Chronological Table. 155 



commercial stations, or houses of trade. They had factories at Pegu, traded up the 

 Martaban river ; had a station at Junkceylon, and possessed the valuable town and 

 fort of Malacca. Tliey had establishments in the Moluccas, at Amboyna, Manilla, 

 and Macao, in China. Notwithstanding these valuable possessions, the Portuguese 

 power in the East had visibly decreased, and was prepared to give way to the Dutch 

 and English, now entering the field. — Bruce. 



1601. — The earliest ship purchased was the Susan of 240 tons, for £l,600, thus 

 the first Indiaman in the service. The Company fitted her out with three others, 

 the Malice-scourge of 600 tons, the Hector of 300, the Ascension of 260, and a pin- 

 nace of 100 tons, freighted with cloth, tin, lead, cutlery, glass, amounting to £6,860, 

 and with £'28,742 in bullion. The fleet was commanded by Captain James Lancas- 

 ter as " General or Admiral," and Captain Davies, 2nd in command, called " Pilot 

 Major ;" the latter to have £100 wages, £200 in credit, and if the voyage gave cent, 

 per cent. £500 at the end, if 200 per cent. £1000, if 400 per cent. £2000. The scale 

 of remuneration to Captain Lancaster or others does not appear. Ihey sailed on 

 the 2nd May. The French this year endeavoured to obtain a footing in India, send- 

 ing out three ships from St. Maloes, but they failed to reach their destination. — 

 Bruce. Gleig. 



1602. — Captain Lancaster, who had been furnished with geueral letters from queen 



Elizabeth " to the greate and mightie kinge of our lovinge brother greetinge," 



arrived at Acheen, and formed with its king the first treaty of the Company in the 

 East ; with permission to settle a factory, our first establishment. — Bruce. 



1603. — The English fleet returned in September, having made a successful voyage. 

 After touching at Acheen, they captured in the Straits of Malacca a Portuguese 

 ship of 900 tons ; then put into Bantam in Java, setting there a factory or " house 

 of trade," from whence to England. — Bruce. 



1604. — King James granted a license to Sir Edward Michelborne and others, to 

 trade to the East ; the first violation of the exclusive privileges of the Company, 

 who designated the parties interlopers or private traders. A French East India Com- 

 pany chartered this year ; it failed, and was afterwards dissolved. — Bruce. Mill. E, I. 

 Chronologist. 



1605. — Akbar died, after a reign of nearly 50 years. — Orme. 



1606. — Cloves purchased at Amboyna for £2,94S, 13 ; sold afterwards in England 

 for £36,287.— Bruce. 



1608. — Captain Hawkins visited Agra as Envoy. — Gleig. 



1609. — A new charter granted by James to the Company, who now saw the evil 

 of separate licenses ; the privileges rendered perpetual. One of the Company's 

 ships this year, called the Trades Increase, was eleven hundred tons. — Bruce. 



1610.— Trade attempted with Japan, and the king's permission obtained to erect 

 a factory at Ferando. — Bruce. 



1611. — The court began to receive regular communications and dispatches from 

 their factories in India. — Bruce. 



1612. — Great efforts by the Company to extend the commerce. Attention was 

 turned to Western India, and new factories contemplated. After repelling much 

 opposition from the Portuguese, the English were permitted to avail themselves of 

 a Firmaun obtained on the 1 1th January of the following year, to erect factories at 

 Surat, Ahmedabad, Cambaya, and Goya.— Bruce. Gleig. Mill. 



1613. — Up to this year, eight voyages, realising nearly 200 per cent, had been per- 

 formed by various fleets, only one expedition failing ; the ships of 1607, having been 

 lost. — Mill. 



1614.— Mr. Edwards of the Surat factory went to Ajimere as envoy to the Mogul, 

 Jehanguire ; was presented on the 7th February, by Asaph Khan, brother of the 

 beautiful empress Noor-Mahal, and obtained an additional Firmaun. A Portuguese 

 fleet and powerful armament defeated at Swally, with a loss of 350 men, by the Eng- 

 lish. — Bruce. 



1615. — Sir T. Roe reached Agra, as ambassador from James I., the Company being 

 at the expense of the embassy. — Bruce. 



16)7 — An English factory established at Macassar. At this period the Compa- 

 ny's chief factories were at Surat and Bantam, but they had establishments at 

 Acheen, and Tekoo in Sumatra ; Jaccatra, Jambee, Potania, Siam, Japan, Succa- 

 dania, Borneo, and Banda. — Bruce. 



16 ] s. — The Dutch obliged the English to resign all pretensions to the spice islands. 

 They introduced themselves now as rivals also at Surat, The English Company's 

 ship Ann, Captain Shillinge, obtained freedom of trade at Mocha. — Bruce. 



J619.— A commission, called the Council of Defence, consisting of four members of 

 the Knglish, and four of the Dutch Companies, established by treaty between the 

 nations, to prevent dispute in India. It availed nothing, as the Dutch influence 

 preponderated. The Dutch this year attacked an English fleet of four ships at Tekoo, 



