English East India Company (17th century) (English East India Company, late 17c)

Timeline

1. 1600London, England · LondonOn December 31, 1600, Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal charter granting the 'Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies' a fifteen-year monopoly on all trade east of the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Magellan; the company initially focused on pepper and spice trade, and its first expedition departed for Malacca in 1601.
2. 1668–1690Bombay, west coast of India · BombayIn 1668 Charles II transferred the island of Bombay to the EIC for an annual rent of £10, and the company promptly developed it as a strategic port in the Indian Ocean; in the 1670s the company was authorized to mint coins, maintain an army, and administer civil affairs, while its factories at Surat, Madras, and Bengal also expanded, marking the EIC's historic transformation from a pure trading company into a quasi-state institution.
3. 1693–1709London, England · LondonPolitical controversy over the EIC's monopoly at the end of the 17th century prompted Parliament to chartered a rival new East India Company in 1698; the two companies competed until they merged in 1709 as the 'United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies,' establishing a unified British monopoly framework for trade with India in the 18th century.