Securing Asian Trade: Treaty Negotiations between the French and English East India Companies, 1753–1755

Abstract

In the mid-1750s the French Compagnie des Indes and the English East India Company negotiated to end the military conflicts between them associated with the bellicose French Governor General, Joseph-François Dupleix. The companies deliberated over proposals to neutralize their trade in case of future wars in Europe, and to establish a security cartel to free them from the pressures of Indian politics. Though no permanent accord was reached before the outbreak of the Seven Years War, the negotiations illuminate rich traditions of political and geopolitical thought inside both companies, as directors, shareholders, and like-minded public officials worked to create a pacified space in which global trade could flourish, while safeguarding the peace of Europe from conflicts over Asian commerce.