![]() Over the period 1450-1500, the master printers who established presses in cities across Europe were overwhelmingly German. The first known “blueprint” manual on the production of movable type was only printed in 1540. Ironically, in the context of this article, the printing press itself was monopolistic as the knowledge of materials was quasi-proprietary: Europe was going through an information revolution albeit, a much slower one than we’re enjoying now.Īccording to Professor Jeremiah Dittmar of the London School of Economics, writing in 2011, European cities which adopted the printing press experienced 60% higher economic growth than those which didn’t buy into the technology from 1450 to 1600. The printing press had been invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, only 160 years before the EIC received its Royal Charter. The legal foundations which enabled capitalist modes of exchange had been formed in Germanic states and the codification of laws and legal practices was beginning to occur across northern Europe. What we see in the East India Company is a business established during a period of broader social change. The company ruled much of India until 1858 when the British government stepped in and established the Raj. It traded in cotton, silk, salt, tea, opium, and much more. The East India Company (EIC) was the British wing of this venture and, at its largest, its operations amounted to half the world’s trade. This was the birth of empire and the global expansion was delivered largely through the competition of private forces. (Finally managed to make use of my degrees…) One of the first widely known examples of monopolies may be that of the trading companies established as quasi-feudalist mercantilism began to transition closer to what we might consider early manifestations of capitalism. History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as AOL East India Trading Companies and the birth of corporate monopolies In this article, we’ll look at the rise and fall of some monopolistic scenarios and try to learn a little about how this current dominance may look moving forward. Monopolies form and fade, doing so in response to specific factors and environments. Market position isn’t static, it’s dynamic. ![]() Maybe it’s not a monopoly at all, but a duopoly? A report from eMarketer showed that in 2016 Facebook and Google collectively accounted for 57% of all mobile advertising – and that figure is rising. ![]() They aren’t the only monopolies around and they’re only in specific sectors. The New York Times recently reported that a whopping 77% of mobile social traffic is owned by Facebook, 74% of the ebook market is Amazon, and Google owns 88% percent of the search advertising market. ![]() Yet, those aren’t the only monopoly connotations you should be worried about. I also think of family arguments and Christmas flashbacks Monopole mon amour, directed by Resnais… When I think of monopoly I think of a mustachioed man with a nice hat and a highland terrier. ![]()
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