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.
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.
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. east india trading company pirates
Arrr... or rather, "Dear Sir, kindly surrender your sovereignty." Share it with a history buff who loves the murky gray areas between hero and villain. And if you want to read about the real-life pirate who got away with the biggest heist in history (hint: his name was Henry Every), drop a comment below.
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
Let’s dive into the scandalous truth: The EITC didn’t just fight pirates. Often, they were the pirates. Founded in 1600, the East India Trading Company wasn't a government navy. It was a joint-stock company —essentially a massive corporation with its own army, currency, and legal system. Their ships carried letters of marque (government permission to seize enemy vessels), but in the remote waters of the Indian and South China Seas, those letters got... flexible.
The pirate wanted your gold. The Company wanted your country. In Hollywood, the EITC (often called "The Company")
But history is rarely that simple. In reality, the line between a and a bloodthirsty pirate wasn’t just blurry—for the East India Trading Company, it was practically invisible.