Founding of the East India Company 1600

On 31st December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I, signed a Royal Charter for the founding of the East India Company

    • Originally, ‘The Company Of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies’.
    • The company was given monopoly privileges on all trade with the East Indies.
    • The first ships set out for the Banda Islands in 1601 and began trading in opium, spices, oils, gems and carpets.

The first ships arrived in Surat in 1608.

The history of the East India Company is pivotal to the development of colonialism and the British Empire

Intriguing Connections

    1. An excellent resource to find out the history of the East India Company is the India Office Records at the British Library.

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