The year is 1634, and the United East India Company is the wealthiest, and most powerful, trade company in the world. The most profitable spice route is between Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) and the Company headquarters in Amsterdam where the ruling board of the Company, the Gentlemen 17, place profit over all other considerations. This route takes eight months to cross and is perilous and arduous. In Batavia, the massive cargo-passenger ship Saardam is about to set sail for Amsterdam with a mysterious cargo, along with […]