Cotton, Tea, and Opium: the Keys to the British East India Company's Success

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Cotton, Tea, and Opium: the Keys to the British East India Company's Success

Founded in 1600 by British merchants hoping to break into the spice trade, the British East India Company (EIC) grew to become one of the most dominant cultural, political, economic, and corporate authorities in the world.  Though originally the company traded European wool and silver for eastern spices to be resold in Europe, it quickly expanded to include other valuable commodities such as silk, cotton, tea, opium, porcelain, and indigo.  Growing to control half of all world trade, the EIC could not have achieved such paramount success without three of its most profitable crops: cotton, tea, and opium.

Role of the British East India Company in English History

The EIC first began trading cotton produced in India with other eastern countries in exchange for spices.  However, as the demand for cotton grew in Europe in the late 1600s, the company began to also export Indian cotton products to Europe.  Around the same time, the EIC began purchasing tea from China in exchange for valuable silver. 

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As the company grew, England became increasingly more dependent on the EIC for cotton and tea.  During the Industrial Revolution, the EIC’s cotton business was booming due to the high demand for cotton for British textile production.  Similarly, by the late 18^th century tea accounted for nearly two thirds of the EIC’s total trade, thanks to the growing English obsession with the hot beverage.

However, because the Chinese would only accept silver in exchange for the beloved tea, the EIC sought an alternate form of currency so they wouldn’t exhaust their silver supply: opium.  After growing the opium in India, the EIC began its dirty business of smuggling the drug to China, where millions suffered from life-threatening opium addiction, in exchange for tea.

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Producing cotton and opium in India, trading the opium for tea in China, and finally selling the cotton and tea to the eager Brits, the EIC monopoly became one of the most successful companies in world history.  The EIC became the only company in history to have its own army, and it’s establishments in India and China laid the groundwork for English occupation of India and Hong Kong for years to come- all thanks to these three plants.

Key Points in the History of the British East India Company