From 1709 the United Company of Merchants Trading to the East Indies entered on an apparent century-and-a-half of prosperity which would formally last until 1857, but which would also see moments of considerable financial and political difficulty. The Company began with a virtual monopoly over trade with India and China, and would make particularly rich profits from textiles and the trade in China tea – imports of which exceeded 2m pounds weight p.a. by 1750. Literary commentary on these imports is found in many texts, among them The Spectator and Alexander Pope's Rape of the Lock. The Company also extended its power over much of India through the formation of political alliances with the dominant Mogul civilization,…
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Citation: Clark, Robert. "East India Company, 1709-1785". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 January 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4145, accessed 23 November 2024.]
