East India Company in India

In 1600, the British East India Company was set up to engage in trade with India. They were granted a charter by the British Government. This charter gave them the right to be the sole British trading company in India. For the next 150 years, the company concentrated solely on increasing its profits through trade as much as possible. However, they still had to compete with the other European trading companies who were trying to increase their presence as much as possible since India was a valuable market.

East India Company

East India Company

To win more and more power the companies would compete to acquire special privileges from the ruling kings. As the Mughal empire began to crumble this meant that they had to build relations with many minor kings and it also meant that many previous concessions had to be renegotiated.

The conflicts exploded in the province of Bengal when the Nawab of Bengal refused to honor the commitments made by the previous Mughal emperor as he felt it was against the interests of his citizens. This led to the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and more importantly the Battle of Buxar in 1764. When the East India Company won the Battle of Buxar it secured the right to collect revenue from Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Being granted the ‘Diwani’ as it was known was a big step and led to many changes within the company and in the nature of its relationship with the British government.

From 1765 the company had the right to raise revenue in the most prosperous parts of India yet it had no responsibilities. This created a situation where employees of the company were enriching themselves at the expense of the company. There was widespread corruption among the employees. They began to oppress the peasants to maximize the revenue they could raise while keeping the lion’s share for themselves instead of enriching the company. This forced the British government to take action. 

The original charter the British government gave to the East India Company was extended every twenty years. In the later years, the British government took to making changes each time it extended the company’s charter based on the rapidly evolving situation.

East India Company History Timeline

Timeline	Description
1608	Establishment of the factory by William Hawkins with royal approval and arrived at Jahangir Court to discuss sponsorship.
1611	The mughal ruler of Surat granted permission to Captain Middleton
1612	Captain Thomas Best overcame the Portuguese in the Battle of Swally and took control of the Sea of Surat.
1613	After Jahangir’s approval, Aldworth began a plant in Surat.
1632	East India Company set the stage for trading after receiving Golden Farman from the Sultan of Golconda.
1639	East India Company built Fort St. George in Madras, after leasing from the local king.
1662	Following the wedding with Katherine, a Portuguese princess, Charles II receives Bombay as a form gift.
1668	After giving away Bombay to East India Company, Charles II started getting 10 pounds annually and the Company headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay.
1690	East India Company build factories for the purchase of villages from Gobindapur, Kolkata, and Sutanuti, and Fort Williams was built as a defensive fortification.
1717	British East India Company received permission from Mughal emperor Farrukshiyar for residing and also conducting business through the issue of Farman.

Regulating Act of 1773

• Regulating Act of 1773 was passed after the East India Company had won many new privileges. It allowed the company to keep the territory it had acquired in India but in view of the increasing corruption found in the company, it attempted to start regulating how the company was functioning.
• For the first time, the British cabinet was given the right to exercise control over affairs in India. For this purpose, the post of the Governor-General was introduced. He was to oversee the administration of Bengal with a four-member committee, prior to this, there was a single governor for the region. 
• The governor of Bombay and Madras was also to report to the newly appointed governor-general. The first governor-general of India was Warren Hastings.
• Under Regulating Act of 1773, a supreme court was also set up consisting of a chief justice and three other judges. However, the court had no jurisdiction over the servants of the government or the company in their professional capacity. They could not be judged for any activities undertaken while discharging their work.

Pitt’s India Act of 1784

• Pitt’s India Act of 1784 introduced the ‘dual system‘ of control. This meant that the company was allowed to keep its control over commercial activities and administration, but it now became a department of the British state and the territory it controlled was henceforth known as ‘British possessions’.
• The council of the governor-general now had only 3 members including a commander-in-chief, in the Pitt’s India Act of 1784.
• A board of control was set up to overlook the company’s civil, administrative, and military affairs. This board consisted of a secretary of state, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and four members of the Privy Council. 

Charter Act of 1793

• The powers of the Governor-General, which had been expanded under Lord Cornwallis in 1786 were made a part of the Act.
• All senior officials were now to be appointed with royal permission. No such officer was allowed to leave India without prior permission, to do so would be considered a resignation.
•  The salaries of the members of the board of council and their staff were to be paid out of the revenues of the company being raised in India.
•  It was also decided that the company would pay a sum of five lakh pounds every year to the British government.
• It also allowed the company’s trade monopoly for the next 20 years in India.

Charter Act of 1813

• This act led to major changes for the East India Company; one could say it affected its basic nature. 
• Under this act, the company’s rule was again extended to the next 20 years, but the company lost its commercial monopoly in India.
• Its monopoly on the trade in tea, opium, and trade with China however continued. 
• Its granted permission to the missionaries to come to India and allow them to engage in religious proselytization.
• The state set aside a sum of Rs. 1 lakh money to help in the education of the Indian subjects.

Charter Act of 1833

• This act extended the lease of the company regarding its revenue collection and control over territories but the company’s monopoly over trade in Tea and trade with China was ended. 
• It gave the Board of Control full authority over the Company and further extended the powers of the governor-general.
• The post of Governor-General of Bengal was converted into “Governor-General of India“. He was given the authority to superintend, control, and direct all civil and military affairs of the Company.
• All revenues were raised under his name and he had complete control over the expenditure. All business was done in his name.
•  A law commission was established to consolidate and codify Indian Laws.
• A fourth ordinary Member was added to the Governor-General’s Council. He was to be a legal expert in the making of laws.
• This act gave permitted the English to settle freely in India. thus, it effectively legalized British colonization in India.

East India Company Expansion of Commerical Activities

A serious threat was posed by Dutch on British dominance in South East Asia and India and Dutch were expelled from Indonesia and the eastern archipelago because of the Amboyna catastrophe in the year 1623. In the year 1625-1626, the opening of a new factory branch of Masulipatnam at Armagaon and granted permission by the Sultan of Golconda to conduct business in 1632, and there was the construction of a factory in 1633 close to Hariharpur.

East India Company and Presidency of Madras

East India Company bought the Madraspatnam property from Raja of Chandragiri in the year 1939 and built Fort Saint George there it was the first establishment of their habitation in India and was promoted to the rank of presidency in 1653,

East India Company and Presidency of Bombay

Bombay was entrusted to East India Company in 1665 in exchange for 10 pounds yearly payment. Shivaji Marathas tried to attack one factory in Surat, but George Oxenden successfully defended it. Gerald Aungier established the first printing press in Mumbai and was later used as Bombay’s Presidency Office.

East India Company and Presidency of Bengal

Hoogly and Kasimbazar were shut down, forcing the corporate officers to leave, and received a second royal firman from the Mughals for trade in Bengal for another 4 years. Job Charnock had chosen Sutnati over Hoogly for the location of the reinforced factory and later Sutnati developed into the metropolis of Calcutta.

Conclusion

Thus, we can see that in less than seventy years, the relationship between the East India Company and the British state changed drastically; The company started off as a purely commercial venture but as its size and importance grew the British state became more involved in its regulation ultimately taking it over and absorbing its territories and powers. The company became reduced to a department under the British state; in a sense, one could say it became a victim of its own success. It did so well that it gradually lost its own identity. 

Read Also

1. Charter Act of 1853
2. Battle Of Plassey 1757
3. Battle of Buxar 1764
4. Revolt of 1857 – First War of Independence Against British
5. Round Table Conferences
6. Invasion Of European Trading Companies
7. Historical Events That Influenced Our Constitution
8. British Control Over The Bengal
9. Economic Policies of the British in India
10. Role of British Imperial Power 

FAQs on East India Company in India

Q 1. Does East India Company still exist?

Answer-

The East India Company does not exist now. It was founded in 1600 and went out of existence in 1873.

Q 2. What did East India Company do?

Answer-

East India Company was a British trading company and was created for commercial factories across Asia and India before capture ad rule over land. The EICs merged into British Empire holdings in 19th century.

Q 3. When did East India Company end for India?

Answer-

The Government of India Act of 1858, company was stripped of all it’s administrative authority and the crown came to assume control of its Indian possessions and also the armed forces.