ABSTRACT
Even though the Europeans were allotted privileges exempting them from the law of the realm by indigenous states, such concessions were to be affirmed by the regular display of military prowess. The way in which the Europeans cashed “protection rent” is thus a crucial issue when studying the history of the Europeans in the Arabian seas. No doubt, one may criticize Steensgaard’s theory on the “internalization of protection costs” by the Companies on points of detail, but the brunt of this argument has well withstood criticism. 1 The VOC, the EIC, and, to an extent, the Compagnie des Indes included their overhead costs—armies, navies, and administrations—in the costs of products sold in Europe. This was not the case for the Portuguese.
