EAST INDIA COMPANY ,FORMED 1600,DECEMBER 31

EAST INDIA COMPANY ,FORMED 1600,DECEMBER 31

Thomas Stephens (Jesuit)
Early years and studies

The son of a merchant, Stephens was born in Bushton, Wiltshire, England, and studied at Oxford before becoming a Catholic. He went to Rome where he entered the Society of Jesus in 1575. He did some philosophical studies at the Collegio Romano before departing for Lisbon, en route for Goa which he reached on 24 October 1579, probably the first Englishman to set foot on Indian soil.[1] This is, however, disputed by G. Schurhammer and others.[2] After a few months of theological studies he was ordained priest in 1580. He learned to read and write in Konkani and Marathi.

Before the end of the century he was already known in England thanks to a letter written to his father, and published in the 2nd volume of Richard Hakluyt's Principal Navigations (in 1599) in which he gives a description of Portuguese India and its languages.stirred great interest  about india .

JAMES  LANCASTER

On 10 April 1591 Lancaster started from Torbay in Devon, with George Raymond and Samuel Foxcroft, on his major voyage to the East Indies; this fleet of three ships (Penelope, Marchant Royal and Edward Bonaventure[1]) was the earliest of the English overseas Indian expeditions. They reached Table Bay on 1 August 1591.[2]

Losing one ship off Cape Correntes on 12 September, the squadron rested and refitted at Zanzibar (February 1592), rounded Cape Comorin the following May, and reached the Malay Peninsula having arrived at Penang in June. Here Lancaster remained on the island until September of the same year and pillaged every vessel he encountered.

After a later crossing to Ceylon, the crews insisted on returning home. The return voyage was disastrous with only twenty-five officers and men surviving to reach England in May 1594. Lancaster himself reached Rye on 24 May 1594. In 1601 Captain Admiral James Lancaster unintentionally performed an experimental study of lemon juice as a preventive for scurvy






Formation

P.[16][17] Two days later, "the Adventurers" reconvened and resolved to apply to the Queen for support of the project

.[17] Although their first attempt had not been completely successful, they nonetheless sought the Queen's unofficial approval to continue.

They bought ships for their venture and increased their capital to £68,373.The company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600. 

Jahangir investing a courtier with a robe of honour, watched by Sir Thomas Roe, English ambassador to the court of Jahangir at Agra from 1615 to 1618, and others
English traders frequently engaged in hostilities with their Dutch and Portuguese counterparts in the Indian Ocean. The company achieved a major victory over the Portuguese in the Battle of Swally in 1612, at Suvali in Surat. The company decided to explore the feasibility of gaining a territorial foothold in mainland India, with official sanction from both Britain and the Mughal Empire, and requested that the Crown launch a diplomatic mission.[26]

In 1612, James I instructed Sir Thomas Roe to visit the Mughal Emperor Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir (r. 1605–1627) to arrange for a commercial treaty that would give the company exclusive rights to reside and establish factories in Surat and other areas. In return, the company offered to provide the Emperor with goods and rarities from the European market. This mission was highly successful, and Jahangir sent a letter to James through Sir Thomas Roe:[26]

Upon which assurance of your royal love I have given my general command to all the kingdoms and ports of my dominions to receive all the merchants of the English nation as the subjects of my friend; that in what place soever they choose to live, they may have free liberty without any restraint; and at what port soever they shall arrive, that neither Portugal nor any other shall dare to molest their quiet; and in what city soever they shall have residence, I have commanded all my governors and captains to give them freedom answerable to their own desires; to sell, buy, and to transport into their country at their pleasure. For confirmation of our love and friendship, I desire your Majesty to command your merchants to bring in their ships of all sorts of rarities and rich goods fit for my palace; and that you be pleased to send me your royal letters by every opportunity, that I may rejoice in your health and prosperous affairs; that our friendship may be interchanged and eternal.


— Nuruddin Salim Jahangir, Letter to James I.