The role of the joint-stock companies in the colonial expansion of Eastern countries

Abstract

We set a goal to study the history of the trading companies of the 16th-18th centuries, their role in the economic development of their countries and the colonial expansion of the Eastern countries: Ind­ia, Indochina, China. In the paper, we will discuss the East India Trading Companies of Britain, Holland, France, and Portugal, whose history has been little studied in Georgian historiography.

It is clear that the East India Companies of England, Holland, France and Portugal were individual, different from each other. The French East India Company (1664-1769) was richer than the other British, Dutch, Portuguese East India Companies. This should be expl­ained first of all by the great financial support of the royal authorities, since the French king Louis XIV himself was a shareholder of the company. Moreover, in addition to merchants, the company had sha­res invested in: the queen, the chancellor, the nobility, mayors, wea­lthy townspeople. The king also often helped bankrupt shareholders. If necessary, he invested capital in the company. He went to this be­cause a huge amount of goods flowed into the country from the East: gold, precious stones, pearls, coral, expensive fabrics, various spices, etc., which left a large profit. That is, the desire to make a pro­fit was in the foreground.

It is true that it was the richest company, but it could not mai­ntain its monopoly in the East. First of all, because England had to compete, in addition, the shareholders were not united, the majority of the company was not represented by large merchants, they could not ensure a unified government in the colonies, they were unable to maintain a fleet, as a result of which the company collapsed.

The Dutch East India Company (1602-1798) achieved its goal - to create a colonial empire on three continents, from Mozambique to Japan, which controlled the world trade in spices. Ships sailing under the Dutch flag sailed to the most distant corners of the world - to India, Malaysia, Indochina. The Dutch ruled their colonies strictly, plundering everything they could, spreading their religion there.

The Dutch were still far behind Portugal and England in their influence in the eastern region. The British were trying to put an end to the Dutch monopoly. As a result of the war of 1780, the Dutch East India Company lost millions of guilders, its merchant ships, and soon ceased to exist.

The Portuguese East India Company (1628-1650), which made immediate profits, failed to become a permanent source of income for the country, like the British and Dutch companies. The company did not follow trade rules, resorted to violence and religious persecution against the locals, which caused hatred towards them and lost the company's reputation, but during its short existence it played an imp­ortant role in the influx of goods from the East, in the colonial exp­ansion of the East and in the economic development of the country.

The British East India Company was different from other com­panies. England had extensive experience in the production and trade of cotton. The colonial countries imported large quantities of coarse cotton fabrics, which were in great demand, and not expensive cott­on, which did not leave a profit. Eastern goods were imported to Brit­ain, like other cotton companies, and sold at inflated prices, which also left the country with a large profit. Unlike other cotton comp­anies, the British Cotton Company had strict discipline, no foreigners were allowed in the company, they had good managers, and they had unity. Large profits, the accumulation of trading capital ultimately led to the strengthening of the influence of the British Cotton Company and the maintenance of its monopoly in the East.

 Thus, the joint-stock companies of England, Holland, France and Portugal were influential and wealthy companies. Their goal was to make a profit from the countries of the East, and they achieved this. In addition, these companies carried out colonial expansion in the countries of the East and influenced the economic development of their countries.