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.
However, history paints a more complicated picture. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the line between "honorable merchant" and "cutthroat pirate" was often blurred by the world’s most powerful corporation: east india trading company pirates
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
Furious, the Mughal Emperor blamed the East India Company for the attack, believing they were in league with the pirates. He arrested EIC officers in Surat and threatened to expel the Company from India entirely. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the line