History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

In the 17th century, the world’s great powers looked beyond the horizon and saw opportunity. Vast oceans connected continents, fortunes could be made from spices, silk, tea, and silver, and entire regions of the globe lay beyond the practical reach of sovereign authority.

Today, we look upward rather than outward.

The oceans have been replaced by space.
The caravels have become reusable rockets.
And the East India Company may have found its modern counterpart in SpaceX.

At first glance the comparison seems absurd. The East India Company ruled territories, minted currency, signed treaties, and commanded armies. SpaceX builds rockets and launches satellites.

Yet both emerged from remarkably similar conditions. They were born at the edge of governance. They entered domains where the law existed mostly in theory. And they accumulated power because governments needed them more than they could control them.

The World’s Last Unclaimed Frontier

For much of human history, power flowed from land. Kings controlled territory. Empires controlled trade routes. Navies projected force.

Then came the age of exploration.

The oceans became a vast zone where sovereignty was difficult to enforce. Chartered companies filled the gap. Backed by governments but operating with extraordinary freedom, they became hybrid institutions — part corporation, part instrument of state.

The British East India Company became so powerful that Edmund Burke famously described it as “a state in the guise of a merchant.”

Four centuries later, outer space occupies a similar position.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty declares that space belongs to all mankind and cannot be claimed by any nation. Noble words. But treaties are only as powerful as the ability to enforce them. Thousands of miles above Earth, practical enforcement is limited. And where enforcement is weak, pioneers write the rules.

The New Merchant Princes

The East India Company did not become powerful because it was granted power. It became powerful because it solved problems nobody else could solve. It built ships. It financed voyages. It created infrastructure. It accepted risks governments could not.

SpaceX has done something remarkably similar. For decades, governments dreamed of making space affordable. SpaceX actually did it.

By perfecting reusable rockets, the company transformed launch economics. By building Starlink, it created its own demand engine and communication network. By becoming indispensable to both civilian and military operations, it positioned itself at the center of a growing space economy.

Like the chartered companies before it, SpaceX became powerful because it was useful. Very useful.

Beyond Sovereign Reach

Perhaps the most fascinating parallel is not technological but political.

The East India Company often operated weeks or months away from London. Decisions had to be made before instructions could arrive. Reality on the frontier frequently overruled policy at home.

Space presents a similar challenge.

When Elon Musk declined to activate Starlink for certain military operations during the Ukraine conflict, a private citizen exercised influence that traditionally belonged to governments. Love him or hate him, that moment revealed something important: control of critical infrastructure creates political power. And political power tends to accumulate wherever governments become dependent on private actors.

That was true in the Indian Ocean. It may become true on the Moon.

The Counterbalance

There is another dimension to this story.

Historically, frontiers often served as a counterweight to established power. The New World challenged European monarchies. The seas challenged continental empires. The American frontier challenged old social hierarchies. The internet challenged traditional media and governments.

Now space challenges the power structures of Earth itself.

That is not necessarily good. Nor is it necessarily bad. But it is significant.

The existence of a frontier creates alternatives. Alternatives create competition. Competition reshapes power. For centuries, humanity has advanced because someone was willing to sail beyond the map.

The Question We Face

The East India Company eventually became too powerful. The solution arrived only after crises, conflict, and enormous cost. History suggests that governments rarely reclaim frontier power easily once it becomes entrenched.

Which raises an uncomfortable question: as humanity expands into space, who will write the rules? Governments? International institutions? Private corporations? Some combination of all three?

The answer matters because the first organizations to establish themselves on a frontier often shape that frontier for generations.

The East India Company helped define the modern world. SpaceX may help define the next one.

The comparison is imperfect. History always is.

But when a private enterprise becomes indispensable beyond the reach of effective sovereign control, history offers a useful warning:

The frontier belongs first to those who arrive.
The rules belong first to those who build.
And the rest of us spend generations living with the consequences.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is SpaceX similar to the East India Company?
Both are private enterprises that entered domains beyond effective government control — the high seas and outer space, respectively — and accumulated power by becoming indispensable to the governments that nominally oversaw them. Each solved problems no sovereign could solve alone, and each reshaped geopolitics as a result.

Does the Outer Space Treaty prevent companies like SpaceX from claiming territory in space?
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits nations from claiming sovereignty over celestial bodies, but its application to private corporations is less clear. More importantly, enforcement in deep space is practically limited — much like maritime law in the 17th century. The company that builds the infrastructure tends to set the terms.

What lessons does the East India Company offer for regulating space companies?
The East India Company’s story suggests that governments rarely reclaim frontier power easily once it becomes entrenched. Early and clear regulatory frameworks — before private actors become too embedded — are far more effective than attempts to rein in power after the fact. The same lesson applies to AI, the internet, and now space.

About the Author

Miles Spencer is an entrepreneur, author, and artist based in Greenwich, CT. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Reflekta.ai, the premier platform for intergenerational storytelling and legacy — helping families capture the stories that matter most before they are lost. He is also the author of A Line in the Sand and Havana Famiglia. His writing explores the intersection of history, power, technology, and human ambition.