Adventurers
the improbable rise of the East India Company, 1550-1650
- ISBN: 9780300276497
- Editorial: Yale University Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2024
- Lugar de la edición: New Haven. Estados Unidos de Norteamérica
- Encuadernación: Rústica
- Medidas: 21 cm
- Nº Pág.: 480
- Idiomas: Inglés
The East India Company was the largest commercial enterprise in British history, yet its roots in Tudor England are often overlooked. The Tudor revolution in commerce led ambitious merchants to search for new forms of investment, not least in risky overseas enterprises--and for these "adventurers" the most profitable bet of all would be on the Company.
Through a host of stories and fascinating details, David Howarth brings to life the Company's way of doing business--from the leaky ships and petty seafarers of its embattled early days to later sweeping commercial success. While the Company's efforts met with disappointment in Japan, they sowed the seeds of success in India, setting the outline for what would later become the Raj. Drawing on an abundance of sources, Howarth shows how competition from European powers was vital to success--and considers whether the Company was truly "English" at all, or rather part of a Europe-wide movement.
1 The Smoky Ayer of Spanish Greatnes
2 North Sea Nations
3 Merchants of Light
4 Enlarging the Bounds of Human Empire
5 Raising the Money
6 Running the Office
7 A Voyage Exceedingly Troublesome
8 Oceans of Wealth
9 The Flying Dutchmen
10 A Thing of So Much Difficultie
11 Joseph at the Court of Pharaoh
12 This Hopefullest Trade
13 Seven Merchants of Japan
14 Goodnight Amsterdam
15 Deadlock
16 Deliverance
Conclusion
