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The Founding of the East India Company

Chapter 1 of The Anarchy, titled "The Founding of the East India Company", chronicles the establishment of the East India Company (EIC) in 1599 and its tentative first steps toward global influence. It juxtaposes the Company’s humble origins with the immense power it would later wield.

• A Gathering of Visionaries:
  The EIC’s inception traces back to a pivotal meeting convened by ‘Auditor Smythe’. This eclectic assembly drew together London’s elite and aspirants—wealthy merchants, fortune-seekers, and tradesmen like grocers and drapers—alongside soldiers, mariners, and adventurers, including former privateers under Drake and Raleigh. Explorers such as William Baffin and chronicler Richard Hakluyt, the ‘historiographer of the voyages of the East Indies’, lent expertise to this nascent venture.

• The Seed of Investment:
  With a modest sum of £30,133 6s. 8d., the EIC was born through a contract signed by investors pledging their stakes ‘for the honour of our native country and for the advancement of trade and merchandise within this realm of England’. Contributions varied from £100 to £3,000, and on September 22, 1599, Auditor Smythe recorded the first roster of 101 investors.

• Early Encounters in India:
  The EIC’s initial foray into India centered on trade, exemplified by Captain William Hawkins’ mission to Agra. Hawkins forged a personal tie with Emperor Jahangir, marrying a woman offered by the emperor. This contrasts with the later, more formal embassy of Sir Thomas Roe, often celebrated as the British foothold. Earlier, Jahangir’s father, Akbar, had dismissed plans to civilize European settlers as ‘unworkable’.

• The Maiden Voyage:
  Despite a hiccup—Auditor Smythe’s brief imprisonment—the EIC’s first voyage launched on February 13, 1601, under Sir James Lancaster. His fleet of four ships—the Red Dragon, Hector, Susan, and Ascension—boasted thirty-eight guns and carried lemon juice to ward off scurvy. Delayed two months in the English Channel by still winds, the expedition eventually rounded the Cape and paused at Mauritius, where signs of Dutch presence hinted at rising European rivalry.

This chapter frames the East India Company’s birth as a modest commercial endeavor, propelled by a diverse coalition of Londoners united by trade ambitions. It underscores the informal, trade-driven nature of early English-Indian relations, setting the stage for the EIC’s dramatic ascent.