Page 23 - Export Porcelain and Globakization- GOOD READ

Pic. 10: Coat of arms of the British East India Company

The “Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies” or short the
British East India Company (EIC) got its charter from Elizabeth I, Queen of England
in 1600 which makes it the oldest East India Company in a row of others such as the
already mentioned Dutch VOC (established in 1602), the French Compagnie française
pour le commerce des Indes orientales (1664), various Danish East India companies,
including the Asiatisk Kompagni (1730) and the Swedish Svenska Ostindiska
Companiet (SOIC in 1731). The royal charter granted the EIC the exclusivity of the
English and later the British trade with Asia, including India, South East Asia and East
Asia, even though the monopoly was debated a lot until a competing East Asia
company was established in 1698. In addition to the trade monopolies the EIC became,
during the 18th century, a sovereign ruler of Asian territories such as Bengal in India
with its capital Calcutta and Penang including a huge military force and the right of
taxation. The EIC was the main actor in one of the most crucial turning points in the
history of Eurasia – as is defined by the historian John Darwin in his book “After
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Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires” . Troops of the EIC defeated the
Indian ruler of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Calcutta and later the whole of
Bengal was captured by the EIC. This marked the beginning of British rule in India
which lasted for almost two centuries and which was part of the formation of a Global
Empire. Bengal – the major production area of cotton – was the wealthiest state of the
Indian Mughal Empire and soon became economically as important to the EIC. As we
will see later, the EIC possessions in India – three presidencies of Calcutta, Madras
and Bombay – also played their role as funders of the tea, silk and porcelain trade
with China.
However, the beginning of the EIC activities in Asia was not very successful.
During the 17th century it had to face the strong economic and military rivalry of the
powerful Dutch VOC. Three Anglo-Dutch wars between 1652 and 1674 were fought
and ended in favor of the Dutch States. The EIC therefore could hardly deliver the
spices from the Archipelago to its customers in Europe and was always number three
in maritime South East Asia after the Chinese junk traders and the VOC. However, in
India it became a powerful player not only in trade for cotton and black pepper but
also in the second half of the 18th century in the political arena of Bengal in North
East India. The VOC was able to secure the Eurasian spice trade from its capital
Batavia which was also easy to reach for Chinese junks shipping porcelain and silk.
Similar to the Portuguese and the Dutch the EIC also established small trade factories
and fortifications in Patani, Ayutthaya, Banten, Ambon, Makassar and Hirado, but
were not able to take control or monopolize the Eurasian trade for any of the
commodities. After the Anglo-Dutch wars the EIC – similar to the Portuguese – had to
withdraw from the East Asian region. The factory in Banten – the most important one
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