East India Company Trading company that built the British empire in India and Southeast Asia; also known as the British East India Company. When it was first granted a monopoly charter by Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, it was known as the Governor and the Company of Merchants of London, Trading into the East Indies. It later became the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies after merging with a younger rival in 1702. It was also known as the ‘Honourable East India Company’ or, simply, ‘John Company’.

The maiden voyage of the company in 1601 was successful, with the fleet returning safely in 1603 laden with peppercorns after freebooting and trading through India, Aceh and Java. It established a trading post at Bantam, Java, which operated until 1683, when the Dutch persuaded the local ruler to evict the company. The outpost was moved to Bencoolen (Fort Marlborough), Sumatra, where it became a collecting centre for pepper.

However, it was in India that the company’s future really lay: Indian cotton cloth, along with pepper, became an important trade item in both Southeast Asia and Europe. The company’s first foothold was in Madras in 1640, followed by Bombay in 1668 and Calcutta in 1690. With the decline of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, the company was able to expand significantly, pushing out the French, and eventually ruling the whole subcontinent.

At the end of the 17th century, the company had a presence in Bencoolen and Penang. Sir Stamford Raffles was an agent of the company, and in 1818 was made lieutenant- governor of Bencoolen. In 1819, Raffles sailed to Singapore and signed an agreement with Temenggong Abdul Rahman to set up a trading post. In 1824, the temenggong and the sultan ceded all of Singapore to the East India Company, and its heirs, in perpetuity.

Singapore would continue to be held by the company, until it was dissolved in 1858. Thereafter, Singapore was administered by the British government’s India Office, though out of Calcutta.

Photo credit: National Museum of Singapore