An imagined divide existed between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean since the earliest days of European transoceanic discovery. The separation was reflected in the charters granted to England’s major trading companies which limited access for private merchants to eastern markets. The Indian Ocean was covered by the charter held by the East India Company and centered on bilateral luxury trade. The trade and activity in Atlantic, by contrast, quickly focused around colonization, agricultural production and trade. However, certain Atlantic merchants saw the potential of applying methods of economic expansion from the Atlantic, more specifically the early American colonies, to new colonization projects in the Indian Ocean. This article considers one such prominent Atlantic merchant, Maurice Thomson. Though his plans did not reach fruition he left a tangible impact on the eic in his attempts to introduce Atlantic methods to the East- thus underlining the porous frontier that separated them.

自欧洲跨洋发现最早以来，大西洋和印度洋之间就存在着一个可以想象的鸿沟。分离体现在授予英国主要贸易公司的宪章中，这些宪章限制了私人商人进入东部市场的机会。东印度公司持有的宪章涵盖了印度洋，并以双边奢侈品贸易为中心。相比之下，大西洋的贸易和活动迅速集中于殖民，农业生产和贸易。但是，某些大西洋商人发现了将经济扩张方法从大西洋（特别是美国早期殖民地）应用于印度洋新的殖民化项目的潜力。本文考虑了这样一位著名的大西洋商人莫里斯·汤姆森（Maurice Thomson）。埃希克（Eic）尝试将大西洋方法引入东方，从而突显了将它们分隔开的多孔边界。