The East India Company Part II - Early Voyages and Private Lives

From a modest fleet of spice traders in 1600, the British East India Company grew to become the most powerful multinational corporation the world has ever known - with its own museum, army and dominions.  However, at the start of the C17th, it was the underdog in global trade compared to its European rivals.  

In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I gave the new East India Company a monopoly on all trade east of the Cape of Good Hope - the East Indies - encompassing India, Indonesia and China today.  This Virtual Tour will look at the EIC's earliest voyages, the technology of the Company's East Indiaman ships and the lives of those onboard.  What was it like arriving in Bantam or Surat and trying to establish the first trading posts with wary local rulers and rival interests?  How long were these voyages, who got rich and how many ever made it home?  

We will see that even in its infancy, the Company was incentivised by an insatiable greed.   We will hear about diplomacy, pirates and disease, armed ships laden with exotic goods, and navigation from the Thames to the Indian Ocean.  

Join me for this Virtual Tour - Leila Redpath first specialised in the East India Company over 10 years ago, creating unique programmes of discovery on the theme of the EIC in collaboration with authors and museum experts, exploring sites from Kew Gardens and the V&A to Greenwich, Docklands and the City of London.  Her focus is now broadening to include sites across Britain and beyond.

The actual tour should last about 1 hour 20 minutes with time for questions at the end.

For more information about your guide go to:  Leila Redpath

You may also be interested in Parts I and III of Leila Redpath's East India Company trilogy for the Thames Estuary Festival 2021.

Part I - Introduction to the East India Company and How it Shaped our World

Sunday 23rd May 16.30-18.00 (UK) OR Thursday 3rd June 18.00 -19.30. (UK)

Part II - The East India Company - Early Voyages and Private Lives

Wednesday 26th May 13.00 - 14.30 (UK) OR Saturday 5th June 11.00 - 12.30 (UK)

Part III - Thames Virtual River Cruise from London Bridge to Blackwall and Beyond

Tuesday 1st June 18.00 - 19.30 (UK) OR Thursday 10th June 11.00-12.30 (UK)