The Merchant-warrior pacified

The Dutch presence in India is all but forgotten memory, with only a handful of words in the Indic languages traceable to Dutch influence, some monuments and numerous archival documents to remind us that the once mighty Verengde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), the United Dutch East India Company, was a major presence in India for almost two centuries, and indeed was the most powerful European power for more than half that period. Although much distinguished research on Dutch trade in India has been done in recent years, it has been confined to specific regions of VOC operation and limited spans of time. This work, which grew out of the Heras Memorial Lectures on the subject, and has been substantially expanded and revised since, by contrast examines the fluctuating fortunes of this once great company over its entire history from 1600-1795. Unlike other histories of the longue duree, however, it integrates political economy with social history to provide a multi-faceted panorama of the VOC's operations in India, its interactions with the other European powers, with Indian rulers, the public at large, and its own crisis-ridden structure which was in the end to prove its nemesis. Through frequent recourse to Dutch archival material it provides fascinating glimpses of the intrigue, skulduggery and back-biting which characterized the international trade of the period, transporting us to another place and time.