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| Home » History of Modern India » East India Company |
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East India Company History |
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The East India Company history traces back in the year 1600. It was during this year Queen Elizabeth I gave the permission to English Royal Charter to initiate trade with India. The Royal Charter then gave the newly formed East India Company permission to carry on trade in India for 21 years. The Company was previously known as Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies.
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The East India Company is formed by a group of merchants. East India Company history allows us to know about its effect on India and how British colonialism in India started. So it can be easily said that the company made a very humble start. Before the British, the Spanish and The Portuguese had monopoly of trade in East Indies. But with the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1558 the British and the Dutches got the scope to involve themselves in this profitable business.
East India Company history lets us know that it was at first based in London. The first ship of East India Company arrived in the year 1608. it reached the port of Surat. Sir Thomas Roe then in the year 1615 went to the court of the Mughal Emperor as a representative of King James I. The Mughal Emperor gave him permission to establish a factory at Surat. Thus trade started and within a few years they saw a massive expansion in trade in India. The East India Company then establishes several trading ports in various parts of India specially in the east and west coast of India. Many Britishers started to settle around the three presidential towns - Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. English communities started to developed in and around these cities.
The East India company got a notable success when the company received a royal dictat or firman from the the Mughal Emperor who were then ruling India. They received the royal dictat in the year 1771. The royal dictat exempted them from paying taxes and duties for their trade in India.
From then on the company saw enormous rise in their fortune. Slowly they transformed themselves into rulers from traders or merchants. One of the military officials of the British empire named Robert Clive defeated Siraj-ud-daulah. He was then the Nawab of Bengal. Robert clive defeated him the Battle of Plassey which took place in the year 1757. But the initial years of the East India Company rule in Bengal devastated the state completely. The state which was once very rich became poverty ridden.
Few years later the company was granted permission by the Mughal Emperor to collect taxes and revenues on their behalf. Warren Hastings became the first Governor General of India. He remained in India till the year 1784. Lord Corwallis became the next Governor General of India. He introduced the concept of Permanent Settlement in India. For the next fifty years the British Government tried to eliminate all the possible revolts that was raised by the people pf India. But ultimately in the year 1857 Sepoy Mutiny broke out. This ultimately in the year 1858, the East India Company was dissolved.
For further information on History of Modern India refer to our website www.india-history.com.
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