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British East India Company
The East India Company was founded in 1599 to exploit trade opportunities with the East. It spent the next two centuries establishing a foothold, fighting off competition from the Dutch East India Company. But by the end of the 1700s it had built strong links to India and China.
Commercial interests were protected by a private army, which grew to such a size and strength that it rivalled the regular British army. The company's presence became so influential that it became ruler of British India, on a road that led to establishment of the British Raj. Their dominion only collapsed when disastrous events in 1857 led to the Indian Mutiny.
Crucial to the company's trading success in the late 1700s and early 1800s were the large, well defended East Indiamen ships, built to ply the eastern routes. Most were owned by groups, comprising merchants, a shipbuilder, sailmaker and sailing master, and chartered to the company for a large fee. The East Indiamen were well defended to protect their valuable cargo, and indeed were often mistaken for large warships.
The East India Company ran three main routes to China: direct, via Bombay or via Bengal. Voyages via India were more profitable because different cargoes could be loaded on at the three stages of the journey.
With many English military officers and administrators in India, the demand for English luxury items was high. The ships would carry furniture, books, cutlery, shoes, feathers, lace, toys, carriages, glass, groceries and even packs of hounds. Once in India, they would pick up cotton, rice, sandalwood and indigo bound for China. Coming full circle, the return passage would see the ships laden with tea, silk and porcelain, bound for English markets.
The East Indiamen would also carry passengers for a small fee, under a private arrangement with the captain. The captain was also free to run his own trading business through the voyages, which often netted a great deal of money. The payback for the company was that wages were kept low. If a captain worked the system, he could remove the need for a company salary altogether.
The most lucrative private deal was the illicit transport of opium from Bengal to China, and it made the route the most sought after among East Indiamen. It was on precisely this route that the Earl of Abergavenny set out in February 1805. It was to be the ship's last voyage.
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