East+India+Company

=// East India Company //= // The East India Company, which enjoyed the monopoly of the tea trade for so long, had been founded under Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31st, 1600. // // It had the right to trade in the East Indies for 15 years, but the charter was extended indefinitely by James I in 1609. // // Tea was initially imported from India, until a trading post was set up in Guangzhou (Canton) in southern China in 1711. // // Colossal demand for tea created a major trade deficit with China, which was to lead the Company to establish its own tea plantations in India. // // In 1834, its stranglehold on the trade with China was loosened, enabling other companies and private citizens to import Chinese tea as they wished. // // The Navigation Acts of 1849 relaxed the requirement whereby only British-registered ships could land tea in the UK. This opened the way for rival foreign companies to bring tea to Britain ////.

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