English Trading Post at Banten

Timeline

1. 1610–1614Port of Banten · JavaThe English East India Company established a factory at Banten from 1603, and the post continued operating in the 1610s, exchanging silver coins, Indian cotton cloth, and European goods for pepper from Java and Sumatra. The company's chief factor at Banten oversaw purchasing, warehousing, and fleet dispatch, maintaining close cooperation with the Banten sultan's court and Chinese maritime merchant networks.
2. 1615–1617Banten · JavaThe VOC established a post at Jakarta (predecessor of Batavia) near Banten, directly competing with the English trading post. Both sides waged commercial warfare by lowering or raising pepper purchase prices, courting the sultan's support, and restricting each other's ships, making the port of Banten a frontline of the Anglo-Dutch East India Company rivalry.
3. 1618–1619Banten · JavaIn 1619 the VOC captured Jakarta and established Batavia, but the English Banten post continued to operate. English pepper trade at Banten in the 1610s accumulated significant profits and regional experience for the EIC, also prompting Britain's subsequent expansion to ports beyond Banten and to India, as global competition with the Dutch continued to escalate.