How Powerful Was the Dutch East India Company?

The Dutch East India Company was likely the most successful company in world history, a trading company so large it established its own colonies managing trade throughout the Indian Ocean for nearly 200 years, so just how was it established, how did it work, and how did it fall?

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"On A Hunt" by Philip Ayer*

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???? SOURCES:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-valuable-companies-all-time/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company
https://www.businessinsider.com/rise-and-fall-of-united-east-india-2013-11?r=DE&IR=T
*Just because I have sources doesn't mean my research is infallible. Though I aim for as much accuracy as I can manage, there are likely some facts I have gotten wrong.

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