India: Courtesans dancing for representatives of the British East India Company in India.

Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, a group of London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean. Despite early sailing disasters, the East India Company was formed in 1600. It became the British East India Company after the Treaty of Union in 1707. It was a joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China, mainly in cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpetre, tea, and opium.

The Company long held a privileged position within the British government, and was frequently granted special rights and privileges, including trade monopolies and exemptions, which caused much resentment among its competitors. The Company remained a powerful force until it was dissolved in 1874.

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