Previous Year Question

The British East India Company was established in 1600 CE in England. Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal charter on 31 December 1600 incorporating a group of merchants as a corporate body. The British Library preserves the charter record dated 31 December 1600.

The company's original formal name was “The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies.” The charter initially granted the company exclusive trading privileges in the eastern regions. The British Library's India Office Records describe this corporate body and its original charter.

At that time, the Mughal emperor in India was Akbar. Akbar's reign lasted from 1556 to 1605 CE. Therefore, when the East India Company was established in 1600, Akbar was still on the Mughal throne. IGNOU and IGNCA chronologies both give Akbar's reign as 1556–1605.

Jahangir became emperor only in 1605 after Akbar's death. Therefore, associating the formation of the East India Company with Jahangir's reign would be incorrect.

The confusion can arise because some of the early important political and commercial contacts between the English and the Mughal court developed during Jahangir's reign. English representatives subsequently approached the Mughal court and sought trading privileges.

However, the question is not asking when the Company established its major contacts in India; it asks who was the emperor of India when the Company itself was formed in London.

The chronology is clear—

1556 — Akbar's accession
1600 — East India Company chartered
1605 — Akbar's death and Jahangir's accession