EAST INDIA CO.


Meaning of EAST INDIA CO. in English

or English East India Co.

English chartered company formed for trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated in 1600.

It began as a monopolistic trading body, establishing early trading stations at Surat, Madras (now Chennai ), Bombay ( Mumbai ), and Calcutta ( Kolkata ). Trade in spices was its original focus; this broadened to include cotton, silk, and other goods. In 1708 it merged with a rival and was renamed the United Co. of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies. Becoming involved in politics, it acted as the chief agent of British imperialism in India in the 18th–19th century, exercising substantial power over much of the subcontinent. The company's activities in China in the 19th century served as a catalyst for the expansion of British influence there; its financing of the tea trade with illegal opium exports led to the first East India Co. , French East India Co.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.