Page 35 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

CHAPTER II
How Lancaster initiated the Eastern
Trade
Formation of the East India Company—Elizabeth grants a charter
—Sir Edmund Micliclbornc and Lancaster rivals for the com­
mand of the Company’s first expedition—The latter appointed—
John Davis of Sundridge proceeds with the fleet—Arrival of
the expedition at Achccn—Favourable reception by the King—
Portuguese opposition—Successful raid on Portuguese shipping
by Lancaster—Farewell interview with the King—The fleet
visits Bantam and returns home—Successful results of the
voyage
T is fair to surmise that when the plain London citizens
who were the principal moving spirits in the formation
of the East India Company sat down to draw up a scheme
for their organization they had only a dim perception of
the character of the enterprise upon which they were
embarked. Their last thought probably was political
aggrandisement and territorial sovereignty. Their calcu­
lations were in terms of the ledger and their ambitions
took shape in the phrases of the letter book. To buy in
the cheapest market and sell in the dearest was their guid­
ing principle. Yet that is not to say that no higher motive
than a sordid love of gain mingled in the alloy of their
project. The Elizabethan spirit of ardent patriotism,
expressed largely in a hatred of Spain and Portugal as the
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