|
This is a large (459pp) and important book dealing with a topic of which most ofus are pretty ignorant. William Dalrymples's book on the HEICo (The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company Bloomsbury Publishing 2019) covers the same period as this book in a mere 20 pages. This is not to knock Mr Dalrymple, who has understandably focused on the purely Indian aspects, whereas Mr Howarth spends a lot oftime not only on the Dutch East Indies but also on Persia, China and Japan, as well as glances at the other English merchant companies such as those for Muscovy, Venice, Turkey, etc. The structure of the book is original and set out in the Introduction. The Portuguese empire was in decline when the HEICo was founded. This was partly Spanish influence, when Philip II claimed the throne of Portugal, partly a reluctance to found colonies, and partly an own-goal in allowing Jesuits to proselytise. This was apparently the last straw that caused the Japanese Shoguns to slam the doors shut on almost all western trade. Then came the Dutch, who had no interest in Jesuits, but realised that the rajas of the Spice Islands were only minor princelings and could be coerced or worse into doing what the Dutch wanted. The Dutch East India Company (the VOC) was backed by the state and founded colonies as a permanent presence in the Far East. All this was in contrast to the English who relied on entrepreneurship. Sir Thomas Smythe was the man of vision who after a career with the Muscovy Company and the Levant Company (the latter born from a merger of the old Turkey and Venetian Companies in 1592) - all one might argue pressing to much the same goal -- became the first Governor of the HEICo.
In looking at the origins of the HEICo, Mr Howarth is not averse to considering matters of moral and national character - what he calls 'the Tudor process of nation-building'. This is unfashionable among some historians, though there are plenty of examples of states with relatively modest resources pulling together to thwart an infinitely larger and better equipped rival. From there we go on a tour with an HEICo ship called the Peppercorn which Mr Howarth calls 'hell on sea' - he is referring to the 'savage' crew, gathered as he puts it from the caverns and taverns of Limehouse.
The first 30 years of the HEICo was a frustrating time as it tried, pretty unsuccessfully, to break into the markets for spices and other trade in the far east, including China and Japan. Eventually there was a show-down with the Dutch who effectively won the Spice islands. This included the massacre of Amboyna when a particularly ruthless Dutch Governor called Jan Pieterszoon Coen captured ten HEICo employees, tortured them into confessing to an attempted coup against the Dutch, and then executed them. Those who want the gruesome details that can go to Giles Milton's Nathaniel's Nutmeg. Reaction by the English Company to the news included commissioning a picture of the episode from an artist called Richard Greenbury 'wherein was lively, largely and artificially, set forth those several bloody tortures and executions inflicted upon our people at Amboyna'. This came to the notice of the Privy Council who encountered hostile Dutch reaction and moreover were afraid an upcoming holiday might encourage anti-Dutch riots. The HEICo Court took fright and tried to pin the whole thing on Greenbury. He sent in his bill to the Company for £100, but was eventually bullied by them to accept a mere £30. The picture does not survive.
The book is excellent at showing relations between the HEICo and the crown - flattery was what James I went in for, and so was to an extent manageable. Charles I could only focus on money and was shameless in sponsoring non-HEICo expeditions, thereby undermining the monopoly which the Crown itself had created. But meanwhile, almost by accident, England found its way in India thanks largely to Sir Thomas Roe, who became a valued courtier to Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor. Rebuffed by China, expelled by the Dutch from the Spice Islands, and by the Shogun from Japan meant perforce the HEICo's concentrating on India - hence the direction the Company increasingly took, so that Mr Howarth's improbable rise of the HEICo became thereafter Mr Dalrymple's relentless rise. This is a fascinating book, rich in texture, beautifully written, and covering abroad sweep of history. Strongly recommended.
|
