Before the East India Company established trade in India, John Mildenhall, an English merchant came to India via land route to trade with Indian merchants in 1599. “The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies” was formed through the Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I on 31st December 1600.
It had a joint stock structure, independent fleets, and a court of directors (24 in number) annually elected by shareholders with profit-making as the main motive. The immediate aim of the company was the acquisition of spices and pepper the Eastern Archipelago.
Therefore, the first two voyages of the company. between 1601-1606 AD were made not to India, but to Achin (in) Sumatara), Bantam (in Java), and Malacca.
Finally, with the third voyage in 1608 AD, the English initiated the process of the company’s trade with India. Captain William Hawkins, who had experience in such ventures and could speak Turkish, was approached to meet Jahangir with a letter from King James I.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA
The beginning of the English in India not very promising on account of Portuguese rivalry. Captain William Hawkins journeyed from Surat to Mughal Court (1608) but failed to get permission to build a factory at Surat.
In 1611, Captain Middleton landed at Swally, near Surat, in spite of Portuguese opposition, and got permission from the Mughal Governor to trade at the place. In 1615, a British mission under Sir Thomas Roe succeeded in obtaining firmans from the Mughal emperor Jahangir confirming free trade without liability to pay inland tolls. Thus there was the beginning of diplomatic relations between India and Britain, as Mughal was a pan-Indian Empire.
The victory of Captain Best in Surat broke the tradition of Portuguese naval supremacy and an English factory was permanently established at Surat.
From this place, the English extended their trading operations inland and soon built subordinate factories at Ahmedabad, Burhanpur, Ajmer, and Agra.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE WESTERN COAST
- Surat
This was one of the main centers of maritime trade. Caravans started from it for all the inland parts of India. Indeed, it was from Surat, that the English extended their inland trading operations and by 1616, built subordinate factories at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bharuch, and Agra. By 1630 AD, the trade of Surat had grown to such dimensions, that the directors constituted it into the headquarters of the Company on the West coast. It was finally replaced by Bombay as the headquarter of the company on the West Coast in 1687 AD.
- Bombay
In 1661 AD, the Portuguese gave Bombay as a part of a dowry to their princess, Catherine of Braganza, on her marriage with Charles II.
The Company acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease at an annual rent of ten pounds in 1668 AD. The English secured Bombay at the moment when Surat very crucial was being repeatedly attacked by the Marathas.
The third Governor of Bombay Gerald Aungier (1669 to 1677 AD), resolved to make Bombay completely safe for shipping and trade, free from danger on the landside from the Marathas and on the sea-side from the Portuguese and the pirates of the coast.
However, under the successors of Aungler, began the general decline of Bombay which continued till the close of the first quarter of the 18th century. The peaceful and orderly Government of Aungier was in striking contrast with the terror, which prevailed under Sir John Child.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE EASTERN COAST
The English were permitted to trade in Masulipatnam in 1611 AD. In 1630 AD, they secured the golden Farman from the Sultan of Golconda (1632 AD), which ensured the safety and prosperity of their trade. Masulipatnam was the main seaport of Golconda and largely traded in diamonds, rubies, and textiles of that region.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN BENGAL
In England, there was a growing demand for Bengali goods, especially for silk and saltpeter. The trade of the Bengal factories consequently increased. In 1633 AD, the Mughal Governor of Orissa gave the English merchants permission to establish factories at Hariharapur (near the mouth of Mahanadi), Balasore, and Pipli.
The English also succeeded to establish their factory at Hoogli in 1651 AD, followed by those at Patna, Dacca, and Kasimbazar. Farman for trade in Bengal was issued by Aurangzeb in 1667 AD. Five years later, in 1672 AD, the Mughal Governor Shaista Khan issued an order confirming all the privileges already acquired by the English. In 1700 AD, the directors constituted Bengal as a separate presidency, independent of Madras, and nominated Sir Charles Eyre as its first President.
The period from 1708 AD up to the middle of the 18th century, saw the expansion of the company’s trade and influence in India. In the subsequent years, the English East India Company began to extend its territorial claims. It defeated the Dutch (The Battle of Bedara, 1759) and the French (The Battle of Wandiwash, 1760) and by the end of the 18th century, it succeeded in establishing its paramountcy.
The most important event in the history of the company during these years was the diplomatic mission led by John Surman in 1717 AD to the court of the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, resulting in the grant of three famous farms addressed to the officials in Bengal, Hyderabad, and Gujarat. The farmers gave the company many valuable privileges.
In Bengal, it exempted the company’s imports and exports from additional customs duties, except the annual payment of 3000 as fixed earlier. The company was allowed to rent additional lands around Calcutta.
At Surat, the company was exempted from the levy of all the duties for its exports and imports in lieu of an annual payment of 10000 and the coins of the company minted at Bombay were to serve as the throughout the Mughal empire.
EARLY FACTORIES OF THE COMPANY IN INDIA
- MADRAS (FORT ST GEORGE)
In 1639 AD, Francis Day obtained the site of Madras from the Raja of Chandragiri with permission to build a fortified factory, which was named Fort St George. It was only with the foundation of Madras by the English in 1639, their arrival at Hoogli in 1650 AD, and their establishment of the factory in North Orissa, that the position of the English on the East coast became strong and permanent. Madras soon replaced Masulipatnam the headquarters of the English on the Coromandel coast.
In 1641 AD, all the English settlements in Eastern India (Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa) and the Coromandel were placed under the control of the President and the Council of Fort St George.
- BOMBAY (FORT ST DAVID)
It was situated on the river Gadilam near the town of Cuddalore, a hundred miles South of Madras on the Coromandel coast. It was purchased from Shivaji’s Son Rajaram Chatrapati in 1690. In the later phase, it became an important hold of the company for ruling South India.
- BENGAL (FORT WILLIAM)
In 1696 AD. a serious rebellion -f n e e Le or occurred in Bengal under an Afghani named Rahim Khan, who plundered the whole country along the Hoogli. Alarmed by rebellion and the inability of the Mughal Viceroy to calm it, the English at Calcutta as well as the Dutch at Chinsura asked permission to fortify their factories and to raise troops.
The Viceroy ordered them, in general terms, to defend themselves; so the English began to build walls and bastions around their factory in 1697 AD. This marked the origin of Fort William, named after King William III.
Next year, they got permission to rent, besides Calcutta, the villages of Sutanuti and Govindpur. The security of Calcutta, which began with the building of the fort, was completely assured.