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The British East India Company was established in 1600 as a joint-stock company. The Company released a charter in 1600, which allowed ownership of English trade with eastern countries like South Africa (Cape of Good Hope) and also in the west south straits of Magellan. Their venture into India was as traders, but they eventually found it more profitable to rule India. They held dominance and power in India until 1900. In the first 50 years of the 18th century, their only intention was to trade in India and profit. This changed when a new generation of British traders took over the guards in 1650 and wanted to gain political power to get a free hand of trade in India and keep rival Europeans out. 

We look into the Stages of Territorial Expansion of the British in India in this article. 

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East India Company History

  • 1608 – William Hawkins set up his factories after getting royal permission. He came to Jahangir’s court to cover sponsorship
  • 1611 – Captain Middleton got authorisation from the Surat Mughal governor
  • 1612 – Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese; he conquered the sea of Surat in the Battle of Swally
  • 1613 – Thomas Aldworth started a factory at Surat after getting permission from Jahangir
  • 1632 – After receiving the Golden Farman from the Sultan of Golconda, the Company laid the ground for profitable trade of the East India Company
  • 1639 – The East India Company built Fort St George in Madras city after taking it on a lease from the local king. This fort was built to protect their trade
  • 1662 – Charles II got Bombay as a gift after marrying the Portuguese princess Katherine
  • 1668 – Charles II was receiving 10 pounds per year after giving Bombay to the East India Company. The Company headquarters was repositioned from Surat to Bombay after this incident
  • 1690 – The East India Company bought three villages – Gobindapur, Kolkata and Sutanuti to construct factories. Fort William was also constructed for fortifying defence
  • 1717 – The Mughal Empire Farrukhsiyar issued a Farman (a trade licence) granting the British East India Company permission to live and trade in the Mughal Empire

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East India Company rule in India

  • In 1717, Mughal Empire Farrukhsiyar issued a letter to Farman about the Magna Carta
  • Farrukhsiyar gave these rights to the East Indian Company after the Scottish surgeon William Hamilton successfully treated him for fistula. The Company provided passes for the shipping of goods, which many Company officials embezzled

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The Anglo-French Struggle For Supremacy

War

Causes

Effect

FIRST CARNATIC WAR (1740 – 1748)

● The Anglo-French war took more time in Europe. This time period was more favourable to the Austrian war

● The English navy seized all the French ships, and the French retaliated. It was the beginning of the First Carnatic War

● The Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle concluded this war

● The French got the territories of North America, and the British got Madras

SECOND CARNATIC WAR (1749 – 1754)

● The Governor-General of French India, Joseph Dupleix, interfered with all the local politics related to the English in South India to defeat them

● The death of Nizam -Ul-Mulk, the ruler of Hyderabad, and the release of Chanda Sahib by the Marathas became the two golden opportunities for Dupleix

● The French supported Muzaffar Jang for the throne of Hyderabad

● They also supported Chanda Sahib for the throne of Carnatic

● The British supported Nasir Jang for the throne of Hyderabad

● And the British Supported Anwar-ud-Din for the throne of Carnatic

● The French company criticised Dupleix for heavy losses in the company

● Dupleix was recalled back to Paris, He was replaced by Charles-Robert Godeheu who signed the Treaty of Pondicherry

● As per the treaty, the English and French had no right to involve themselves in political and subcontinental affairs

● They could only be engaged in trading activity

THIRD CARNATIC WAR (1756 – 1763)

●In The Seven Years’ War, the British and French fought once. Austria conquered Silesia in 1756.  The Seven Years’ War ran from 1756 to 1763 

● The British won the Third Carnatic War in 1760 in Vandavasi in Tamilnadu

● The French influence in politics disappeared after the third war. The French restored their factories in India following the treaty of Peace of Paris

Conclusion

India became the focal point of British trade between the later half of the 17th and mid-18th centuries. The East India Company was given a monopoly of all English trade to Asia by a royal grant at its inception in 1600. The trade of cotton textile was paramount in India for the East India Company. The Company set its main settlements in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, where the cotton textile was most readily available for export. Hence, these areas grew from just factories to major commercial towns, with Indian merchants and artisans setting up their bases in these areas to do business with the East India Company.