jjares reviewed The Dutch East India Company: A Captivating Guide to the First True Multinational Corporation and Its Impact on the Dutch War of Independence from Spain on + 3296 more book reviews
Ah, this book deserves at least 5 stars. Someone has finally explained the intricacies of the spice trade that ultimately launched the Dutch East India Company. I read that part twice because it had all the nuances of the politics, trade routes, Age of Discovery, and the changes in religion (and how that affected countries relationships). I gleaned a full understanding of the underlying circumstances that allowed one company to become dominating.
This book makes a neat point of stating that in most historical times, kings and emperors controlled money, armies, and influence. But once upon a time, a group of merchants banded together and out-earned any king on earth. To put it in today's terms, the book indicates that the Apple Corp. (iPads, iPods, etc.) is worth 1/10th of what the Dutch East India Company was worth in its heyday. Recently, I saw Apple rated at 1 trillion dollars.
This nimble little story explains the beginnings of their 200-year reign over trade and their eventual decline (and the reasons for it). While Spain, Portugal, France, and England were fighting over the New World, the clever Dutch decided to go after trade in the East Indies.
This book makes a neat point of stating that in most historical times, kings and emperors controlled money, armies, and influence. But once upon a time, a group of merchants banded together and out-earned any king on earth. To put it in today's terms, the book indicates that the Apple Corp. (iPads, iPods, etc.) is worth 1/10th of what the Dutch East India Company was worth in its heyday. Recently, I saw Apple rated at 1 trillion dollars.
This nimble little story explains the beginnings of their 200-year reign over trade and their eventual decline (and the reasons for it). While Spain, Portugal, France, and England were fighting over the New World, the clever Dutch decided to go after trade in the East Indies.
