East India Company

The East India Company (EIC) was also known as the Honourable East India Company (HEIC), as John Company, or in India as Company Bahadur (Hindustani bahādur, "brave"). The name United East-India Company was also used. It was a joint-stock company that was granted an English Royal Charter on December 31, 1600 by Elizabeth I. The British East India Company started out as a commercial trading venture, but grew in strength and eventually virtually ruled India until the Indian Mutiny in 1857.

HEIC Flag 1801-58

HEIC Factories
See our interactive map of 17th cent HEIC Factories on Google Maps

FIBIS Resources

• Alphabetical list of Directors of the East India Company from 1758-1858
• A review by Richard Morgan of the book The Chaplains of the East India Company, 1601-1858 by Daniel O’Connor 2012. FIBIS Journal Number 27 (Spring 2012), pages 53-54. For details of how to access this article see FIBIS Journals
• "Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, Director of the HEIC" by George Buxton FIBIS Journal Number 29 (Spring 2013) pages 49-50. He lived 1745-1813. See FIBIS Journals for details of how to access this article
• "The East India Company: some snapshots of its history (Part 1)" by David Blake FIBIS Journal Number 33 (Spring 2015) pages 43-50.

"The East India Company: some snapshots of its history (Part 2)" by David Blake FIBIS Journal Number 34 (Autumn 2015) pages 38-44.

For details of how to access these articles, see FIBIS Journals.

Related articles

• East India Company Factories
• East India Company Army
• East India Company Acts of Parliament
• HEIC Early Voyages
• Occupations for information about East India Company employees including
  • Indian Civil Service
  • Maritime Service

External links

• The Directors of the East India Company, 1754-1790 a PhD thesis by JG Parker 1977. Edinburgh Research Archive
• Records within The National Archives Relating to the East India Company
• Honourable East India Company Wikipedia

• People associated with the British East India Company

• Honourable East India Company. Coat of arms, seals, marks. “National Arms and Emblems Past and Present” hubert-herald.nl, archived.
• London and beyond
  • Poplar High Street [London]: The Church of St Matthias and the East India Company’s Almshouses from British History Online
  • London Landmarks with EIC connections theeastindiacompany.com
  • East India Company London workers British Library blog Untold Lives 17 October 2011
  • East India Company saltpetre warehouses at Ratcliff 02 February 2017 British Library Untold lives blog.
  • "The East India Company and gunpowder production in England, 1625-1636" by K R Fairclough archaeologydataservice.ac.uk
  • "The Isle of Wight and the East India Company 1700–1840: some connections considered" by James H. Thomas The Local Historian, Journal Of The British Association For Local History Volume 30, Number 1, February 2000. balh.org.uk

  "County, Commerce And Contacts: Hampshire And The East India Company In The Eighteenth Century" by James H. Thomas Proc. Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society 68, 2013, 169-177 (Hampshire Studies 2013)

  James H. Thomas is also the author of The East India Company And The Provinces In The Eighteenth Century, in two volumes.

• The East India Company slaving voyage of Nicholas Skottowe British Library blog Untold Lives 9 January 2012
• The East India Company - a view www.sscnet.ucla.edu
• "Loot: In search of the East India Company" by Nick Robins originally written 2003 corporate-rule.co.uk
• "The East India Company: The Company that ruled the waves" 17 December 2011 The Economist.
• "Blame the British Raj on bankers: One community played a significant role in helping the British take over the country’s administration" by Aakar Patel 6 April 2012. livemint.com
• "The East India Company: The original corporate raiders" by William Dalrymple 4 March 2015 The Guardian.

"The rise and rise of the East India Company" by William Dalrymple 5 September 2019 Financial Review, archived link. An extract from The Anarchy: the relentless rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple.

Listen to William Dalrymple on the East India Company October 7, 2019 History Extra Podcast from BBC. How a single London corporation took over the Mughal empire and became a major imperial power.

Listen to William Dalrymple on the ruthless rise of the British East India Company Part of the ABC [Australian Broadcasting Commission] radio series Conversations with Richard Fidler , broadcast 4 November 2019.

• "The world’s most powerful corporation" by Amanda Ruggeri 30 March 2016 bbc.com.
• East India Company Bibliography “The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857 – UCL History” ucl.ac.uk
• The Civil and Military Patronage of the East India Company, 1784-1858 by John Michael Bourne 1977 PhD thesis, University of Leicester.
• Company culture: information, scholarship, and the East India Company settlements 1660-1720s by Anna E Winterbottom 2010 PhD thesis, University of London. Pdf, core.ac.uk
• Listen to "The Rise and Fall of the East India Company", an interview with Andrew Phillips. Part of the ABC [Australian Broadcasting Commission] radio series Conversations with Richard Fidler , broadcast 24 August 2017. Duration: 50min 11sec. Andrew Phillips is an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland.
• Episode 1 – The East India Company [The origins] 6 minute YouTube video. Originates from the website 400 Years: Britain & India.

Maps

• A map of the East-Indies and the adjacent countries, with the settlements, factories and territories, explaning [sic] what belongs to England, Spain, France, Holland, Denmark, Portugal etc. with many remarks not extant in any other map c1717- 1720 by Herman Moll, geographer. University of Texas. Also available Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection at the Boston Public Library and National Library of Australia. catalogue description from NLA.

Historical books online

• The East Indian Chronologist : where the historical events respecting the East Indian Company are briefly arranged in succession from the date of their Charter in 1600, to the 4th of June 1801, with other particulars necessary to be known, as interesting to the inhabitants of India Printed at Calcutta 1801. Archive.org. Note: There are many scribbles and crossings out on the text. The British Library catalogue gives the author as John Hawkesworth.
• Annals of the Honorable East-India Company: From Their Establishment by the Charter of Queen Elizabeth, 1600, to the Union of the London and English East-India Companies, 1707-8 by John Bruce (1810). Google Books: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3.
• A Sketch of the History of the East-India company: from its first formation to the passing of the Regulating act of 1773; with a summary view of the changes which have taken place since that period in the internal administration of British India by Robert Grant (1813) Google Books
• An analysis of the constitution of the East-India company, and of the laws passed by Parliament for the government of their affairs, at home and abroad: To which is prefixed, a brief history of the company, and of the rise and progress of the British power in India by Peter Auber (1826). The Appendix contains names of important officials - eg. Governor Generals, Commanders-in Chief of Armies, Members of Council. Google Books
• Supplement to An analysis of the constitution of the East-India Company: and of the laws passed by Parliament for the government of their affairs, at home and abroad : to which is prefixed, a brief history of the Company, and of the rise and progress of the British Power in India by Peter Auber (1828). Covers the period May 1826 to 1828. Google Books
• Descriptive List of Secret Department Records 1784 National Archives of India 1970 Volume 5 Google Books
• Letters Received by the East India Company from Its Servants in the East: transcribed from India Office Records Archive.org

Volume 1 1602-1613 1896 Volume 2 1613-1615 1897 Volume 3 1615 1899 Volume 4 1616 1900 Volume 5 1617 January to June 1901 Volume 6, 1617 July-December 1902

• The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the Court of the Great Mogul, 1615-1619, as narrated in his journal and correspondence. Edited by William Foster 1899 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• The English Factories in India: A Calendar of Documents in the India Office, British Museum and Public Records Office by William Foster Archive.org

1618-1621 1906 1622-1623 1908 1624-1629 1909 1630-1633 1910 1634-1636 1911 1637-41 1912 1642-45 1913 1646-1650 1914 1651-1654 1915 1655-1660 1921 1661-1664 1923. Volume 12 1665-1667, Archive.org mirror version DLI 1925 and Volume 13 1668-1669, Archive.org version DLI although the author is incorrectly catalogued.

The English Factories in India ... New series by Sir Charles Fawcett. vol. 1. The Western Presidency, 1670-1677. 1936. vol. 2. The Eastern Coast and Bengal, 1670-1677. 1952. vol. 3. Bombay, Surat and Malabar Coast 1678-1684. 1954. vol. 4. The Eastern Coast and Bay of Bengal 1678-1684. 1955. Vol I Archive.org version, DLI; Vol III Archive.org version, DLI; Vol IV Archive.org version, DLI. HathiTrust Digital Library for those with University access, the latter catalogue entry says: In this "new set of volumes...the contents of the records are to be digested into a readable account of the main events in each year."

• Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series edited by W Noel Sainsbury. Archive.org and HathiTrust Digital Library.

Volume 2 East Indies, China and Japan 1513-1616 1862; Volume 3 East Indies, China and Japan 1617-1621 1870, Archive.org version; Volume 4 East Indies, China and Japan 1622-1624 1878, Archive.org version; Volume 6 East Indies, China and Persia 1625-1629 1884; Volume 8 East Indies and Persia 1630-1634 1892. [v. 1, 5, 7, 9- America and West Indies].

• A Calendar of the Court Minutes, Etc. of the East India Company by Ethel Bruce Sainsbury Archive.org

1635-1639 1907 1640-1643 1909 1644-1649 1912 1650-1654 1913 1655-1659 1916 1660-1663 1922

• The Diary of William Hedges, Esq. (afterwards Sir William Hedges), during his Agency in Bengal : as well as on his voyage out and return overland (1681-1697). Volume I, Volume II, Volume III Archive.org. Transcribed by R Barlow, with additional material by Colonel Henry Yule. Printed for the Hakluyt Society Volumes 74, 75, 78, 1887-88-89.
• The early annals of the English in Bengal, being the Bengal public consultations for the first half of the eighteenth century, summarised, extracted, and edited with introductions and illustrative addenda by Charles Robert Wilson Archive.org. Volume 1 1704-1710 1895, Volume 2 Part 1 1711-1717 1900
• Bengal; its Chiefs, Agents, and Governors by Frederick Charles Danvers 1888 Archive.org
• Selections from unpublished records of government for the years 1748-1767 inclusive relating mainly to the social condition of Bengal, with a map of Calcutta in 1784, Volume I by Rev J. Long, member of the Government Record Commission. 1869 Google Books. Index Note: Map not included
• "State of the Company’s Service in 1765"-Lord Clive to the Court of Directors , page 465 from Lives of Indian Officers: Illustrative of the History of the Civil and Military Service of India Volume 1 by John William Kaye (1867) Google Books
• Early revenue history of Bengal, and the Fifth Report, 1812 by Frank David Ascoli 1917 Archive.org
• Treaties and grants from the country powers, to the East India company, respecting their presidency of Fort St. George, Fort-William and Bombay from the year 1756 to 1772 1774 Google Books
• An authentic copy of the correspondence in India: Between the Country Powers and the Honourable the East India Company's Servants : Containing Amongst Many Others the Letters of Governor Hastings...&c, Together with the Minutes of the Supreme Council at Calcutta : the Whole Forming a Collection of the Most Interesting India-papers, which Were Laid Before Parliament in the Session of 1786 Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6

• A collection of treaties, engagements, and sunnuds, relating to India and neighbouring countries, compiled by C U Aitchison Google Books Index Volume 1866.

Volume 1 Bengal, Burmah and the Eastern Archipelago 1862, Volume 2 The N. W. Provinces, Oudh, Nipal, the Punjab and the States on the Punjab Frontier 1863

Volume 3 The Peishwa, Nagpore and Bundelcund 1863 Archive.org, Volume 4 Rajpootana, Central India, and Malwa. 1864

Volume 5 Hyderabad, Mysore, Coorg, the Madras Presidency, and Ceylon 1864, Volume 6 The States within the Bombay Presidency. 1864

Volume 7 Sindh, Beloochistan, Persia, and Herat; Turkish Arabia and The Persian Gulf; and The Arabian and African Coasts. With a supplement 1865.

Some later editions are available on the website Archive.org

• Memoir On The Affairs of the East India Company pub J.L.Cox London 1830 - archive.org
• Review of the contest, concerning four new regiments graciously offered by His Majesty to be sent to India on the late apprehension of war, and then, gratefully accepted, by the Court of directors of the East-India company, who, on the change of circumstances, by the re-establishment of peace, have rescinded their resolution of acceptance it appearing the expence, to the East-India company, would be above £50,000 [per] annum more, than a like number of recruits sent to India in the company's service by Alexander Dalrymple 1788 Archive.org
• Ledger and Sword; or, The Honourable Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies (1599-1874) by Beckles Willson 1903 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• The East India Trade in the XVIIth century, in its Political and Economic Aspects by Shafaat Ahmad Khan 1923 Archive.org
• The East India House: Its History and Associations by William Forster 1924. Archive.org, mirror from Digital Library of India.

John Company by William Foster 1926. Archive.org, mirror from Central Secretariat Library (CSL) [Delhi] Digital Repository.

• Chronicles of the East India Company trading to China, 1635 to 1834 by Hosea Ballou Morse 1926. Five Volumes. Vol. I, Archive.org, Vol. III, Archive.org, Vol. IV, Archive.org, originally from Digital Library of India. All volumes are also available as pdf downloads from GIPE Digital Books-Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), Pune. Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Volume 5, Supplementary, 1742-74 HathiTrust Digital Library. All volumes are also available online from the The University of British Colombia, including Volume II and Volume V, but note these may be slow to load, however downloads are available.
• Commerce And Conquest: The Story Of The Honourable East India Company by Claude Lestook Reid, first published 1947. Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection.
• John Company at Work: a study of European expansion in India in the late eighteenth century by Holden Furber. 1970 reprint of 1948 original edition. Archive.org Lending Library. Includes the English, French, Dutch, and Danish East India Companies.
• The Rise And Fall Of The East India Company by Ramkrishna Mukherjee 1955. Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection.
• Charles Grant and British Rule in India by Ainslie Thomas Embree 1962. Archive.org Lending Library. Grant (1746-1823) used his influential position as a director of the East India Company to advance the evangelical chaplains and defended the Baptist Missionaries in India.
• The East India Company : a History by Brian Gardner 1990 reprint, first published 1971. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Proceedings Relative to Ships Tendered for the Service of the United East-India Company, from the Twenty-first of March, 1792, to the Twenty-sixth of March, 1794: With an Appendix Google Books

Proceedings Relative to Ships Tendered for the Service of the United East-India Company, from the Twenty-sixth of March, 1794, to the Sixth of January, 1795: With an Appendix Google Books

Proceedings Relative to Ships Tendered for the Service of the United East-India Company, from the Second July, 1806, to the Twenty- Seventh September, 1809: With an Appendix Google Books