East India Trading Company

''"We are the East India Trading Company. Under my rule we cannot fall, under God we cannot die!"  -- Samuel Harrington, Governor of the EITC Court of Directors ''

History
The East India Trading Company is an English joint-stock, free-trade company, originally formed to pursue trade with the East Indies. The company eventually ended up trading with the entire Indian subcontinent as well as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and, later, the New World.

The company was originally chartered as "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies", but was later rechristened to "East India Trading Company", or simply "East India Company". The company received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth on December 31, 1600, thus making it one of the oldest known and surviving trading companies in the world. The company's shares were owned by wealthy merchants and a few aristocrats, such as Samuel Harrington (Harrington Enterprises), who owns 49% of the company, giving him executive authority over it.

The Company later came to dominate vast areas of Africa and India, as well as smaller, less concentrated areas in Asia and the Middle East. The Company came to rule these areas with is dominant private army, formally known as the Black Guard, which is, today, the largest military force on the planet.

The Company
The East India Company manages trade between, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, India, and the New World. The Company trades a plethora of valuable commodities such as spices, tea, silk, cotton, sugarcane, hemp, hempseed oil, marijuana, wood and lumber, oils, dyes, and livestock. Recently, the Company has begun trading vessels from small fishing trawlers and dinghies, to moderate ships like brigs and frigates, and even to larger ships such as ships of the line and galleons. This is due to Harrington Enterprises, whose aforementioned proprietor owns 49% of the company, allowing him to effectively merge his company with the Trading Company, creating a joint-venture. This allowed both of the companies' economies to flourish.

The East India Company is the largest trading company on the planet. There are an estimated 4,500 trading posts across the globe, employing nearly 285,000 people. Due to its vastness, the Company has been able to facilitate an authoritative command over the trade world, executing its own private military forces. Aside from that, the Company also has its own forts, as well as several trading offices, usually with many being in large cities, such as London, Paris, and Madrid. These forts and trading offices account for some of the 4,500 total trading posts that the EITC owns and manages.

The Black Guard
The EITC Black Guard are the private military force of the East India Trading Company, which currently directly rivals the British Royal Navy in power, actually employing thousands more military personnel and ships than the former. The Black Guard is treated as a special operations and a defense force for the Company, performing investigations and reconnaissance/intelligence operations worldwide. This has led to many interrogation processes throughout the trade world, causing many to actually fear the EITC and its Black Guard forces. Harrington, Governor of the Court of Directors, has assured everybody that the Company's goal is not to intimidate, but rather protect people. The Black Guard is mainly funded by its own Company, with some private funds coming from Harrington Enterprises.

The Black Guard currently boasts 1,187,224 active military personnel, 9,246 of which are Commissioned Officers. These personnel act, first and fore-most, as a defense force for the massive East India Trading Company. When the company was first founded, the merchant in possession of the Charter (it is later found out that Arthur Harrington, Samuel's father, was the merchant who was behind the idea of the Company) did not intend for their to be a defense force. But, upon the Company growing in size, he used his personal company to fund a private military, which was not very large. The Black Guard did not grow, and did not become known as the "Black Guard" until the rise of Lord Cutler Beckett, who preceded Samuel Harrington as Governor of the Court of Directors. This was because the small and somewhat futile military force did not have the proper fundings for weapons and training until such time. The private force became even stronger upon the rise of Samuel Harrington, due to massive funds and reforms in weaponry and training; he lengthened BGRD (Black Guard Recruit Depot), the boot camp, to 16 weeks long, thus producing "stronger and more hardened warriors".

Ranking System

 * 1) Private
 * 2) Private First Class
 * 3) Lance Corporal
 * 4) Corporal
 * 5) Sergeant
 * 6) Staff Sergeant
 * 7) Gunnery Sargeant
 * 8) Master Sergeant
 * 9) First Sergeant
 * 10) Master Gunnery Sergeant
 * 11) Sergeant Major
 * 12) Sergeant Major of the Company*
 * 13) Second Lieutenant
 * 14) First Lieutenant
 * 15) Captain
 * 16) Major
 * 17) Lieutenant Colonel
 * 18) Colonel
 * 19) Brigadier General
 * 20) Major General
 * 21) Lieutenant General
 * 22) General*

Beckett's Armada
Beckett's Armada is essentially the naval force for the Company. It received it's name following the death of Lord Cutler Beckett, the former Governor of the Court of Directors. It possesses an astonishing 1,255 ships, with 436 of those ships being either light or heavy class ships of the line. These ships range from merchant ships transporting goods, to fishing ships reeling in product, all the way to defensive ships keeping a watchful eye on the entire sea-bound Company.

Beckett's Armada works closely with the British Royal Navy in pursuing criminals, to providing protection where ever it is needed. The Armada also conducts its own expedition fleets to uncharted places, with the intent of settling trading posts and bringing back valuable commodities.

Ranking System

 * 1) Seaman Recruit
 * 2) Seaman Apprentice
 * 3) Seaman
 * 4) Petty Officer Third Class
 * 5) Petty Officer Second Class
 * 6) Petty Officer First Class
 * 7) Chief Petty Officer
 * 8) Senior Cheif Petty Officer
 * 9) Master Chief Petty Officer
 * 10) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Company*
 * 11) Ensign
 * 12) Lieutenant Junior Grade
 * 13) Lieutenant
 * 14) Lieutenant Commander
 * 15) Commander
 * 16) Captain
 * 17) Rear Admiral
 * 18) Vice Admiral
 * 19) Admiral of the Fleet*

Army Recruitment and Mobilization Society
The Army Recruitment and Mobilization Society (A.R.M.S.) is the newly-employed organization by Governor Samuel Harrington that seeks to more quickly and efficiently recruit and mobilize forces. Since its inception, its goal has more or less been met. More employees of the Company are also becoming soldiers within the Black Guard, and the organization has been able to fully take over and successfully manage the mobilization of soldiers across the map.

The Court of Directors
The EITC Court of Directors is the board which executes command over the entire East India Trading Company, including the Black Guard. It is presided over by the Governor of the Court, who is the professional head of the entire East India Trading Company. He is assisted by the Lieutenant Governor. The Court of Directors has a director of affairs for every region within the Company. As a director, it is your job to oversee and manage all the trade within your region, and to make sure that all employees are doing their best work. There are currently seven regions. Middle East, South Africa, Africa, China, Japan, the New World, and Europa. The Court of Directors can and has acted as an official court of law in cases involving the Company, or members thereof.

Current Court Governor, Director of New World Affairs - Samuel Harrington

Current Lieutenant Governor, Director of Indian Affairs - Lord William Brawlmartin

Director of Europaean Affairs - Candidate not selected

Director of South African Affairs - Candidate not selected

Director of African Affairs - Candidate not selected

Director of Middle Eastern Affairs - Candidate not selected 

Director of Japanese Affairs - Candidate not selected 

The Office of the Lord Marshal
The Office of the Lord Marshal is the formal commanding body of the Black Guard military forces of the EITC, including Beckett's Armada. It consists of four seats of command that are known informally through-out the company as the "Four Thrones of Glory", due to the honor, power, and prestige that one is known to attain upon arriving at one of the positions. The Lord Marshal is the ceremonial head of the Black Guard forces of the EITC. Candidates for the four commanding positions are personally selected by the Governor of the Court of Directors, and may in fact be filled by the Governor or one of the acting directors. The Office of the Lord Marshal does directly report to the Court of Directors.

Lord Marshal -- Samuel Harrington

Marshal -- William Brawlmartin

Chief of War -- Jason Blademorgan 

Grand Admiral -- Candidate not selected