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East India Company, British (The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies)

Company Defunct 1600 CE – 1708 CE Capital London Middlesex United Kingdom

The East India Company (EIC), also known as the Honourable East India Company (HEIC) or the British East India Company and informally as John Company, is an English and later British joint-stock company, which is formed to pursue trade with the "East Indies" (or Maritime Southeast Asia in present-day terms) but ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and Qing China.

Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies", the company rises to account for half of the world's trade, particularly in basic commodities including cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpeter, tea and opium.

The company also rules the beginnings of the British Empire in India.

The company receives a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on December 31,1600, making it the oldest among several similarly formed European East India Companies.

Wealthy merchants and aristocrats own  the company's shares.

Initially the government owns no shares and has only indirect control.

During its first century of operation, the focus of the company is trade, not the building of an empire in India.

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Cite this entry

Moran, J. (n.d.). East India Company, British (The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies). History Atlas. Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://www.historyatlas.com/groups/east-india-company-british-the-company-of-merchants-of-london-trading-into-the-east-indies/

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