India becomes an English Colony In the year 1600, the English East India Company was founded, with a monopoly on all of the English trade with Asia, and the English began their first inroads into the Indian Ocean. At first, the English East India Company had very little interest in India herself, but rather, like the Dutch, with the Spice Islands. However, being unable to dislodge the Dutch from the Spice Islands, the English turned instead to India. In 1610, the East India Company established a trading post at Surat. This small outpost marked the beginning of a remarkable presence that would last 337 years until 1947, and would eventually dominate the entire Indian subcontinent. Subsequently in the period 1633-1700, several English trading posts were established at Ahmedabad, Broachm, Agra, the delta of Hariharpur, Bengal, Hugli, Madras, Bombay, Orissa, and Calcutta. By the end of the 17th century, the English East India Company became well established in India. In addition to the Indian spices, tea, sugar and opium, cotton cloth woven by Indian weavers was being imported into England in huge quantities to supply a worldwide demand for cheap, washable, lightweight fabrics for dresses and furnishings. The East India Company’s main settlements in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta were established where cotton textiles for export were most readily available. These settlements had evolved from trading posts into major commercial towns under English jurisdiction as Indian merchants and artisans moved in to do business with the East India Company and with the English inhabitants who lived there.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 20:36:11 +0000
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