Essay on British East India Company - 1068 Words

British East India Company The East India Company began as a commercial enterprise established for the British to pursue trade with the East Indies, specifically the Indian subcontinent. Queen Elizabeth of England had issued a royal charter for this company which led to the substantial power that East India Company gained in India. The company James Lancaster’s voyage to the East Indies led to the founding of the East India Company (Halliday 106). The attraction to the Indies began in the fifteenth century during the spice trade. The first English expedition for pursuing trade in the Indies was unsuccessful due to Portuguese and Dutch control over the spice trade. James Lancaster was one of the few to return from the voyage. The†¦show more content†¦The voyagers settled in the town of Surat mainly because it was not under the control of the Portuguese. The first English ship to arrive there reached the port on August 24th, 1608 (Sears 44). â€Å"India became the focal point of the companyâ₠¬â„¢s trade† near the end of the seventeenth century. Due to its worldwide demand, woven cotton cloth from India was being imported in large quantities to Britain. Settlements in places such as Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta became big commercial towns controlled by the East India Company. Indian artisans and merchants would move into these towns to do business and trade. India provided the foreign traders with cloth, silk, raw sugar, and dye (Marshall, â€Å"The British Presence in India†). India was left divided because of religious difference in India. This occurred around the mid-eighteenth century during the rule of Mogul emperors. In the first half of the eighteenth century the British and French rivaled over established forts in India. Military genius Robert Clive ended French presence in India, later becoming the chief representative of the East India Company. His job was to fight any force â€Å"that threatened the East India Company’s power in India.â₠¬  While fighting the French, the Indian ruler of Bengal attacked a British fort in 1756. Two years later, Clive led a small army to the Battle of Plassey in Bengal. The British force won against a Mogul army that was more than ten timesShow MoreRelatedThe British East India Company1743 Words   |  7 PagesThe British East India Company first gained power in Bengal in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah surrendered his dominions to the Company. By 1773, when the Company settled their capital in Calcutta, they appointed their first Governor-General, Warren Hastings, and henceforth became directly involved in the governance of almost all of India.When it came to the education policies that the Company implemented in India, not every Governor-General had the sameRead MoreThe British East India Company2050 Words   |  9 PagesThe British East India Company was an English and later (from 1707) British joint-stock company formed for pursuing tr ade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent. The East India Company traded mainly in cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats. The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. 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The British East India Company began as a joint-stock corporation of traders and investors whichRead MoreThe British East India Company2062 Words   |  9 PagesThe British East India Company was an English and later (from 1707) British joint-stock company formed for pursuing trade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent. The East India Company traded mainly in cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats. The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. The Company eventually came to rule large areas of India with