I have finished the book 'Merchant Kings: When Companies Rules the World, 1600-1900'.
Quite interesting. I hadn't quite realized the power that these government sponsored monopolies held. The governments benefited because they didn't need to pay for armies and navies in those territories and the trade was enormously beneficial to the sponsoring countries. But, of course, there was no concept of rights for the people in those territories.
This book makes the distinction between being a 'producer/consumer' and a 'citizen' very clear.
I don't like the growing trend to describe citizens as consumers of government services. It's not really what this book is talking about but I think it is pernicious.
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