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NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE COMPANIES 87
delegated agents of their respective nations in the com-
petition for commerce and territory throughout the
whole non-Christian world, and from this point of view
A WATER SCENE NEAR GARRETT, JAVA.
the importance of a good colonial policy can hardly
be overestimated. The French West Indian Company
was an association of the type invented by Richelieu,
with authority to conquer and convert the heathen; but
