Prelims · 2 Modern India · 2.1 Advent of the Europeans
2.1.3 English East India Company: early factories and farmans
The English Company began as a chartered trading body in 1600, built fortified factories in Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, and used a Mughal farman of 1717 to trade in Bengal almost free of duty.
- APPSC Group 2 · Prelims
- Standard level
- 5 min read
- Free
Core facts
- 31 December 1600: Queen Elizabeth I granted the company a charter, with a monopoly of English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope.
- William Hawkins came to Jahangir's court in 1608. Sir Thomas Roe, envoy of James I, came in 1615 and got permission for trade.
- Surat factory: 1613, after the English naval victory over the Portuguese off Surat (1612).
- Masulipatnam (1611) was the first English factory on the east coast.
- Golden Farman (1632): the Sultan of Golconda allowed English trade in his ports for 500 pagodas a year.
- Fort St George, Madras (1639–40): Francis Day and Andrew Cogan; land from a local Nayak.
- Bombay came from Charles II (1661) and went to the Company in 1668.
- Hugli (1651); Job Charnock founded Sutanuti (Calcutta) in 1690. Fort William followed around 1700.
- 1717 farman of Emperor Farrukhsiyar: the "Magna Carta" of the Company's trade in Bengal.
Explained
Growth of the factories
- A factory was a fortified warehouse and residence for the Company's agents, not a manufacturing plant.
- The three bases became the Presidencies: Madras, Bombay and Calcutta (Fort William).
- Armagon (Durgarajapatnam, 1626) was a short-lived early fort on the Andhra coast. The Company moved to Madras in 1639.
Rivals at home and abroad
- In 1698 a rival "New Company" got a charter. The two merged in 1708 as the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies.
- Against the Portuguese, the English relied on their fleet. Against the Mughals, they asked for farmans.
The 1717 farman
- A delegation led by John Surman went to Delhi in 1715. The surgeon William Hamilton is said to have cured the emperor, which helped.
- Farrukhsiyar's farman allowed:
- duty-free trade in Bengal in return for a fixed payment of Rs 3,000 a year
- rupees minted at the Company's Bombay mint to be current across Mughal territory
- the right to rent more villages around Calcutta
- the Company's dastak (pass) to prove goods were exempt
Why it caused conflict
- Company servants misused dastaks for their private trade. This cost the Nawabs revenue and hurt Indian merchants.
- Bengal's Nawabs, Murshid Quli Khan and then Alivardi Khan, objected. The dispute led to Siraj-ud-Daulah's attack on Calcutta in 1756 (see the Plassey note).
AP angle
- Masulipatnam (1611) was the first English factory on the east coast. It was the main port of the Golconda sultanate.
- Armagon (Durgarajapatnam) in Nellore district (1626) was the first English fort on the Coromandel coast.
- Golden Farman (1632): issued by Abdullah Qutb Shah of Golconda, which brought the English into the Telugu coast's trade.
- Madras (1639) was founded on land granted by a local Nayak under the Vijayanagara chief of Chandragiri.
Common traps
- ✗ "Hawkins got the trade permission from Jahangir." ✓ He failed. Thomas Roe (1615) got it.
- ✗ "The Company was chartered in 1608." ✓ 1600. Hawkins came in 1608.
- ✗ "The Golden Farman was given by the Mughals." ✓ It came from the Sultan of Golconda (1632).
- ✗ "Calcutta was founded by Clive." ✓ Job Charnock (Sutanuti, 1690).
- ✗ "The 1717 farman was granted to Clive." ✓ It was granted by Farrukhsiyar after the Surman mission.
Quick revision
- 1600 charter (Elizabeth I).
- Hawkins 1608; Roe 1615; Surat 1613.
- Masulipatnam 1611; Armagon 1626; Madras 1639.
- Golden Farman 1632 (Golconda; 500 pagodas).
- Bombay: to the Company in 1668.
- Charnock, Sutanuti 1690.
- Merger of the two companies 1708.
- Farman 1717 (Farrukhsiyar, Surman).
Go deeper: Deeper, Mains writing (beyond what APPSC Group 2 usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
- From trade to politics. The Company was a joint-stock enterprise. It needed fortified posts to protect goods in a weak and disordered coastal political world. The fortified settlements became small territories with their own courts and armies.
- Charters. Early charters gave monopoly rights and the power to wage war and make peace in the East. This legal basis later helped the Company claim sovereignty.
- Bengal's value. Bengal supplied textiles, silk, saltpetre and opium. The farman's duty exemption gave the Company an edge over all rivals.
- Role of Surat. Surat was the leading western port until about 1680. Its decline, and the rise of Bombay, mirrors the rise of English power.
Mains writing Mains writing
- Frame: the Company's rise shows how a trading firm became a political power by degrees.
- Analysis:
- privileges (farmans) -> fortified factories -> private trade abuse -> clashes with Nawabs -> wars
- weak Mughal authority after 1707 made farmans negotiable, not secure
- Example: the 1717 farman fixed a small annual payment for large trade rights. Misuse of dastaks was the direct cause of friction with Murshid Quli Khan and later Alivardi Khan.
Practise this topic. Questions on Advent of Europeans & British expansion, with answers explained.
All Advent of the Europeans notes · APPSC Group 2 syllabus · APPSC G2 Prelims Mock 1 with answers · Start free
Medha AI writes its own notes and checks them against the sources listed. Medha AI is an independent preparation service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to APPSC, TSPSC, MPSC, UPSC or any other commission or government body.