Arrr, listen up, ye scurvy dogs! Whilst sailin' aboard the HMS Windsor, meself and a few 'o me hearty crew were approached by a Dutch East India Company lackey, lookin' to recruit us for their fleet. Aye, 'twas a temptin' offer, but after diggin' deeper, I politely turned 'em down. Ye see, that company be a makin' coin, but not for the likes o' us deck swabbers. I would'a died just another employee, with all me life and energy wrung out and then discarded like the rest. And worse yet, they be enslavin' folk from Asia to build their cursed colonies, a practice Blackbeard be havin' no part of!

Now, let me tell ye about this Dutch East India Company, or as they fancy themselves, the VOC. That be the initials of the Dutch spellin' o' the name. Established back in March 'o 1602 by them Dutch bigwigs, it be the first joint-stock company to set sail. Granted a monopoly by the States General o' the Netherlands, they had the run o' trade in Asia for 21 years. But that ain't all, me hearties! They had powers resemblin' them o' governments, with the right to make war, sling folks in the brig, even execute 'em, negotiate treaties, mint their own gold coin, and plant their flags in foreign soil.

And mark me words, they didn't stop there! Sailin' betwixt the East and the West, tradin' in lands near and far, they be hailed as the first o' them multinational corporations. But don't be fooled, behind their fancy titles be a trail o' plunder and oppression, that would put to shame a true pirate! Just like the largest multi-national corporations of the modern day from what I gather.

Arrr, listen close, ye landlubbers, and heed the tale of the VOC's treacherous deeds in the East! The scallywags of the Dutch East India Company outshone all other swindlers in the Asian trade, mark me words! Betwixt the years 1602 and 1796, they shipped near a million Europeans to toil in the Asian waters aboard over 4,700 vessels. And what did they plunder for their efforts? More than two and a half million tons of Asian riches, and thousands of unfortunate souls pressed into servitude!

The rest o' Europe combined couldn't match their devilry! From 1500 to 1795, only about 882,000 souls ventured forth, a pittance compared to the Dutch devilry. Even the English dogs, later British East India Company, couldn't hold a candle to the VOC's tyranny. With a fleet of over 2,600 ships, they barely scraped one-fifth o' the loot snatched by the Dutch devils!

The VOC reveled in their ill-gotten gains, with spices and slaves fillin' their coffers throughout the 17th century. They started their wicked enterprise in 1602, aimin' to line their pockets with the Malukan spices. Settin' up their den in the port o' Jayakarta, they rechristened it Batavia, where they schemed and plotted for two long centuries.

Expandin' their grip like a kraken, they seized ports and land, spreadin' their corruption far and wide. They lined their pockets while enslavin' the very hands that built their vile colonies. By 1669, the VOC stood as the wealthiest rogue outfit the world had ever seen! With a fleet o' 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, and a private army of 10,000 cutthroats, they ruled the seas with an iron fist, showerin' their investors with a 40% cut o' the loot! Sound familiar, like the high tech companies of today?

So that be me close call, with bein' just another bloke in history that no one remembers! Arrr!