Catalogue description East India Company Factory Records

The records of the individual factories consist mainly of consultations (records of administrative decisions and of correspondence), diaries (records of daily activities), letters received, copies of letters sent and collections of papers on particular subjects.

Note on archival arrangement

The "Factory Records" is an artificially-created sub-fonds.

Following the formation in 1874 of a new Statistics and Commerce Department in the India Office to replace the Record and Statistical Department, the departmental Secretary, Henry Waterfield, made a rough list of the loose papers he had discovered in his department. Many related to the Company's settlements before 1765. In 1876 he made another list of those papers that, from a large number of miscellaneous papers in the East India Company's Examiner's Office, had been saved from a programme of destruction that had taken place in 1859. These surviving papers were known as "Fisher's papers" after Thomas Fisher, who between 1814 and 1834 had been responsible for arranging the records in the Examiner's Office. Again, several related to the early settlements. Many of these records had been either created in London or brought back to London by supercargoes.

In 1879 the Superintendent of the Records, George Birdwood, published his Report on the Miscellaneous Old Records of the India Office. These were records in India Office departments that had escaped any classification; Birdwood's investigations were based on lists of these miscellaneous records supplied by the departments and on the Waterfield lists. He set out to separate the "Factory Records", as he termed them, from the others. He arranged the records relating to the Company's early settlements into 26 bundles, labelled AA to ZZ. Bundles AA to FF were miscellaneous in content. Bundles GG to ZZ were arranged according to place, following the settlements broadly round the Indian coast from Surat to Bengal and concluding with the records from Sumatra and St Helena. In compiling his descriptions, Birdwood additionally consulted the registers of consultations that had been started in the Statistics and Commerce Department. (See the P sub-fonds for information on the consultations.) Under the GG to ZZ headings, he noted those consultations listed as coming from places other than Bengal, Madras and Bombay, or from those places before 1704. In his report Birdwood included a further category "Foreign Relations of the Company" under which he placed records relating to Persia, China and Japan.

These, then, were the lists available when Birdwood's successor, Frederick Danvers, began work on his List of Factory Records of the late East India Company preserved in the Record Department of the India Office, London (London, 1897). Danvers developed the grouping by place that Birdwood had begun. He appears to have begun his task by looking through the registers of consultations and taking out the volumes noted by Birdwood, as well as several more. (In the registers the entries are scored through, often with a note that the records have been removed by Mr Danvers.) With his place-headings or series established, he added papers identified by Waterfield's lists as relating to these locations, often listing them before the volumes of consultations. He then added files from various other sources, usually placing them at the beginning or the end of a series but sometimes, where the date or content made it appropriate, in the middle. A typical example of Danvers's construction of a series is the Patna series. The middle volumes are taken from the consultations, the first volume comprises earlier consultations noted by Birdwood under "VV" and the miscellaneous "DD", and the last is a collection of papers from Waterfield's second list. Beside each file, Danvers noted its previous classification, although the different schemes cannot all be traced today. Finally, he arranged all the series into alphabetical order and added a "Miscellaneous" series at the end, which was made up largely of records in Birdwood's AA to FF bundles.

In the 1970s, Anthony Farrington modified Danvers's list by giving each series a chronological number from G/1 to G/40. Danvers's chronological number for each file was retained as part of a composite reference, the first Anjengo record, for example, becoming G/1/1.

The content of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century records overlaps considerably with that of the "Original Correspondence" sub-series (E/3/1-83). The consultations of the several factories that later became part of the presidency organisation are, after the close of the various sub-series, continued in the Bengal, Bombay and Madras Proceedings (P). Later letters from Bengal, Bombay, Madras and their subordinate factories are in the Correspondence with India series (E/4).

The Home Miscellaneous series (H) contains material on the early factories.

The Marine Records (L/MAR) contain material on early voyages.

See Martin Moir, A General Guide to the India Office Records (London, 1988), Appendix II, for references to records relating to factories outside India. The handlists in the Reading Room also give more detailed information on the factories in China, Japan, Egypt, Persia and the Persian Gulf.

Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India, 1784-1858

Documents from the Indian factories in the seventeenth century have been calendared or summarised in various publications. Of particular note is W. Foster and C. Fawcett, The English Factories in India [1618-1684], 13 vols (Oxford, 1906-55), which also includes a four-volume narrative history.

Some information on the individual factories given at series level is expanded in [F. C. Danvers], List of Factory Records of the late East India Company preserved in the Record Department of the India Office, London (London, 1897). See also William Foster, A Guide to the India Office Records, 1600-1858 (London, 1919).

F. C. Danvers, Report... on the Records of the India Office: records relating to agencies, factories and settlements not now under the administration of the Government of India (London, 1888) gives the history of many of the settlements outside India.

The following describes the historical background to the East India Company's factories and their changing function.

1600-1709

The visits to the east of the first Company ships, undertaken in a series of separately funded voyages, were exploratory in nature. Captains were under instructions to seek out those places that offered the best opportunities for trade and to seek permission to trade from local rulers. According to the information received back, Company instructions then became more specific and the captains were advised to visit or revisit particular places to try to establish connections. At these ports, captains tried to obtain permission for a merchant or merchants to settle and, if necessary, to set up factories. A "factory" was a trading post where a number of merchants, or factors, resided. When company ships arrived at the factories, ships' merchants were thus enabled to exchange goods for trading immediately instead of having to wait to make deals with local merchants. Factories were run by a chief factor and a council of factors. In the areas that proved most successful for trading, groups of factories were eventually established. These were known as settlements and were governed by an agent and council. Eventually: certain settlements developed into centres to which all other factories in the region reported. These became known as presidencies and were administered by an agent (first called a president and later a governor) and a large council of senior factors.

Contacts developed only gradually. The Company's first interest lay in the Malay archipelago and the Spice islands, although from the start it faced considerable competition from Dutch merchants. The fleet of the first voyage (1600) visited Acheen in Sumatra and Bantam in Java; in both places the commander, James Lancaster, obtained permission to trade and to establish a factory. He also visited the Moluccas. The fleet of the second voyage (1604) returned to Sumatra and Bantam and also visited the Banda islands and Amboyna, where merchants tried but failed to obtain trading rights. The third voyage (1606) marked the first contact with India. Captain Hawkins in the "Hector" reached Surat in 1607 and proceeded to Agra in an effort to secure trading privileges. Return visits were made to Sumatra, Bantam and the Moluccas. During the fourth voyage (1608), the "Ascension" returned to Surat and then visited Aden and Mocha on the Red Sea, trying unsuccessfully to set up a factory at Mocha. The "Union" visited Sumatra. The fleet of the fifth voyage (1608) returned to Bantam and to the Banda Islands.

The Company directors had learned that cloths and calicoes from Surat and Cambay were in demand in Bantam, and the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth voyages sailed under instructions to attempt trade in that region so that the goods could be exchanged in Bantam for pepper and spices. On its way to Surat, the fleet of the sixth voyage (1610) revisited the Red Sea ports; the "Darling" was later despatched from Surat to Bantam. From Bantam, trade was carried out at Amboyna and a factory was established at Macassar on Celebes. The seventh voyage (1610) saw the first visits to the east coast of India when the "Globe" visited Petapoli and Masulipatam. During the eighth voyage (1611), Captain Saris in the "Clove" obtained permission to trade and to establish factories at Firando in Japan (1613) and at Siam (1613). Ships of the ninth voyage (1612) returned to the east coast of India while the tenth voyage (1612) resulted in a consolidation of the Company's position at Surat, when a firman was finally obtained from the Great Mogul, Jahangir, to establish factories at Surat, Cambay and Goga. During this voyage other factories were established in Sumatra, at Tiku and Priaman.

In 1612 the Company's directors resolved that future voyages would be organised on a joint-stock principle by which investments were made not for individual voyages but for a period of years. A little later, in a similar spirit of rationalisation, the directors nominated Surat and Bantam as the Company's western and eastern centres of trade. Trade around Surat increased when Sir Thomas Roe succeeded in 1616 in obtaining permission to establish factories in any part of the Mogul's empire. Factories were set up at Ahmadabad, Baroda and Broach; Broach in particular provided large quantities of calicoes. Efforts were made to open up trade in Bengal; a few years later an agency was established at Agra.

At Sir Thomas Roe's suggestion, a ship from the fleet arriving in Surat was sent to the Red Sea, where merchants from Egypt were keen to buy products from the east. The "Royal Anne" reached Mocha in 1618 and the merchants were granted permission to trade. Contact was also established with southern Persia where silk could be obtained. In 1616 trade began at Jask at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Across Persia and Arabia, competition with the Portuguese was intense. Firmans were nevertheless obtained by the English for trade at Mocha (1618) and Ispahan, and a treaty between Persia and England gave the Company considerable trading privileges. A small trading post was established at Gombroon in 1624.

In the east, efforts to develop trade in the Spice islands were frustrated by the continuing conflict with the Dutch. In 1617 the Company gained possession of the islands of Pulo Run and Rosengyn and established a factory at Macassar in Celebes. In 1620, however, the Dutch expelled the English from Pulo Run and from the largest of the Banda islands, Lantore. In 1621 the Dutch drove the English from Bantam, although the factory was re-established a few years later. The factors retired to Batavia but as a result of the hostilities, the Governor and Council turned their attention towards the east coast of India. Some factors from Bantam settled at Masulipatam on the Coromandel coast. The rivalry with the Dutch culminated in the massacre, in 1623, of the English factors at Amboyna, after which the Company no longer made serious efforts to develop trade in the Spice islands or the Malay archipelago. It withdrew most of its factories in the region including those in Japan and Siam.

In 1625, a ship was sent from Batavia to Armagon on the Coromandel coast where a factory was established. With trade on the coast gradually developing, efforts were made in 1633 to extend the Company's operations into the Bay of Bengal. Factors at Masulipatam obtained the right to trade from the ruler of Bengal and in 1634 factors settled at Balasore. In 1638 the factory at Armagon was abandoned, the place being no longer suitable for trade, and its factors were invited by the local Hindu ruler to found a settlement at Maderaspatam (Madras). The factory was named Fort St George and quickly became the centre for trade in eastern India. The Governor and Council there were also in close contact with factors at settlements in south-west India. Contact with Bengal developed; in 1651 factors made their way to Hugli and established a factory, before continuing up the Ganges valley and settling at Kasimbasar (1658) and Patna.

Under Cromwell's charter of 1657, the Company became a genuine joint-stock company. This meant that investments were no longer confined to individual voyages or to periods of years. The Charter, confirmed by Charles II, paved the way for expansion of the Company's activities. In 1661 the English Crown acquired Bombay island from the Portuguese and in 1668 Bombay was granted to the Company. With its many advantages of site and location, the town grew rapidly in importance. On the east coast, factories were established at Vizigapatam in 1668, at Cuddalore and Thevnapatam in 1674 and at Madapollam in or around 1677. The factories in Bengal were under the nominal control of Fort St George although in practice they often acted independently. In recognition of this, in 1681 the agent at Hugli was made governor of all the Bengal factories: at Kasimbazar, Patna, Balasore, Malda and Dacca.

In 1682 Bantam was captured by the Dutch. With its activities in the Malay archipelago and the Spice islands now severely curtailed, the Company reshaped its overseas administration. Fort St George was raised to the rank of presidency in 1684, its Governor and Council having responsibility for the factories on the Coromandel coast and in the Bay of Bengal. In the same year, Bombay was nominated to replace Surat as the centre of the Company's activities in the west of India and the Persian Gulf.

In India, the persistent wars between the Moguls and Mahrathas continued to have a detrimental effect on the Company's trade. In 1686 Sir John Child was appointed Governor in charge of the Indian settlements and factories. Based at Bombay, he had the authority to declare war or peace with the Moguls and Mahrathas. In the same year the factories in Bengal were seized by the Mogul ruler; the factors withdrew to Madras and the agent at Hugli withdrew downriver to the town of Chutanuttee (later known as Calcutta). A settlement at Tegnapatam was also established in this year. Following the loss of Bantam, the Company established a fortified settlement at Bencoolen in Sumatra (Fort York) in 1687 and this was made the centre for such trade as remained in the region. In 1689 the Moguls seized the Company's factories at Vizagapatam and Masulipatam and murdered the factors. In 1692 the factory at Tegnapatam was fortified and named Fort St David. In the same year the factory at Broach was closed; in 1694 permission was given to settle at Anjengo to the south of Bombay.

The Company failed to prevent the incorporation, in 1698, of a new company, "the English East India Company Trading to the East Indies". The Directors instructed their factors to exclude the new company from all its operations, Bengal was once more separated administratively from Madras and in the following year the Company obtained Chutanuttee from the Great Mogul and began to build Fort William there. From that time forward, Bengal was considered to be a separate presidency. The rival companies were finally united in 1709 to form the United Company of Merchants Trading to the East Indies. By this stage, although the Company still depended entirely on the permission of local rulers to carry out its trading activities, it had an administrative structure in place: three presidencies in India and a presidency at Bencoolen in Sumatra for the eastern trade.

1709-1765

During this period the Company became firmly established at its three presidential bases: Bengal, Madras and Bombay. Traders from the interior of India and its coastal settlements regularly brought their goods to these centres to await the arrival of the Company's annual fleets. The volume of trade on the west coast began to decline but Bombay remained important as a base for trade with the Persian Gulf ports of Gombroon and Basra. Madras grew in importance at three levels. Its local trade increased and it became the base for trading both to the Spice Islands and to China. The China trade developed over this period. The Company maintained supercargoes (commanders responsible for the trading of a ship's cargo) at Canton during the trading season and eventually gained permission to establish a factory there in 1751. The trade in tea began to dominate the Company's trading operations. Bengal grew phenomenally as a trading centre over the first part of the eighteenth century, helped by the granting of a firman by the Emperor Fraukisyar in 1717 that excused the Company from paying customs duties. Ships from Bengal also carried on an import-export trade with the supercargoes in Canton.

The outbreak of war between the British and the French in 1744 led to a period of conflict in the Carnatic and Hyderabad as both countries intervened in local Indian power struggles. Fort St George was captured by the French in 1746 and Fort St David became the seat of the Company's government until Fort St George was restored by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The wars finally drew to an end in 1761 when the British took the French centre of Pondicherry.

1765-1833

The seizure of Calcutta by the Nawab of Bengal and Clive's subsequent defeat of the Nawab at Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the Company's change in function. Following the Mogul Emperor's grant of the diwani (authority to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765, the Company assumed administrative control of these provinces. The administration developed under Warren Hastings and in 1773 the Government of Bengal assumed supervisory powers over the other India presidencies. On the conclusion of peace settlements with the French, Tipu Sultan and the Marathas in 1783-4, the Company began to acquire further territories around Madras. Other territories were gradually acquired across the sub-continent. In addition, a range of protected states was gradually established. In these the Company was responsible for external relations but the Indian rulers retained responsibility for internal government. A Company Resident or Agent was appointed to each state. To administer the territories, the presidencies developed complex administrative structures. Although often remaining important centres of trade, the factories still in existence during this period gradually became absorbed into the territorial administration. From the Factory Records, such factories include those at Surat, Broach, Masulipatam, Vizigapatam, Malda, Cuddalore and Tellicherri. Cambay came under Indian rule and the records are those of the Company's Resident. The Burdwan, Dinajpur, Murshidabad and Thana records date from this period and relate purely to the Company's territorial administration.

In Arabia and the Red Sea, the Company increased its presence as the strategic importance of the region became apparent. The British conflicts with European powers in Africa and the need to protect the route to India were factors in the establishment of political agencies at Bushire (1763) and Bagdhad (1798); the factory at Mocha also took on a new function as a political agency. To the east, the Company's need to protect its trade with China led to the establishment of Penang (1786), Malacca (1795) and Singapore (1819).

Within India, the Company's trading function finally came to an end under the Charter Act of 1813 when its monopoly rights on trade to India were withdrawn. In 1833 the Company's monopoly on the China trade was also abolished.