VOC's Post-war Interventions

During the era of decolonization (1950-90), dozens of international corporations intervened and influenced events on their behalf across Africa. The VOC was not above intervention, and would do so in areas infested with pirates, such as West Africa. VOC Marines stormed pirate dens in Biafra and Guinea repeatedly during the 1960s. The Company even went as far as to prop-up hardline governments, simply because they would reign in the pirates. Investors believed the Company was wasting money, but to have VOC warships on permanent patrol of the region would have cost more than to subsidize strong arm dictators. Discovery of oil in the region brought a return on the investment, as these regimes gave the VOC most favored trade status.

The largest intervention in the post-war years came in the Aegean Sea. VOC Oil has operated oil fields in Armenia and Kurdistan for years. Turkey, with delusions of grandeur concerning restoring the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the Balkan Wars, destabilized the region. Mines in the Aegean, and closing off the Black Sea to trade were a severe threat to the VOC. Instead of siting back an waiting, the Company backed Greece. With discounts on equipment and even old VOC frigates, the Greeks managed to secure the Asian shores of the Aegean. With the Bosporus securely in the hands of the Greeks, oil shipments from the Middle East could continue unharmed.