Also known as the East India Trading Company, and then the British East India Company, the East India Company was originally formed in Britain for pursuing trade with the East Indies in Southeast Asia. In fact, it ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China, where the main items of trade were cotton, silk, tea, opium, and saltpetre (potassium nitrate). From humble origins in 1600, when a group of merchants were given monopoly privileges on all trade with the East Indies, the Company ascended to such a level that it came to be the most powerful economic and political force in India—to the point of ruling the country. The Company’s rule in India began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion the previous year, the British Crown assumed direct responsibility, and the British Raj ensued. The Company’s docks were at Blackwall, on the north bank of the River Thames, just east of the City of London. It was dissolved in 1874.

From a brewer’s viewpoint, the East India Company is irrevocably associated with one of Britain’s great beer styles, India pale ale (IPA). There were approximately 70 ships in regular service in the East India trade, and, apart from general trading, the East India Company was responsible for supplying Britain’s numerous garrisons on the subcontinent. The men were desperate for their “home comforts,” and regular supplies of cheese, wine, hams, etc. were shipped out. Beer was in great demand and brewers vied to produce a beer robust enough to survive the arduous months-long journey to India. Thus was born the India pale ale beer style, upon which were built the fortunes of many 19th-century British breweries.

See also britain, india pale ale.