In _______ the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the sole right to trade with the East.

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answered Mar 2, 2022 by ShreeHarpale (240k points)
selected Mar 2, 2022 by PrashantPandey

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Correct Answer - Option 1 : 1600

The correct answer is 1600.

In 1600, the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the sole right to trade with the East, without competition from other British traders.

But that royal charter could not stop other European powers such as the Portuguese, Dutch, and French.
And all those European companies wanted to buy the same things from India - fine qualities of cloth and spices.
As competition grew, profits fell, and the European trading companies started building forts and fighting each other.
With more business came more conflicts with Indian rulers, and it became difficult for the European traders to keep their business separate from Indian politics.

East India Company Begins Trade in Bengal.
The first English factory was set up on the banks of the river Hugli in Bengal in 1651.
As they expanded, the East India Company convinced merchants and traders to come and settle near the factory.
By 1696, the Company began building a fort around the Hugli settlement.
It also bribed Mughal officials into giving the Company Zamindari rights over three villages, one of which was Calcutta.
It also convinced the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to issue a Farman, an official order, granting the Company the right to trade duty-free.
The employees of the Company also carried on their private trades and were expected to pay duty.
But they refused, which angered the Nawab of Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan, and led to fierce battles.