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Columbus was looking for a way for Western Europe to trade with the East Indies/Asia for silk and sp
Source: Colonisation and the East India Company #154
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"The British, Portuguese and Dutch were interested in the region known as the East Indies in the Indian Ocean. They each wanted a share of the luxury goods found there and all tried to gain exclusive control over the trading to push each other out of the area. This trading competition was linked to their desire to gain political power and being able to colonise the region. In the case of Britain, its relationship with the East Indies is tied into the history of a British trading company. This shows how closely trading and political power were linked. The company, called the East India Company, was set up by British merchants, who wanted to trade with this part of the world. They wanted to bring the luxury goods produced there ‘pepper, spices such as cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, silks, cottons, tea and coffee’ into Europe." "...European nations were using their trading relations to gain advantage over each other. The Europeans took advantage of the local political instability. For example, the Dutch trading company, VOC, had control over the trade in spices from most of the Indonesian islands, by offering protection to each small state against its neighbours. " (http://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/routes/places-involved/east-indies/colonisation/)
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