Geoffrey Jones, Multinationals And Global Capitalism Flashcards
Why were state sponsored trading companies set up?
To support colonial trade
- the English / Dutch / East India companies were given monopolistic trading privileges by their respective governments
Why is it problematic to label these early trading companies as multinationals?
They predate the establishment of the modern nation state, so although merchants were trading across sovereign territories they could not be multinational.
- it wasn’t until the 1648 peace treaty of Westphalia which saw the origin of the modern nation state, replacing the European medieval system of overlapping feudal hierarchies
Discuss the English East India company as a proto - multinational
How many staff were employed in administrative rolls?
How did the company evolve?
1600: Queen Elizabeth awarded a charter giving a body of London merchants a monopoly over trade with the East Indies
- by the 18th century the company employed 350 head office administrative staff which supervised a large managerial hierarchy which in turn supervised trade between Europe and Asia. The company functioned as a vertically integrated company
In 1765 the company obtained revenue collection rights from the ruling Mughal empire in India, allowing the company to attain political power. Eventually the company ceased trading and focused entirely on the colonial administration of India
What is Jones’ main argument?
It argues that multinationals should be viewed as one of the primary drivers of investment, trade, and knowledge flows across national borders, which are at the heart of the globalisation process.
