Imagine for a moment that you are in the 1600s living in Europe.  Unfortunately, you were not born in nobility, with no silver spoon. But that had not stopped you from dreaming about being rich.  You dread waking up each day to toil at the farm which you do not own.  Maybe you should try something different?  You start thinking… An Opportunity Spice was all the rage, and India was the exotic land of opportunity.  However, the journey from the Netherlands to India was a long, arduous, and, not to mention, a perilous journey by ship.  Is it worth the risk journeying to an unknown land with no certainty of gaining anything? You have a job, and you could comfortably feed your family. Then you hear of some news of a Dutch East Indies Company (VOC short in dutch) promising to share profits if you fund their voyage. They are...