Which of the following statements best explains 'Interlopers'?

• A. It was a term used in the East India Company barracks to describe the Englishmen who kept mistresses.
• B. The dismissed employees of the East India Company.
• C. The Free Merchants, who traded independently in Asia despite the monopoly of the East India Company
• D. The middlemen engaged by the East India Company to negotiate with the merchants and traders in India