The English : Medieval Indian History

The English East India Company was established in 1600 and the Charter was issued by Queen Elizabeth of England. It regulated its trade with England and importing Indian spices and textiles to England.

Captain Hawkins arrived at the royal court of Jahangir in 1609 to seek permission to establish English trading centre at Surat.

But it was refused by the Mughal Emperor due to Portuguese pressure. Later in 1612, Jahangir issued a farman (permission letter) to the English and they established a trading factory at Surat in 1613.

Sir Thomas Roe came to India as ambassador of James I, the king of England to the Mughal court in 1615. He obtained permission from Jahangir to establish English trading factories in different parts of India.

The English established their factories at Agra, Ahmadabad, Baroda and Broach by 1619. The English East India Company acquired Bombay from Charles II, the then king of England.

In 1639, Francis Day founded the city of Madras where the Fort St. George was built. In 1690, an English factory was established at a place called Sutanuti by Job Charnock.

Later it developed into the city of Calcutta where Fort William was built. Later, Calcutta became the capital of British India. Thus Bombay, Madras, Calcutta became three presidency towns of the English settlements in India.