For the EITC, piracy was simply "privatized hostile market adjustment." The most famous example of this blurred morality is William Kidd . Initially hired by the British crown (and the EITC) to hunt pirates, Kidd was given a sleek warship and told to clean up the Indian Ocean. But the pay was terrible, and the crew was restless.
When Kidd captured a loot-laden Armenian ship called the Quedagh Merchant —which happened to be sailing under French papers—he assumed it was fair game. Unfortunately, the ship was actually leased by EITC officials back in London.
By the 1750s, the EITC effectively ruled India. They didn't need to fly the black flag anymore. They flew the Union Jack, which was far more profitable. The next time you watch a pirate movie, remember: The stuffed-shirt bureaucrat from the East India Trading Company wasn't trying to stop lawlessness. He was trying to eliminate the competition.
When you hear “East India Trading Company,” you might picture Jack Sparrow dodging debt collectors in Pirates of the Caribbean . In Hollywood, the EITC (often called "The Company") plays the stuffy, suited villain—the bureaucrats trying to stamp out the "romantic" pirates of the sea.
For the EITC, piracy was simply "privatized hostile market adjustment." The most famous example of this blurred morality is William Kidd . Initially hired by the British crown (and the EITC) to hunt pirates, Kidd was given a sleek warship and told to clean up the Indian Ocean. But the pay was terrible, and the crew was restless.
When Kidd captured a loot-laden Armenian ship called the Quedagh Merchant —which happened to be sailing under French papers—he assumed it was fair game. Unfortunately, the ship was actually leased by EITC officials back in London.
By the 1750s, the EITC effectively ruled India. They didn't need to fly the black flag anymore. They flew the Union Jack, which was far more profitable. The next time you watch a pirate movie, remember: The stuffed-shirt bureaucrat from the East India Trading Company wasn't trying to stop lawlessness. He was trying to eliminate the competition.
When you hear “East India Trading Company,” you might picture Jack Sparrow dodging debt collectors in Pirates of the Caribbean . In Hollywood, the EITC (often called "The Company") plays the stuffy, suited villain—the bureaucrats trying to stamp out the "romantic" pirates of the sea.