Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal: The East India Company Trade W…

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal: The East India Company Trade With The East

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

Dimensions44mm

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.11

Keywords

About MeThe lure of riches in the East became irresistible to British merchants in the late 16th century. A powerful and influential group of London merchants successfully petitioned the Crown for a charter giving them exclusive rights to trade to the East Indies. The conferment of a mono-poly was thought by the merchants to be necessary if they were to assure
themselves rewards conmensurate with the risks, since trade on such long sea routes was both costly and speculative: six or seven years might elapse between an investment and the realisation of any profit.

A charter was granted by the Crown in 1600 to the 'Governor and Company of Merchants trading into the East Indies' giving them entire control of all seaborne trade beyond the Cape of Good Hope and the Strait of Magellan.

At first, expeditions were financed by informal syndicates organised by members of the Company, and the first of these - a fleet of five ships - set sail in 1601 under the command of James Lancaster. It represented an investment of nearly £70,ooo. Twelve voyages to the East Indies elapsed before the first joint-stock venture by the Company was despatched to the East in 1613.

The goal of the first adventurers was the spice trade of the Malayan Archipelago where Dutch rivalry was to prove intense. India became attractive after William Hawkins in Hector visited Surat in 1608 Thereafter it was to India that attention was directed, and factories were set up at ports along the coast such as Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Commerce with China followed in the late 16th century, stimulated by the growing popularity of tea as a beverage in Britain.

The privileges of the Company were jealously guarded until 1813 when the trade of India was made free to all. Trade to China, however, remained the preserve of the Company until 1832.

The ships employed by the East India Company grew steadily in size: the largest vessel on the first voyage was very exceptional in being 600 tons burthen. By the 1780s, East Indiamen could measure as much as 1,200 tons and were the largest vessels in the merchant marine. By the last 20 years of the Company's exclusive trade, the largest class of ship might cost £65,000 to build and equip, and they resembled large men-of-war in appearance, being heavily armed and manned. Most of these vessels were built on the River Thames and were the backbone of London's great shipbuilding industry.

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.