trading post in the city of Surat. Later in 1640, by the decision of the local ruler of Vijayanagara, the British East India Company was also allowed to open its trading settlement in Madras, the company developed very successfully, receiving everything more income, as can be seen from the statistics, the growth rate was quite rapid - in 1647 the company already owned 23 trading settlements in India, which allows the British East India Company to have increasing power in trade in India.

The company mainly specializes in the export of silk and cotton fabrics to Europe; they also import grain, Bengal opium, tea and dyes. Later, in order to make more profit, the British East India Company begins expansion along with some other European East India Companies into other nearby areas.

In order to occupy large territories, which would allow expanding the scale of production, in 1757 the army of the company, led by Robert Clive, defeated the army of Bengagia, led by Siraj-ud-Dole, which gave them the right to control the activities of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Accordingly, along with the victory over Bengal, the company appropriates all the funds and jewelry of the defeated country from the treasury. This again increases the company’s capital, which allows the “merchants of London” to carry out increasingly large-scale trading operations, and accordingly receive greater profits.

By that time, actions in Bengal were not the only actions of the British East India Company aimed at expanding its subject territories. Along with Bengal, the British company saw profitable economic resources in the bases of Bombay and Madras, as a result of the winning Anglo-Mysore and Anglo-Maratha wars late XVIII- the beginning of the 19th century, the British East India Company became dominant on the southern coast of the Sutlej River, which flows through the territory of China, Pakistan and India.

Having carried out successful wars of conquest, the members of the company established their own personal policy in Bengal, aimed, like any other commercial activity, at making a profit: Bengali artisans were distributed among all the possessions of the British and were obliged to sell their products at greatly reduced prices, of course at At the same time, the British population became poorer, there was not enough money for food, and the East India Company increased the tax rate for the population of Bengal. The result of the harsh policies pursued by the British was the death of millions of indigenous people. The famine years passed in two waves: the famine of 1769-1770, during which, according to statistics, 7-10 million Bengalis died, and the famine wave of the 80-90s of the 18th century, during which several million more people died.

As can be seen from the figures, the British East India Company pursued a ruinous policy in the lands they owned, which it stopped and even sent to reverse side development of the Indians: all traditional crafts were ruined, agriculture was in decline, which, in fact, led to the death of 40 million Indians.

After conquering most of India, the British exported items worth just under £1 billion within 15 years. In general, the exploitation of India can be considered a kind of “creditor” of most of the British capital; also, according to the scientist Adams, the industrial revolution of England was also carried out with funds received from the use of Indian resources, both human and natural.

Indian expansion took two forms. The first was the use of subsidies, namely: the Indian princes were obliged to conduct all foreign activities only under the control of the British East India Company, the Indians paid subsidies for the maintenance of the British army, for this the British East India Company protected the indigenous population and provided them with part of its army for security In this form of expansion, the Indian princes were allowed to refuse subsidiary treaties only on the condition that the British were authorized to collect taxes from the princes' lands, but often the British government acted cunningly when it took away the princes' lands for so-called "misadministration" or for non-payment of taxes. In addition, within the framework of this system, the head of the Indian part was obliged to provide the leading English official at his court, which was also not easy for the indigenous population.

Carrying out a successful policy to conquer territories that paid off so richly, it is logical to assume that other strong states may encroach on these territories (India). Thus, in their opinion, Britain’s competitor within the framework of colonial expansion was the Russian Empire. The consequence of England's fears was the first Anglo-Afghan War of 1839-1842, which resulted from the increased pressure of the British East India Company on Afghanistan. It was beneficial for the British to do this, as they feared the influence of the Russian Empire on Persia.

In response to these actions of the company, Russia established a military dictatorship over the Bukhara Khanate and annexed the territory of Samarkand, thus, rivalry began between the British and Russian empires for control of economic spheres and profit in Central Asia, which in English documents is called the “Great Game” ".

All these actions of the British East India Company once again confirm its ruinous bias in its policies, which, in my opinion, is not entirely correct, because people are the same resource, and if the British wanted to receive income from these lands for a longer time, then they should have pursued more democratic and liberal policies; By robbing the indigenous population, they thereby set themselves against themselves and were exposed to the danger of military conflicts and revolutions.

In 1857-1859, quite consistently, there was a response of Indian discontent to the ongoing policies of the British East India Company, which is called the Sepoy Rebellion or the First War of Independence. The main force in the uprising was the army, but a little later the peasants joined the armed soldiers, so it became general. The capital of India, Delhi, was captured by the rebels, but later surrounded and recaptured by the British, so the British Empire established control over almost all of South Asia.

In addition to India, the British East India Company also expands trade in China. The company's sales office was founded in 1711 in the city of Canton. The main product for trade was tea, at first tea was bought by the British for silver, later first-class Indian opium became the currency. The Chinese government, however, banned the import of opium into the country, but despite this, the British smuggled it. Illegal opium imports into China ranged from 900 to 1,400 tons per year. The Chinese governor did not like the non-compliance with the laws by the British, so in 1839 he burned a large consignment of smuggled opium, and the British, in response to such revolutionary actions, launched military operations against China, which escalated into the Opium War of 1839-1842.

Trade in China brought huge income to the British East India Company, which was second only to income from Indian lands. At prices at the time, the total revenue from the Chinese tea trade was just under £8 million.

Having briefly analyzed the activities of the British East India Company, we can come to the conclusion that the British did not take into account the laws of the indigenous population, pursued a very tough colonialist policy that did not take into account the situation of people in the territories conquered and controlled by the British: Indians were ruined and oppressed, millions died of hunger , and in China, the British East India Company simply ignored the laws and acted illegally. Despite these circumstances, the British East India Company turned out to be profitable and successful, and at its expense England (the British Empire) received development in all areas.

Bibliography:

1. Oltarzhevsky V.P., Beidina T.E., Voronkova G.V., English East India Company in the 17th century, 1988.

2. Fursov K.A., Merchant Power: relations of the English East India Company with the English state and Indian patrimonies, 2006.

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The British East India Company's 400-Year Business Pattern: Armed Robbery

About 250 years ago, a new word appeared in the English language - loot - today translated as "loot", "trophy" and "freebie". The origin of the verbal acquisition is India, where “lūṭ” meant booty obtained by robbery. It is this word that can characterize the entire essence of the second transnational corporation on our planet, known as the East India Company.

Coat of arms of the East India Company. The slogan on it “Auspicio regis et senatus angliae” is translated from Latin as “Under the authority of the Crown and Parliament of England.”

Let me note right away: the name “East India Company” does not directly refer to England. It reflects the sphere of colonial interests of European enterprises - South Asia. Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and even Germany (Prussia) had their own East India companies. However, only one joint-stock enterprise surpassed the scale of other national trading companies and absorbed their colonial territories - the British East India Company. Therefore, in this article, the “East India Company” refers to an English enterprise.

England on the way to Great Britain

In the 17th century, Britain was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe. The series of crises left to the kingdom by the rebellious Henry VIII - the abandonment of Catholicism, confusion with the succession to the throne and the open hostility of all the "sister" states in the Roman past - it seemed that these problems could only be resolved by the marriage of Elizabeth Tudor with the scion of the royal house of Spain.

Queen Elizabeth I of England. Her stubborn opposition to Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands led to the creation of the English East India Company

But the youngest daughter of a Protestant king was not interested in marriage, nor was she interested in the Catholic faith. She intended to remain the Queen of England even on her deathbed, not sharing power with anyone at all. The daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, demonstrated to the royal houses of Europe the same rebellious disposition as her father.

In England, Elizabeth Tudor, the most revered British queen, three years before her death supported the creation of the merchant maritime joint-stock company East India Company, which later became the greatest transnational corporation on our planet in the 17th-19th centuries AD. By the way, the modern popularity of the English language on Earth was largely thanks to the East India Company.

Meanwhile, the entire European colonial history, starting from the end of the 15th century, was based on a single goal - to reach India and China by sea.

England becomes a sea power

500 years ago everyone was looking for this mysterious and fabulously rich country of spices, gold and diamonds - the Spaniards, the French, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Danes... As a result, the Spaniards found South America and began to extract resources from there (the conquest). The rest, having experienced many naval failures, focused on Africa. India first became a colonial star in the crown of Portugal - the route to it around the African continent was discovered by the navigator-privateer Vasco da Gama, who arrived on the Indian shores in 1498 on three ships.

Vasco da Gama, Portuguese navigator and privateer. Discoverer of the sea route along the coast of the African continent to the Indian Ocean

Observing how neighboring European states were enriching themselves with each arrival of sea vessels from distant overseas colonies, Henry VII Tudor ordered the construction of the first large-capacity ships for the needs of England. By the accession of his son Henry VIII to the English throne in 1509, the kingdom had five seagoing vessels, and five years later there were already 30 or more.

However, the possession of a full-fledged ocean fleet did not in itself create opportunities for colonial enrichment - England had neither nautical charts nor experienced captains who knew how to follow a course across the ocean expanses. The routes to the southwest (to South America), mastered by the Spaniards and Portuguese, were not suitable for English trading expeditions - colonial conflicts with Spain or Portugal were completely unnecessary for the British crown. Of course, English privateers periodically attacked Spanish galleons loaded with silver, but this type of sailor was supported by the English authorities behind the scenes. And they were always ready to abandon privateers caught in the unsuccessful seizure of colonial cargo.

British search for India

The Genoese navigator John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) proposed to Henry VII a trip west across the sea (Europeans did not know about the existence of the Atlantic Ocean at that time) to find India. The chances of success increased with the news that the Spanish crown, thanks to the Portuguese navigator Christopher Columbus, had found a sea route to India in 1492 (in fact, South America had been discovered, but neither Columbus nor anyone else knew about it).

Giovanni Caboto (eng. John Cabot) Genoese navigator, in search of a sea route to India, discovered the route through the Atlantic Ocean to North America

With the blessing of the English crown and with the financing of Bristol merchants, John Cabot reached the coast of North America (the territory of modern Canada) on one ship in 1497, considering these lands the “blessed Isles of Brazil” - the remote eastern part of India. However, English geographers decided that the land found by Cabot was part of the “kingdom of the Great Khan” (as China was called in Europe). Subsequently, it was Cabot's discovery and his declaration of England's right to own the lands of North America that led to the formation of the American colony of Great Britain and the emergence of the modern United States.

The second attempt to sail to India, or at least to China, was made by a squadron under the command of English navigators Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor. A British expedition of three ships was sent east across the northern seas in 1553. After many months of travel and wintering off the coast of Lapland, Chancellor's only ship entered the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. The crews of two other ships that missed Chancellor died during the winter at the mouth of the Varzina River.

Richard Chancellor, English navigator, at a reception with Ivan the Terrible (engraving). He opened the northern sea route to Russia and participated in organizing trade relations with it, although he initially tried to sail to India

Having met with local fishermen, Richard Chancellor learned that he was not in India, but in Russia. The gracious reception of English sailors by Ivan IV the Terrible led to active centuries-old trade between England and Russia with the formation of the privileged merchant monopoly “Moscow Company” (Muscovy Company). However, the Russian Tsar, who waged frequent wars, was exclusively interested in English military goods (gunpowder, guns, cannon iron, etc.), which caused protests from the kings of Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Union, Denmark and the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Therefore, trade between the British and the Russians did not yield high profits.

How England found India

The first English navigator to discover the sea route to India was the privateer James Lancaster. Having obtained detailed copies of Portuguese nautical charts from the bankrupt Dutch merchant Jan Huygen van Linschoten and leading a flotilla of three paramilitary ships, Lancaster reached the Indian Ocean in 1591-1592 and went east further than India - to the Malacca Peninsula. Pursuing his favorite activity - robbing all ships nearby - Lancaster spent a year near Penang, Malaysia. In 1594 he returned to England, becoming the discoverer of India for the English crown and the first captain hired to transport goods to South Asia.

James Lancaster, English navigator and privateer, who opened the way for Britain to South Asia. Using Van Linschoten's nautical maps with routes, depths and shoals marked on them, he circumnavigated Africa and entered the Indian Ocean, where he plundered the ships of Asian merchants

However, the reason for the formation of the East India Company was not the acquisition of sea maps with a route to India - Dutch merchants doubled the price of pepper. It was for this reason that English merchants turned to Queen Elizabeth I for support, who allowed direct monopoly trade with an overseas state on terms favorable to the British crown (royal charter). To confuse the Portuguese and Dutch, India was called the country of the “Great Mughals”.

Apart from the British, no one called the Indian Timurid (Baburid) empire, which controlled most of modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the south-eastern lands of Afghanistan, the “Great Mughals”. The rulers (padishahs) of this empire themselves called their state Gurkanian (from the word “Gurkānī” - from the Persian “son-in-law of the khan”), considering themselves descendants of the great Asian conqueror Tamerlane.

How the East India Company solved the Portuguese problem

The first four voyages of the British, made in 1601-1608, made the Portuguese nervous, but the two kingdoms still had no reason for direct colonial conflicts. England did not yet have land holdings in South Asia. Portugal, after several battles with Arab rulers in the 16th century, controlled most of south coast Persian Gulf, Mozambique island, Azores, Bombay and Goa in their entirety, as well as several cities in the Indian state of Gujarat. And the Portuguese successfully repelled the attacks of the Ottoman Turks, finally establishing their dominant position in the South Asian territories.

The flag of the East India Company on its merchant warships

In an attempt to restore the status quo, four ships of the Portuguese fleet attempted to blockade and destroy four ships of the East India Company in late November 1612 off the town of Suvali (Gujarat, India). Captain James Best, who commanded the English flotilla, managed not only to repel the attacks of the Portuguese, but also to win the battle.

What’s interesting is that it was the unsuccessful attack by the Portuguese that convinced Padishah Jahangir of the Mughal Empire to give permission to create a trading post for the East India Company. He saw in the British an opportunity to conduct honest transactions, especially since the British East India Company did not interfere in the affairs of local religious denominations. And the Portuguese actively propagated Catholicism and attacked ships with Muslim pilgrims heading to Mecca, thanks to which they enjoyed the full support of the papal throne. By the way, the envoy to to the English king James I, sent overland by James Best after reaching a treaty with the Mughal padishah, Anthony Starkey, was poisoned en route by Jesuit monks in the interests of the Pope.

Charles II, King of England. His marriage to Catherine of Braganna, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, solved the problems of the East India Company in the Portuguese and Indian colonies

It was after the naval battle with the Portuguese that the leaders of the British East India Company decided to create their own navy and land army. Investments in trade with the spice countries needed protection, which the English crown could not and did not want to provide.

Since 1662, the colonial conflict in South Asia between Portugal and England was exhausted - after the restoration of the crown in Great Britain, Charles II married the daughter of the Portuguese king, receiving Bombay and Tangier as a dowry (the king transferred them to the East India Company for a symbolic fee of 10 pounds sterling per year). Portugal needed the English fleet to protect its colonies in South America from the encroachments of the Spaniards - they considered India not so valuable.

How the East India Company solved the problem of France

The French version of the East India Company arose in 1664 and a little over 10 years later its representatives founded two Indian colonies - Pondicherry and Chandernagore. For the next 100 years, the southeastern part of the Hindustan Peninsula was controlled by French colonialists.

However, in 1756, the Seven Years' War began in Europe, in which England and France were among the opponents. A year later, hostilities began between French and English colonial troops on the territory of Hindustan.

Major General Robert Clive in his youth. Under his leadership, the army of the British East India Company took full control of the entire Indian subcontinent.

The French general Thomas Arthur, Comte de Lally made a major strategic mistake - he refused to support the young Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daula, who opposed the British and captured Calcutta. Lally hoped to maintain neutrality with the British colonial forces, but as soon as East India Company General Robert Clive forced the Bengal ruler to surrender, East India Company troops attacked French trading posts and military fortifications.

Having been defeated by the British at Fort Vandivash, Comte de Lally tried to take refuge in the French fortress of Pondicherry with what troops he had left (about 600 people). The colonial military squadron of France under the command of Admiral Antoine d'Ashe, which suffered high losses in the crews of the ships after three battles with the fleet of the East India Company at Cuddalore in 1758-1759, went to the island of Mauritius. General de Lally had no hope of help from the sea. After a 4.5 month siege, the French surrendered the fortress in January 1761 to the troops of the British East India Company.

The aftermath of the Battle of Pondicherry, which took place in 1760-61 and became part of the Seven Years' War. The French fort of Pondicherry was completely dismantled by the East India Company

The British subsequently demolished the entire Pondicherry fort to erase any reminder of French colonial rule. Although France regained some of its Indian colonial territories at the end of the Seven Years' War, it lost the right to build forts and maintain troops in Bengal. In 1769, the French completely abandoned South Asia, and the British East India Company took full control of the entire Hindustan.

How the East India Company solved the Dutch problem

Military conflicts between England and the Netherlands occurred four times during the period 1652-1794; Great Britain received the greatest benefit from these wars. The Dutch were direct competitors of the British in the struggle for colonial sales markets - their merchant fleet, although poorly armed, was large.

The emerging English bourgeois class needed to expand trade. A series of state upheavals in England, leading to the English revolution and the execution of Charles I, brought British parliamentarians to the forefront in deciding external and internal government issues. The leaders of the East India Company took advantage of this - they bribed parliamentarians with shares of their corporation, encouraging them to support the interests of the enterprise in order to extract the greatest personal income.

The battle of the English and Dutch fleets during the first Anglo-Dutch War

As a result of the last, fourth war with the Netherlands, a peace treaty (Paris) was concluded in 1783. The Dutch East India Company was forced to transfer Nagapattinam, a city in southern India that had belonged to the Netherlands for over 150 years, to Great Britain. As a result, the East India Enterprise of the Dutch merchants suffered bankruptcy and ceased to exist in 1798. And British merchant ships received full right to conduct unhindered trade in the former colonial territories of the Dutch East Indies, which now belonged to the crown of the Netherlands.

Nationalization of the East India Company by Great Britain

Having achieved monopoly ownership of all the territories of Colonial India during the wars of the 17th-19th centuries, the British mega-corporation began to pump out maximum profits from the natives. Its representatives, who were the de facto rulers of numerous states in South Asia, demanded that the puppet native authorities sharply limit the cultivation of grain crops and grow opium poppies, indigo and tea.

Also, the London board of the East India Company decided to increase profits by annually increasing the land tax for farmers of Hindustan - the entire territory of the peninsula and significant areas adjacent to it from the west, east and north belonged to the British corporation. Famine years became frequent in British India - in the first case, which occurred in 1769-1773, more than 10 million local residents (a third of the population) died of hunger in Bengal alone.

The photo shows a starving Hindu family during the Bengal famine that occurred in 1943, i.e. much later than the events described. However, the situation during the famine years in Hindustan, ruled by the East India Company, was much worse

Mass famine among the population of Colonial India, during the period of its complete control of the East India Company, occurred in 1783-1784 (11 million people died), in 1791-1792 (11 million people died), in 1837-1838 ( 800 thousand people died), 1868-1870 (1.5 million people died).

An indicative nuance: during the fight against the famine of 1873-1874, the company manager, Richard Temple, overestimated the possible consequences of another drought and spent “too much” money on purchasing Burmese grain for the starving population of the colonies - 100,000 tons of grain were purchased and delivered in vain. Although mortality from starvation was kept to a minimum (only a few died), Temple was harshly criticized in the UK parliament and media.

Sir Richard Temple II, 1st Baronet of Great Britain. Led the East Indian colonies
companies in 1846-1880

To whitewash himself, Richard Temple conducted experiments to determine the minimum standard of nutrition for the natives - he ordered several dozen healthy and strong Indians to be selected for a labor camp, to keep each test group on a certain diet and to wait to see who would survive and who would die of starvation. In his memoirs, Temple wrote: some of the Indian boys in the labor camp were so weak from hunger that they looked like living skeletons, completely unable to work. It is worth noting that for “Indian services” to Great Britain, Richard Temple received the title of baronet.

The English leaders of the East India Company were not interested in the lack of food for the population of the Indian colonies. However, the widespread famine caused another problem - popular uprisings began in India. Previously, the British managed to minimize the risk of uprisings due to the social disunity of the population of Hindustan. Castes, many religious denominations, ethnic strife and tribal conflicts between the hereditary rulers of numerous mini-states - these were luxurious conditions for foreign colonial control of Indian lands.

83-year-old Bahadur Shah II, the last ruler of the Mughals. In a photo taken in 1858, he awaits judgment in a colonial court for his role in the Sepoy Mutiny. His children, capable of inheriting the padishah's throne, have been executed by this time

However, the increasing frequency of famines against the backdrop of the openly indifferent behavior of East India Company employees towards the indigenous population of the colonies caused an uprising in the ranks of the colonial army, most of which were recruited from the inhabitants of Hindustan. In 1857-1859, the Sepoy Rebellion took place, supported by many local rulers of South Asia, including the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah II. The suppression of the uprising took more than three years; the mercenary troops of the East India Company drowned the lands of Hindustan in blood, slaughtering about 10 million people.

Lord Henry John Temple, III Viscount Palmerston. He submitted to the British Parliament an act on the transfer of colonial India from the East Indian Colony to the authority of the English Crown.

Against the backdrop of ugly news from the Indian colonies, the British Parliament by a majority vote adopted in 1858 the “Act for the Better Government of India,” introduced by Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston (Lord Palmerston). Under the terms of the Act, the administration of the British colonies in South Asia is transferred to the British crown, i.e. Queen Victoria of Great Britain also becomes Queen of India.

The East India Company is recognized as failing to manage the Indian colonial territories, and therefore should be closed. Having completed the transfer of affairs and property to Her Majesty's Secretary of State and the Indian Civil Service created by the English authorities, the East India Company ceased to exist in 1874.

The uniqueness of the British East India Company

Any of the modern megacorporations - Google, Exxon Mobile or Pepsi Co - with their multi-billion dollar annual turnover funds are only a faint semblance of the powerful British corporation created in 1600. From the formation of the British East India Company, over the next 100 years, all its business operations were managed by no more than 35 people, who formed a permanent staff at the head office in Leadenhall Street, London. All other personnel, including captains and crews of ships, as well as the extensive military contingent, were hired for a strictly limited period of time by contracts.

The territory of South Asia, which was a colony of the East India Company. After the complete closure of the trading corporation in 1874, the lands marked on the map came under British rule

The East India Company's army and navy were three times the size of the royal armed forces. At the beginning of the 18th century, the corporate army numbered 260,000 people; the navy consisted of more than 50 multi-deck ships with modern cannon weapons and crews trained for battle.

By the way, it was on the remote island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, discovered by the Portuguese, originally belonging to the Netherlands and captured from them by the East India Company in 1569, that Napoleon Bonaparte was kept under the control of the troops of the trading corporation until the end of his days. It was completely impossible for the former Emperor of France to escape from this island, like the Italian Elbe, as well as to win over any of the Nepalese Gurkha soldiers to his side.

The position of the island of St. Helena, where Napoleon Bonaparte was kept until his death

The corporation's annual turnover in its best period - the first half of the 18th century - was equal to half of the entire annual turnover of Great Britain (hundreds of millions of pounds sterling). The East India Company minted its coins throughout its colonies, which together exceeded the area of ​​the British Isles.

Having made a huge contribution to the Pax Britannica project, the leadership of the East India Company also influenced the development of societies and political forces in different parts of the Earth. For example, Chinatowns in the United States appeared due to the Opium Wars started by the corporation. And the reason for the struggle for independence for American settlers was given by the Boston Tea Party - the supply of tea by the East India Company at dumping prices.

Coin minted by the East India Company for payments within the Indian colonies

Mass murders indiscriminately by gender and age, torture, blackmail, famine, bribery, deception, intimidation, robberies, bloody military operations by “wild” troops of peoples alien to the local population - the leaders of the British East India Company did not suffer from philanthropy. The uncontrollable greed of the second mega-corporation, its irresistible desire to maintain a monopoly position in the markets of our planet - that is what led the East India Company forward. However, for any modern corporation this approach to business is the norm.

In conclusion, an explanation is required for attentive guests of the swagor.com blog - why did I call the English East India the second mega-corporation in the historical past of the Earth? Because I consider the first and more ancient mega-corporation that still exists today - the papal throne and the Catholic Church.

The example of the British and Dutch, who successfully developed lands remote from Europe using private capital and private initiative in the form of trading East India Companies (OIC), in the 60s of the 17th century inspired the creation of a similar joint stock company and the King of France. Louis XIV and his associate Colbert set to work with energy. At the same time, one of the main obstacles to the creation of a new trading empire in the Indian Ocean was not the military fleets of competing states, but the inertia of thinking of their own French merchants. The merchants did not want to invest in a new enterprise with unclear prospects and huge risks.

How it all began

On April 1, 1664, Charpentier, a future academician of the French Academy of Sciences and protégé of Jean Baptiste Colbert, presented King Louis XIV with a 57-page memoir entitled "Note from Your Majesty's loyal subject on the establishment of a French trading company in India, useful to all Frenchmen". Louis greeted the offering favorably, and already on May 21, on the initiative of Colbert, the de facto head of the French government, a meeting of Parisian merchants was organized. At it, one of the merchants, Mr. Faverol, voiced some provisions on the creation of his own East India Company in France.

Naturally, this speech was approved by the king and Colbert, because they were the ones who stood behind Faverolles. Further confirmation of this is the presence at the meeting of Messire de Berrier, one of the secretaries of the royal council, and the already mentioned Charpentier. The result of the merchant meeting was the sending of 9 delegates to the king on May 26, 1664 with a request to organize the East India Company on the model of the English and Dutch. The delegates were received by Louis during the meeting of the Royal Court with great favor, and the king asked the merchants for a few days to familiarize himself with their proposals.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, one of the founding fathers of the French East India Company

A new meeting was scheduled for July 5, with the participation of Louis himself, to which more than three hundred Parisian merchants gathered under the threat of possible disgrace in case of failure to appear. This time, royal conditions were announced - Louis proposed to fix the authorized capital of the new company at 15 million livres, which must be contributed by shareholders within three years. The state agreed to make a first contribution of 3 million livres, and in addition - 300 thousand to equip the first expedition. The king also said that he agreed to contribute 300 thousand livres each time in the event that private shareholders contributed an amount of 400 thousand.

It was determined that the company would be managed by 12 directors, who would be selected among shareholders with shares of more than 20 thousand livres. Investors who have contributed more than 6 thousand livres will have the right to vote.

In August "The King's Declaration Establishing the East India Company" was introduced into the Paris Parliament, and on September 1 it was solemnly tested (approved) by the deputies. This declaration included 48 articles. Here are some of them:

« Article 36. The company has the right to send ambassadors and embassies to the rulers of India and Madagascar on behalf of the French king; declare war or peace on them, or carry out any other actions aimed at strengthening and expanding French trade.

Article 37. The above mentioned company can operate from the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Magellan in all the South Seas. Our permission is given to the company for 50 years, and the countdown begins from the day the first ships equipped by the company sail to the East. The Company shall engage in trade and navigation in the above-mentioned waters, while at the same time protecting any French ships in this region, for which purpose it is allowed to requisition or seize the ships, supplies, weapons necessary to it to protect our trade and our subjects.

Article 38. All lands and islands discovered by the company's ships will forever remain in its possession. Justice and Seigneurial Rights on company lands are administered by company representatives. In turn, the French king has the Right of Seigneur over mines, gold deposits, money and jewelry, as well as any other minerals, owned by the company. The King promises to use the Right of Seigneur only in the interests of the country.

Article 40. We, the King of France, promise the Company to defend its representatives and its interests against all and sundry, to use the force of arms in support of the Company's freedom of trade and navigation; remove the causes of any hardship or mistreatment by anyone; to accompany the company's ships and cargo at our expense with as many warships as the company needs, and not only off the coast of Europe or Africa, also in the waters of the West and East Indies."

Coat of arms of the French East India Company

The king approved the companies and the coat of arms. On the azure field was a golden lily (symbol of the House of Bourbon), which was bordered by olive and palm branches. At the bottom was the motto: “Florebo, quocunque ferar” (“I will bloom where I am planted”) .

Customs duties on goods imported by the OIC, according to the tariff of 1664, were determined at 3% of their estimated expert value. For the sale of French goods, the company received a reduction or exemption from customs duties, including the tax on salt (if this salt was intended for salting fish).

The king provided a bonus of 50 livres for each ton of goods exported by the company and 75 livres for each ton of goods imported. Colonists and agents of the company, after 8 years in India, could return to France with the rank of master in their corporations. Officers and directors of departments received nobility from the king for themselves and their offspring.

The king and members of his family set an example by becoming shareholders of the OIC, but the matter was not without distortions. Members of the courts and masters of enterprises, under the threat of disgrace, were forced to bring money to the company. In the provinces, intendants used completely illegal methods of collecting shares. For example, in Auvergne, the sur-intendent locked all wealthy townspeople in prison and released only those who signed promissory notes in favor of the company.

A separate issue was the choice of the OIC headquarters. At first it was located in Norman Le Havre, where Louis ordered the construction of a rope production facility and a steam room for hemp cables. The board was then moved to Basque Bayona. And only on December 14, 1664, Louis gave the order to build shipyards near the Breton Port Louis, where the warehouses of the Duke of La Melière’s Company, popularly nicknamed the Orientals, had long been rotting. It was also decided to name the shipyard Eastern (L’Orient), hence the history of the glorious city of Lorient began.

Maiden voyage

In addition to the crews, the ships carried an additional 230 sailors and 288 colonists, who were planned to be landed in Madagascar. Among the settlers were Monsieur de Bosset, chairman of the Council of Eastern France (as they planned to name the future colony), his secretary, Sir Suchot de Renefort, and the lieutenant of the colony, Montaubon. It was these three people who were supposed to represent the power in the colony.

The organization of the expedition cost the OIC investors 500 thousand livres, including equipping ships, purchasing goods and provisions for the colonists.

On June 3, the French ships passed abeam the Cape of Good Hope, and on July 10 they appeared off the coast of Madagascar - near the village of Fort-Dauphine (now Taulagnaru), formed by representatives of the Company of de La Melière in 1635. It was announced to the chairman of the former colony, Mr. Chapmargue, that the Company de La Melière no longer had the exclusive privilege of trading with the East; now this right belonged to the French OIC.

Madagascar map

On July 14, the crew of the Saint-Paul landed on shore, and the same procedure was carried out for the acceptance of Madagascar into the citizenship of the French king. De Bosset became the manager of the colony, Chapmargu became the head of the local militia, de Renefort became the secretary (scribe), and Montaubon became the chief judge. About 60 colonists were left in Fort-Dauphine, and the ships sailed to the island of Bourbon (modern name - Reunion), where there was also a small French colony founded in 1642. There it was announced that representatives of the OIC had come to power and another 20 colonists landed. Then the ships separated. "Saint-Paul" headed for the northwestern coast of Madagascar, intending to then reach the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. However, the crew of this ship rebelled, the captain rounded Madagascar by the Mozambique Strait and headed for France.

"Aigle Blanc" from the island of Bourbon also went to the northwestern coast of Madagascar. He visited Fort Gallard, founded in 1642 by French merchants, where he found only two colonists (the rest had died by that time). They left 18 colonists (6 of them women) at the fort and headed for the island of Santa Maria, and then sailed back to Fort Dauphine.

The Thoreau crashed onto the rocks of Bourbon Island in November 1664; only 12 of its 63 crew members survived. The next day, the Vierge de Bon Port, which appeared off the island, picked up the survivors. Together with Toro, goods worth 100 thousand livres were lost (mainly sugar loaves, leather, cochineal).

The first trading yards of the French OIC in Bayonne

The ship "Vierge de Bon-Port" was engaged in the purchase of colonial goods and gold from the Mozambican and Madagascar kings. On February 12, 1666, the ship overflowing with goods was already ready to head home, but the French 120-ton boat "St. Louis", which, together with the 130-ton "Saint-Jacques", left Le Havre on July 24, 1665 (this small expedition cost the company's shareholders an additional 60 thousand livres). During the storm, the ships lost each other (“Saint-Jacques” was carried all the way to the shores of Brazil, to Pernambuco, where he stayed until 1666), and the captain of “Saint-Louis” reached the rendezvous point, to the island of Bourbon. The teams made several visits to each other's ships. Finally, on February 20, 1666, the Vierge de Bon-Port weighed anchor and went home.

On July 9, 1666, near the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, the ship was attacked by the English privateer Orange, commanded by Captain John Lyshe. Excerpt from the Orange report »:

"On the 9thHMS Orange attacked a French ship belonging to the French East India Company, which was sailing from Madagascar and the Red Sea. Combined cargo - gold, brocade, silk, amber, pearls, gems, corals, wax and other scarce goods. The owner is Sir de La Chesnay from Saint-Malo. The declared value of the cargo is 100 thousand pounds sterling.".

The British boarded the OIC ship, overloaded all the valuables, and sank the ship itself. Of the 120 people in the Vierge de Bon-Port crew, 36 people drowned (the English privateer, loaded to the brim with goods, refused to take them on board). During the boarding, 2 more people were killed, 33 French (including the captain) were captured. The rest were released by the British on a boat. Captain La Chenay died in captivity on the Isle of Wight, and Secretary de Renefort (who had sailed to France) was released after the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in April 1667.

Second expedition

According to the declaration on the formation of the East India Company, approved on September 1, 1664, the first meeting of its shareholders was to take place three months after the declaration was approved by Parliament, that is, December 1, 1664. The main goal This assembly elected permanent directors for a period of 7 years.

However, the meeting was postponed to early March 1665 due to the reluctance of the merchants to participate in the affairs of the new company. By January, 6 million 800 thousand livres were hardly collected for the authorized fund (including 3 million 300 thousand allocated by the king). At the same time, many French people who contributed their shares refused to contribute additional money, “preferring to lose what was already given than to throw away some more money on an absolutely meaningless undertaking”. Nevertheless, on March 20, the king managed to assemble an assembly. 104 shareholders (who contributed more than 20 thousand livres) applied for the seats of 12 directors.

The voting took place in the royal hall of the Louvre. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was elected president of the company. From the nobility, Sir de Thou became the director, from the financiers - the already familiar Sir de Berrieux, from the merchants - Enfen, Poquelin the Father, Cado, Langlois, Jabash, Bachelier, Eren de Fay, Chanlatte and Warren. It was decided to open six separate representative offices (chambers) of the company in Paris, Rouen, Bordeaux, Le Havre, Lyon and Nantes.

The directors received the task before May to consider the possibility of sending a new expedition to the East, which this time was supposed to reach the Indian coast. This task was set by the king and Colbert, however with a strong blow For the shareholders, the death of the ship “Vierge de Bon-Port” in the summer of 1666, along with valuables worth 2 million 500 thousand livres, occurred. As a result, instead of 2 million 700 thousand livres, only 626 thousand livres were collected from investors. The main burden of the equipment of the second expedition again fell on the royal treasury.

The new squadron consisted of 10 ships:

Ship		Tonnage, t	Cannons	Commander
Saint-Jean-Baptist

François de Lopi, Marquis de Mondeverga, was appointed commander of the squadron, to whom the king granted the title of “admiral and lieutenant general of all French waters and lands beyond the equator.” As an escort, the detachment was assigned the division of the Chevalier de Rocher, consisting of the ships Ruby, Beaufort, Mercure and Infant.

The expedition was accompanied as directors by the Dutchman Caron, who had been accepted into French service, and sir Fay. In addition to the crews, on board the ships there were 4 infantry regiments, 4 French and 4 Dutch merchants with goods, 40 colonists, 32 women, and in total about two thousand people. Equipping the expedition cost 1 million livres, another 1 million 100 thousand were taken on board in the form of goods and hard currency.

The convoy and escort left La Rochelle on March 14, 1666. First, the ships headed for the Canary Islands, where they made a short stop. The 120-ton frigate Notre Dame de Paris was also purchased there, since the leaders of the expedition were seriously afraid of attacks by the British (the second Anglo-Dutch War was underway, in which France was an ally of Holland). On May 20, the squadron resumed movement, but a dangerous leak was discovered on the Terron, and Mondeverg headed for Brazil to repair the ship with the help of the Portuguese. On July 25, he arrived in Pernambuco, where he stayed until November 2 (there the expedition discovered the Saint-Jacques, which had been strayed during the first expedition, which was mentioned earlier). The convoy headed across the stormy Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope.

Only on March 10, 1667, ships appeared in the Fort-Dauphin roadstead, where 5 women were landed. The expedition found this colony in a terrible state. The colonists are almost out of supplies. At the same time, the long journey of the convoy to the Indian Ocean played a cruel joke on Mondeverg - all the supplies on the ships were also eaten, and in Brazil they could not be replenished due to crop failure and the high cost of goods (Portuguese Brazil had not yet recovered from the Portuguese-Dutch colonial wars).

Mondeverg's desire to replenish provisions in Fort-Dauphine met with sharp rebuff from the colonists, who simply refused to transfer or sell anything to the crews. They justified this state of affairs by the fact that the squadron arrived six months later, and all the supplies left in the colony by the first expedition had long since run out. The settlers had no choice but to steal livestock from the locals, to which the Malagasy also began to respond with raids. Thanks to nine 4-pounder guns, the French managed to fend off their attacks, but there was very little gunpowder left. The Aigle Blanc, which remained in Madagascar, was pulled ashore, completely dilapidated and partly dismantled for firewood.

Having discovered this state of affairs in the colony, Caron and Fay insisted on a speedy movement to India, where the crews could replenish provisions, and the merchants could purchase scarce goods that would recoup the expenses of the expedition. Mondevergues nevertheless decided to stay in Fort-Dauphine to "to restore order in the colony". With the help of the crews, the village was surrounded by a stone wall, the Marquis introduced a rationing system for products, which everyone now received regardless of ranks and titles. He also allocated his money to purchase cattle and wheat from the Malagasy, and he banned most of the cows and pigs from being put under the knife, creating the first cattle yards in Fort-Dauphine.

Madagascan city of Tolanaro (formerly Fort-Dauphine)

Mondevergues also sent two ships to the island of Bourbon, where he requisitioned some of the food for the Madagascan settlers.

In the fall of 1667, another ship of the company arrived in Fort-Dauphine - the cargo flute "Coronne" under the command of Markar Avansha, a Persian by nationality. Since the ship arrived quite quickly (it left France in March 1667), it had an excess of provisions. It was immediately requisitioned by Mondeverg for the needs of the colony. Avanchy tried to be indignant, but after the Marquis hinted to the native of Ispagan that the gallows was crying for him, he ordered the supplies to be unloaded.

On October 27, 1667, Caron and Avenchy set sail for India on the ships Saint-Jean-de-Baptiste and Saint-Denis. On December 24, they entered the roadstead of Cochin (a city in southwest India, at the time described a Dutch colony), where they were well received. Then the ships headed for Surat, and then went to Suali. There was brisk trade in all cities - the Saint-Jean-de-Baptiste had a noticeable decrease in gold, but the ship was full of brocade, pearls, diamonds, emeralds, Indian fabric, corals and many other goods. On April 24, 1668, Caron sent the Saint-Jean-de-Baptiste, filled to the brim, to Fort-Dauphine. The ship appeared at the roadstead of the Madagascar colony in May, where it unloaded food and livestock, which were purchased by the prudent Dutchman. On June 21, 1668, Saint-Jean-de-Baptiste headed home.

English trading post in Surat, 1668

Fort-Dauphine, thanks to the energetic actions of the Marquis of Mondeverg, recovered a little, but was still in a terrible state. Meanwhile, the second detachment under the leadership of Fay was waiting for ships from France (the imminent arrival of which was reported by Avanshi) in order to also go to India. Two ships of the Company - "Aigle d'Or" and "Force", which left Port-Louis on March 20, 1668, appeared in Fort-Dauphine on September 15 and 30, 1668, respectively.

On October 19, the second Indian convoy (Maria, Aigle d'Or and Force) sailed for Surat. The third caravan left Fort-Dauphine for India on August 12, 1669 (“Coronne,” which carried Caron, the “Saint-Jean” and the frigate “Mazarin” to Fort-Dauphine). These ships sailed along the Madagascar coast, encountered a strong storm near the northern part of the Mozambique Channel and appeared in the Surat roadstead only on September 23, 1669.

Thus, a large French squadron was now present in Surat, which, either by force or money, established relations with the rulers of Malabar and the Coromandel Coast.

As for Fort-Dauphine, the frigate Saint-Paul, which arrived there on October 2, 1669, brought a letter to Mondeverg, where the king expressed his dissatisfaction with affairs in the colony. It read:

"Mr. Mondeverg. I am not satisfied with the service you provided me while commanding the colony of Fort Dauphine. Upon receipt of this letter, you must board the first ship bound for France. I pray to God that he will be merciful to you.

LouisXIV, King of France.

The Marquis, being absolutely confident that he would be justified, boarded the Maria on April 15, 1670 and, taking with him another OIC ship Force, sailed to his homeland. Near the Cape of Good Hope, the ships lost each other and reached France separately. The Force arrived in Port Louis on September 10, 1670. “Maria” returned to Madagascar and stayed there until November 1670, when another French squadron appeared in Fort-Dauphine, which was carrying the new Viceroy of French India.

On February 9, 1671, Mondeverg finally sailed for his homeland. On July 22, “Maria” dropped anchor in the Groix roadstead (Isles of the Cardinals in Brittany). The marquis, who came ashore in the name of the king, was arrested by the lieutenant of the La Grange musketeers. The accused was taken to the castle of Saumur, where he died on January 23, 1672.

Time to collect stones

Immediately after the departure of Mondeverga's expedition, the company's shareholders began to count losses. The directors noted that they spent significant sums on arming and supplying expeditions with goods, but the return was not visible. The distrust was so general that with difficulty 78,333 livres were collected instead of the planned 2 million 100 thousand. And at this critical moment, bad news came one after another. First, the shareholders were stunned by the death of the ship Vierge de Bon Port, then news came from Brazil, where the unfortunate Mondevergue had landed. Meanwhile, 1666 was approaching, and with it the payment of the third installment by shareholders.

The directors collectively sent Louis XIV a petition asking that the company be declared bankrupt. Only new investments from the king could save the matter. Louis provided the money. According to the financial reports for February 1667, the company's total expenses amounted to 4,991,000 livres, while the shareholders contributed only 3,196,730 livres. Thus, OIC had a deficit of 1,794,270 livres, which made it difficult to pay salaries to company employees and pay suppliers.

The company's tangible assets at that time amounted to 18 ships in India and 12 ships in France, as well as 7 ships under construction. Besides -

• 600 thousand livres in Spanish reals in Port-Louis;
• 250 thousand livres in goods at Port-Louis and Le Havre;
• 60 thousand feet of ropes and spare parts for rigging in Le Havre;
• £473,000raw hemp;
• 100 anchors of different weights;
• 229 guns of various calibers;
• 72,560 alder logs;
• 289 masts in different ports of France.

The king, having familiarized himself with the state of affairs of the OIC, gathered the shareholders for an audience, where he persuaded them to move on. “You can’t quit halfway. I, as one of the shareholders, also suffer losses, but with such assets we can try to get our money back.". However, at the beginning of 1668, even the king began to be overwhelmed by doubts about the correctness of the chosen path.

French latifundia in the colonies

Finally, on March 20, 1668, news came from Caron, who reported that the first expedition had successfully reached India, the trade was quite successful, the average rate of profit on transactions was 60%. The letter also described the situation in Madagascar and the measures taken by Mondeverg to improve the situation. This news served as an incentive for the king to invest another 2 million livres in the business, which saved the company from bankruptcy and allowed shareholders to pay off the most pressing debts.

At the same time, Louis had a serious conversation with Colbert about future financing of the company. The king recalled that he had already invested more than 7 million livres in the business, and for five years they had not received any, even the smallest, profit. Louis quite reasonably asked: is there any point in maintaining the ruined Fort-Dauphine, which does not bring any profit? Maybe it makes sense to move the colony directly to Surat? This conversation made Colbert A assembly of shareholders of the company to recognize that "The colonization of Madagascar was a mistake".

Finally, on March 12, 1669, the long-awaited Saint-Jean-de-Baptiste arrived at the Port-Louis roadstead. According to reports, the total value of the goods brought was 2,796,650 livres, of which 84 thousand were paid as excise taxes, and the king deigned to pay 10 percent to shareholders as profit of the enterprise.

This event provoked a sharp increase in those wishing to join the ranks of shareholders; in three months more money was collected than in the previous 5 years. Now the merchants praised the foresight of Colbert and the king, and money began to flow like a river. There were many willing to risk their capital for the sake of trade with the East.

Afterword. Founding of Lorian

Back in June of the same year, the king, by his rescript, allowed the company's ships to be located in Port-Louis, at the mouth of the Charente. In the vicinity of this city there were warehouses belonging to the de La Melière company. Colbert managed to buy them back for 120 thousand livres, of which 20 thousand livres went to the shareholders, who had gone bankrupt by that time, and 100 thousand to the head of the company, Duke Mazarin. The latter was also offered to become a preferred shareholder of the new company.

The sandy beach provided by the OIC formed a sort of peninsula that jutted out into the sea. On its right bank, at the insistence of Colbert, a shipyard was founded; on a high cape, which prevented the Charente and Blavais from merging into one river, an arsenal and several coastal batteries were located.

Lorian, 1678

Denny Langlois, one of the company's general directors, was sent to Port Louis and the eastern warehouses to take them under the OIC's hand. This was strongly opposed by the local lords - Prince Guemene and Seneschal Paul du Vergis d'Henebon, but with the help of Colbert Langlois, he managed to come to an agreement with them, paying compensation of 1207 pistoles. On August 31, Sir Denis, on behalf of the company, solemnly took possession of the new lands. The shipyards were built very quickly, already in 1667 the first 180-ton ship was launched, this ship was considered as the first experiment. According to Colbert's plans, the company needed to build a dozen ships with a displacement of 500 to 1000 tons.

The name of the new city - Lorient - appeared later, around 1669. Until this time, the place owned by the company was called "lie l'Oryan" (Eastern place) or "l'Oryan de Port-Louis" (that is, eastern Port-Louis).

The company was governed by a governor and a board of directors who were responsible to a meeting of shareholders. The commercial company soon acquired government and military functions, which it lost only in . Following the Dutch East India Company, the British also began to list its shares on the stock exchange.

The company also had interests outside India, seeking to provide safe routes to the British Isles. In 1620, she tried to capture Table Mountain on the territory of modern South Africa, and later occupied the island of St. Helena. The company's troops held Napoleon at Saint Helena; its products were attacked by American colonists during the Boston Tea Party, and the Company's shipyards served as a model for St. Petersburg.

Operations in India

The expansion took two main forms. The first was the use of so-called subsidiary agreements, essentially feudal - local rulers transferred the management of foreign affairs to the Company and were obliged to pay a “subsidy” for the maintenance of the Company’s army. If payments were not made, the territory was annexed by the British. In addition, the local ruler undertook to maintain a British official ("resident") at his court. Thus, the company recognized "native states" led by Hindu Maharajas and Muslim Nawabs. The second form was direct rule.

"Subsidies" paid to the Company by local rulers were spent on recruiting troops, consisting mainly of the local population, thus the expansion was carried out by Indian hands and with Indian money. The spread of the system of “subsidiary agreements” was facilitated by the collapse of the Mughal Empire, which occurred towards the end of the 18th century. De facto, the territory of modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh consisted of several hundred independent principalities that were at war with each other.

The first ruler to accept the "subsidiary treaty" was the Nizam of Hyderabad. In some cases, such treaties were imposed by force; Thus, the ruler of Mysore refused to accept the treaty, but was forced to do so as a result of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The Maratha Union of Principalities was forced to sign a subsidiary treaty on the following terms:

1. A permanent Anglo-Sepoy army of 6 thousand people remains with the Peshwa (first minister).
2. A number of territorial districts are annexed by the Company.
3. Peshwa does not sign any agreement without consulting the Company.
4. The Peshwa does not declare wars without consulting the Company.
5. Any territorial claims by the Peshwa against local princely states must be subject to Company arbitration.
6. Peshwa withdraws claims against Surat and Baroda.
7. The Peshwa recalls all Europeans from his service.
8. International affairs are conducted in consultation with the Company.

The most powerful opponents of the Company were two states formed on the ruins of the Mughal Empire - the Maratha Union and the Sikh state. The collapse of the Sikh Empire was facilitated by the chaos that ensued after the death of its founder, Ranjit Singh, in 1839. Civil strife broke out both between individual sardars (generals of the Sikh army and de facto major feudal lords) and between the Khalsa (Sikh community) and the darbar (court). In addition, the Sikh population experienced tensions with local Muslims, who were often willing to fight under British banners against the Sikhs.

At the end of the 18th century, under Governor General Richard Wellesley, active expansion began; The company captured Cochin (), Jaipur (), Travancore (1795), Hyderabad (), Mysore (), the Sutlej (1815), Central Indian principalities (), Kutch and Gujarat (), Rajputana (1818), Bahawalpur () . The annexed provinces included Delhi (1803) and Sindh (1843). Punjab, North West Frontier and Kashmir were captured in 1849 during the Anglo-Sikh Wars. Kashmir was immediately sold to the Dogra dynasty, which ruled the princely state of Jammu, and became a “native state”. Berar is annexed to Oud.

Britain saw the Russian Empire as its competitor in colonial expansion. Fearing Russian influence on Persia, the Company began to increase pressure on Afghanistan, resulting in the First Anglo-Afghan War. Russia established a protectorate over the Bukhara Khanate and annexed Samarkand, and a rivalry for influence in Central Asia began between the two empires, which in the Anglo-Saxon tradition is called the “Great Game”.

Army

IN next years Anglo-French relations deteriorate sharply. The clashes lead to a sharp increase in government spending. Already in 1742, the company's privileges were extended by the government in exchange for a loan of 1 million pounds sterling.

The Seven Years' War ended with the defeat of France. She managed to maintain only small enclaves in Pondicherry, Meikha, Karikal and Chadernagar without any military presence. At the same time, Britain begins its rapid expansion in India. The expense of seizing Bengal, and the ensuing famine that killed between a quarter and a third of the population, caused severe financial difficulties for the Company, which were exacerbated by economic stagnation in Europe. The Board of Directors tried to avoid bankruptcy by appealing to parliament for financial assistance. In 1773 the Company gained more autonomy in its trading operations in India, and began trading with America. The Company's monopolistic activities became the reason for the Boston Tea Party, which began American war for independence.

By 1813, the Company had seized control of all of India, excluding Punjab, Sindh and Nepal. Local princes became vassals of the Company. The resulting expenses forced a petition to Parliament for help. As a result, the monopoly was abolished, excluding the tea trade, and trade with China. In 1833, the remnants of the trade monopoly were destroyed.

In 1845, the Dutch colony of Tranquebar was sold to Britain. The company begins to expand its influence into China, the Philippines and Java. Lack of funds to purchase tea from China, the Company begins mass cultivation of opium in India for export to China.

Decline of the company

After the Indian National Uprising in 1857, the English Parliament passed the Indian Better Government Act, according to which the company transferred its administrative functions to the British Crown from 1858. The company is being liquidated.

East India Company in world culture

Notes

Literature

1. Antonova K. A., Bongard-Levin G. M., Kotovsky G. G. History of India. - M., 1979.
2. Guber A., ​​Heifetz A. New story countries of the foreign East. - M., 1961.
3. Adams B. The Laws of Civilizations and Decay. An Essays on History. - New York, 1898. - P. 305.
4. Hobsbawm E. Age of Revolution. Europe 1789-1848. - Rostov-on-Don, 1999.
5. Encyclopedic Dictionary / Brockhaus F. A., Efron I. A.
6. The World History. - M., 2000. - T. 14. - ISBN 985-433-711-1
7. Fursov K. A. Merchant Power: relations of the English East India Company with the English state and Indian patrimonies. M.: Partnership of scientific publications KMK, 2006.
8. Fursov K. East India Company: the history of the great oligarch / K. Fursov // New time. - M., 2001. - No. 2-3. - P. 40-43.
9. Fursov K. A. Relations of the English East India Company with the Mughal Sultanate: the problem of periodization // Bulletin of Moscow University. Episode 13: Oriental Studies. - 2004. - No. 2. - P. 3-25.
10. Efimov, E. G. The concept of “sub-imperialism” of the English East India Company P.J. Marshall / E. G. Efimov // X regional conference of young researchers of the Volgograd region, November 8-11. 2005: abstract. report Vol. 3. Philosophical sciences and cultural studies. Historical Sciences / VolSU [and others]. - Volgograd, 2006. - pp. 180-181.
11. Efimov, E. G. The English East India Company in the second half of the 18th century: the question of national identity (towards the formulation of the problem) / E. G. Efimov // XI regional conference of young researchers of the Volgograd region, November 8-10. 2006 Issue. 3. Philosophical sciences and cultural studies. Historical sciences: abstract. report / Volgograd State University [and others]. - Volgograd, 2007. - pp. 124-126.

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