East India Co
1600 The first charter to the Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies was granted by Queen Elizabeth on December 31st, 1600.
As their first venture, the company had a small fleet of four ships and a pinnace, totalling about 1500 tons, built and fitted out at Deptford by private builders. The fleet left the Thames for the East in February, 1601.
The expedition was a great success - the enormous profits made induced the Company to take land at Deptford Creek, form a shipyard, and become its own shipbuilder. Some of the launchings of its ships were honoured by the presence of royalty.
A destructive fire eventually occurred in the yard that destroyed nearly the whole of the premises. Shipbuilding was then abandoned by the Company, its vessels being afterwards built in private yards in the neighbourhood.
1615 When a proper ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, was sent to India by King James the Company was allowed to set up a base there.
By 1690, the Company had trading centres all along the West and East coasts of India. The main centres were at Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. The Company started to protect its trade with its own armies and navies. London also became an important trading centre, where goods were imported, exported and transferred from one country to another.
1699 The Company wanted to trade directly with China but it was not until 1699 that the Chinese allowed the Company to trade at Canton. From China, the Company bought tea, silk and porcelain. The Chinese wanted silver in return. Over the next 100 years tea became a very popular drink in England, and there was a fear that too much silver was leaving the country to pay for it. To stop this happening, the Company became involved in a triangular trade by smuggling opium from India (where the Company grew it) into China. The consequences for Chinese users were severe.
1708 A rival English company challenged its monopoly in the late 17th century; as a result the two companies were merged in 1708 to form the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies, commonly styled the Honourable East India Company.
Demand for Indian textiles, with their beautiful colour-fast designs, grew fast in Britain, and many patterns for the new English textile industry came from India. By 1750, Indian silks, cottons and calicoes made up 60 per cent of the company's sales.
By 1750, the Mughal Empire was in a state of collapse. Regional states emerged in India and the Company began to get involved in power politics. It raised its own armies and prepared for war.
1757 Company rule in India effectively began after the Battle of Plassey
The company became responsible for the civil, judicial and revenue administration of India's richest province, with some 20 million inhabitants.
1783 The British government, having become concerned about the Company's ability to govern its territories, decided to make Calcutta the centre of government under a new Governor-General.
The first person appointed to this role was Warren Hastings. Power gradually moved away from the Company into the hands of the British government.
By 1813 the Company's trade was limited to China
1834 the Company's trade monopoly with China was abolished and smuggling of opium into China by European private traders intensified. The Chinese state was deeply disturbed at this and threatened force. Britain was prepared to defend 'free trade' and, in 1840, they went to war. These 'Opium wars' led to a humiliating defeat of the Chinese and a trade treaty which ceded Hong Kong to the British.
1858 Following the events of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and under the Government of India Act 1858, the British Crown assumed direct administration of India in the new British Raj.
1874 The Company itself was finally dissolved on 1 January 1874, as a result of the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act 1873.
Appointment of cadets
Officer cadets were appointed to the East India Company's armies by the patronage of members of the Court of Directors and the Board of Control. Each patron had a fixed quota of nominations for each season, and cadets were 'recommended' to him by a friend or acquaintance. After nomination the cadet had to forward to East India House his formal application, a certificate of age, and relevant testimonials. Final approval was given after he had appeared before the Committee of Correspondence (to 1809), the Military Seminary Committee (1809-1834), or the Political and Military Committee (after 1834).
The majority of cadets were appointed 'direct' to their regiments and received their training during their first years of service in India. During the eighteenth century some cadets, referred to as 'country', were actually living in India at the time of their appointment. However, the special technical requirements of the artillery and engineer branches led the Company initially to pay for the training of such cadets at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and then, in 1809, to establish its own Military Seminary at Addiscombe near Croydon.
After 1858 all appointments were vested in the Crown. Cadets attended Sandhurst and then served a twelve month probationary period in a British Army regiment before transferring to the Indian service.