5. The company gained the right to acquire territory, create armies, and form foreign alliances under Charles II
In the second half of the 17th century, Charles II of England granted rights to the EIC which were extraordinary then and now. The EIC was allowed to mint its own coin, and issue paper currency backed by specie. It was given the authority to acquire territory by purchase, treaty, or conquest. The territories thus acquired were to be administered by the company, rather than the crown or parliament, and civil authority was placed in the hands of company officers. The company was authorized to raise and command armies, and erect fortifications, for the defense of its property, in the Spice Islands, India, China, Japan, and other areas where it operated facilities.
Meanwhile, the fur trade with the expanding colonies in North America became more lucrative, supplemented by the growing European taste for the milder forms of tobacco grown there. Once again, as far as the fur trade was concerned, the Dutch beat the English to the punch. The Dutch settlement at New Amsterdam, part of the overall holdings of New Netherlands, had been established by the VOC, and Dutch ships controlled the fur trade until the Anglo-Dutch wars saw New Amsterdam transferred to the British as New York, after it changed hands due to the presence of warships twice.