The English East India Company (EIC) was established by Royal Charter on 31 December 1600 under Queen Elizabeth I (reign 1558–1603), granting it a monopoly on English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. Initially conceived as a commercial enterprise, the Company focused on high-value Asian goods, such as spices, textiles, tea, and later opium, traded across India, Southeast Asia, and China. By the early 17th century, the EIC had established a growing network of coastal trading posts (“factories”), embedding itself within existing Indian Ocean trade systems while competing with Portuguese and Dutch rivals. Its success reflected broader early modern trends: maritime expansion, mercantilism, and the integration of distant markets into a global economy.
Over the 18th century, the Company evolved from a trading corporation into a powerful territorial and military force. By c. 1700, it was conducting dozens of annual voyages to Asia and maintaining its own shipyards, merchant fleet, and thousands of sailors. Following its military victories in India, especially after Plassey (1757), the EIC increasingly exercised political authority, culminating in a private army of roughly 260,000 men by 1803, larger than that of many European states. By c. 1800, the Company accounted for nearly half of Britain’s global trade, illustrating how commercial capitalism, state support, and military power could merge into a single imperial system.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2025, December 20). Map of the East India Company Trade, c.1800. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16446/map-of-the-east-india-company-trade-c1800/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the East India Company Trade, c.1800." World History Encyclopedia, December 20, 2025. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16446/map-of-the-east-india-company-trade-c1800/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the East India Company Trade, c.1800." World History Encyclopedia, 20 Dec 2025, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16446/map-of-the-east-india-company-trade-c1800/.
