The pattern of the British East India Company's trade changed over the decades.
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Answer:
The East India Company and its role in ruling India
by Ben Johnson
In the late 1500s, European explorers started sailing east for trading purposes. The Spanish and the Portugese were originally dominant on these new sailing routes, but after the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588 the British and Dutch were able to take more of an active role in trade with the East Indies. The Dutch initially took a lead in this, focusing mainly on spices and in particular the trade of peppercorns.
Concerned that the English were falling behind to the Dutch on these new trading routes, on the 31st December 1600 Queen Elizabeth I granted over 200 English merchants the right to trade in the East Indies. One of these groups of merchants called themselves Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies, later to become simply The East India Company.