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Colonialism

The history of multinational corporations began with the history of colonialism. The first multinational corporations were founded to set up colonial "factories" or port cities. In addition to carrying on trade between the mother country and the colonies, the British East India Company became a quasi-government in its own right, with local government officials and its own army in India. The two main examples were the British East India Company founded in 1600 and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded in 1602. Others included the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1649, and the Hudson's Bay Company founded in 1670. These early corporations engaged in international trade and exploration, and set up trading posts.

The Dutch government took over the VOC in 1799, and during the 19th century, other governments increasingly took over the private companies, most notable in British India. During the process of decolonization, the European colonial charter companies were disbanded, with the final colonial corporation, the Mozambique Company, dissolving in 1972.