Adventurers: The Improbable Rise of the East India Company: 1550-1650
David Howarth
Mar 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Michael Page
2.0star
1 reviewreport
headphones
Audiobook
17 hr 8 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
Want a 1 hr 47 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
The unlikely beginnings of the East India Company—from Tudor origins and rivalry with the superior Dutch—to laying the groundwork for future British expansion
The East India Company was the largest commercial enterprise in British history, yet its roots in Tudor England are often overlooked. The Tudor revolution in commerce led ambitious merchants to search for new forms of investment, not least in risky overseas enterprises—and for these "adventurers" the most profitable bet of all would be on the Company.
Through a host of stories and fascinating details, David Howarth brings to life the Company's way of doing business—from the leaky ships and petty seafarers of its embattled early days to later sweeping commercial success. While the Company's efforts met with disappointment in Japan, they sowed the seeds of success in India, setting the outline for what would later become the Raj. Drawing on an abundance of sources, Howarth shows how competition from European powers was vital to success—and considers whether the Company was truly "English" at all, or rather part of a Europe-wide movement.
The East India Company was the largest commercial enterprise in British history, yet its roots in Tudor England are often overlooked. The Tudor revolution in commerce led ambitious merchants to search for new forms of investment, not least in risky overseas enterprises—and for these "adventurers" the most profitable bet of all would be on the Company.
Through a host of stories and fascinating details, David Howarth brings to life the Company's way of doing business—from the leaky ships and petty seafarers of its embattled early days to later sweeping commercial success. While the Company's efforts met with disappointment in Japan, they sowed the seeds of success in India, setting the outline for what would later become the Raj. Drawing on an abundance of sources, Howarth shows how competition from European powers was vital to success—and considers whether the Company was truly "English" at all, or rather part of a Europe-wide movement.
Ratings and reviews
2.0
1 review
Joel Taplin
- Flag inappropriate
November 18, 2023
The book uses very colourful and flowery language. Its almost like the author is being paid to squeeze as many adverbs, adjectives, clever quotes, analogies, metaphores and suchlike into as short a space as possible. That might work well when reading, but when trying to listen to an audiobook while doing something else (walking/driving) its requires a lot more focus than any other book I've listened to. I also feel the author jumps around a lot, talking about the period and the background more than about what is actually happening with the EIC. Maybe that will start in the next chapter, but I've said that a few times already. I'm giving up on the book 25% of the way into it, which is the first time I've done that to an audiobook in the last couple of years.
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
