The History of Various 'East India Companies'

Whenever we say ‘East India Company’, we usually mean the British East India Company. But the truth is quite different. Apart from the Englishmen, many countries incorporated their individual ‘East India Companies’  for the purpose of trading with the ‘Orient’, which generally means ‘countries of the East’, particularly China, Japan and India.

At one time in history, Europe was not as prosperous as it is today. The economic power, or more appropriately, the wealth was concentrated in the Orient, including India. In order to grow richer and to fetch the highly demanded goods from the Orient, like spices, cotton, silk, etc., trading with the Orient became an economic necessity, which Europe could not afford to ignore any longer.

But the hurdle was even more robust. To reach the East, the then Muslim World had to be crossed. Since the predominantly Christian Europe had bitter relations with the Muslim World due to religious clashes and religious politics, particularly the Crusades in various forms, it was even more difficult to get to the Orient. An alternative was badly needed at this juncture, around 1400 A.D., i.e. some 600 years ago.

And two alternatives came up. The first one was to round off the African continent from its southern end and reach Indian Ocean. 

Alternative No.1 : To reach the Orient via the southern tip of Africa

The second one was more dangerous. That was, to sail across the Atlantic to reach Japan, China and thence, India. As the Earth is spherical, if one moves westward from Europe, was destined to reach the Orient someday. 

Alternative No.2 : Circumnavigation of the Earth.

Columbus set out on sail in 1492, on this riskier route reaching an infinitely better alternative to the Orient. He reached America. Thus began a new chapter and a new era of discovery. Initially it was believed by the newcomers that they have reached the ‘Indies’, but actually they were in the Caribbean. They called it ‘Indies’ and its native people ‘Indians’.

Now, to differentiate the newly discovered ‘Indies’ from the original Indies, these Caribbean Islands were called ‘West Indies’, while the actual Indies became ‘East Indies’.

Yet, the Orient, including Indies inter alia, was lucrative for the Europeans. Every country somehow did it, directly or through the maritime European adventurers. England adopted a systematic approach to do it. The English merchants created an ‘English East India Company’. Soon it was followed by the Dutch East India Company of Holland (Netherlands). Then, French and Danish East India Companies came into existence. Portugal too tried to establish one and much later, Sweden also did the same.

To understand the whole story better and through maps, please watch this video.

https://youtu.be/8APQzY1FKLk