Spice, Spice, Baby: The Dutch East-India Company

Today’s world is run by massive corporations which are ever-present in the lives of everyone on the planet. Everything from computers, software, soft drinks, fast food, coffee and cell phones are branded, product managed, and mass-marketed to within an inch of their lives. Sometimes it seems like humans are just slaves to massive corporations.

It is surprising, therefore, to discover that the size and reach of today’s corporations are but nothing when compared to the biggest corporation of all time. It’s a corporation that is not listed on the New York Stock Exchange, although it was the first company in the world to be publicly traded. It has an unfamiliar and seemingly unpronounceable name (except to native Dutch speakers): the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, more commonly referred to as the Dutch East-India Company, or VoC for short.

The word ‘company’ in Dutch East-India Company doesn’t really do it justice. It was absolutely humongous. Let’s put things in perspective; at the height of its powers, the VoC’s net worth exceeded the combined value of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook. Adjusted for inflation, its value would eclipse the current GDP of Germany and Japan put together. The VoC also employed over 70,000 people.

Of course, there was a downside.

Google’s unofficial motto ‘Don’t be evil,’ would’ve been handy for the VoC four centuries ago, because they were, undoubtedly, evil. Although the VoC were initially formed to trade spices with Asia, a business activity that seems inherently non-evil, they also diversified into commodities such as textiles, tea, coffee, and ceramics. To up the stakes in the evil department, they also engaged in slave trading. Not only that, but they were also at the cutting edge of colonial oppression, using threats of violence and political pressure to manipulate the Asian countries with which they traded. The VoC had permission from the Dutch Estates General to raise its own military, make treaties with foreign governments, coin its own money, and even declare war.

Would McDonalds invade New Zealand because their government banned the sale of Big Macs? Of course not. The VoC had no such scruples. They actively waged war against sovereign nations, such as Portugal and Spain. The VoC also treated their staff rather worse than most multinationals treat their staff today. It’s almost like the VoC’s unofficial motto was ‘Don’t be ethical.’

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Top Image: Dutch East India Company factory in Hugli-Chuchura, Mughal Bengal. Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, 1665. Source: Public domain

By Scott. E. Williams