The risks involved in that were well understood. The Count of Monte Cristo is set a little late, but it's got a good treatment of the phenomenon.
Here's an interesting passage from Power and Plenty:
> in 1594 a "Company of Far Lands" was organized by a group of Amsterdam merchants, and a fleet of four ships sent to the eastern seas, returning in 1597 with the loss of one ship and many lives but with enough pepper for the voyage to be regarded as a success. With this encouragement, two fleets with a total of twenty-two ships left in 1598, one of which, commanded by Jacob van Neck, returned with eight ships and sufficient spices to turn a profit of 400%, causing the bells of Amsterdam to peal with joy.
Today, sending out 26 ships and getting 11 of them back might not be a cause for celebration in the city that sent them out. This is the industry that gave rise to modern insurance companies.
Here's an interesting passage from Power and Plenty:
> in 1594 a "Company of Far Lands" was organized by a group of Amsterdam merchants, and a fleet of four ships sent to the eastern seas, returning in 1597 with the loss of one ship and many lives but with enough pepper for the voyage to be regarded as a success. With this encouragement, two fleets with a total of twenty-two ships left in 1598, one of which, commanded by Jacob van Neck, returned with eight ships and sufficient spices to turn a profit of 400%, causing the bells of Amsterdam to peal with joy.
Today, sending out 26 ships and getting 11 of them back might not be a cause for celebration in the city that sent them out. This is the industry that gave rise to modern insurance companies.