Liverpool Museums
01-11-2010, 09:11 AM
http://www.yoliverpool.com/graphics/dodd_indiaman_dover.jpg'AnEast Indiaman taking a pilot off Dover' from Merseyside Maritime Museum's collections.Image courtesy of the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo.
I like to use spices when cooking but only sparingly. To my mind there's nothing worsethan making things so hot or spicy you can't taste the food.
Many years ago a friend took me around old spice warehouses on the River Thames whenthey were empty, awaiting redevelopment. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful smellsthat still permeated everywhere – this was part of the East transported to London.
British trade with India and China was controlled by the East India Company from theclosing years of the Tudor era until the 19th century.
The company was granted a royal charter by Elizabeth I in 1600 and went on to generatehuge wealth for many investors. The charter granted a monopoly of trade with all countriesto the east of the Cape of Good Hope and to the west of the Straights of Magellanin South America.
In its early days the company fought Dutch and Portuguese rivals in sea battles onthe Indian Ocean. These operations were costly so the company decided to set up basesin mainland India, initially with the agreement of Indian rulers.
These footholds grew over the years until the East India Company was largely responsiblefor the British conquest of India and was used by the government to rule that vastcountry.
The company's ships were among the finest and largest of their time. Among the cargoesthey brought back were tea, silks, spices, porcelain, sugar and rice. They also carriedpassengers – mainly military and government officials – between London and India.
At Merseyside Maritime Museum (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/) thereis an oil painting called 'An East Indiaman taking a pilot off Dover', attributedto Robert Dodd (1748 – 1815).
This finely-observed work shows the ship with ensigns flying alongside other vesselsoff the White Cliffs of Dover as the pilot prepares to board.
The company’s century-long rule of all of India effectively began following the Battleof Plassey in 1757 when Robert Clive defeated Siraj Ud Daulah, the last independentruler of Bengal.
The East India Company's monopolies were scrapped in the 19th century following acampaign in which Liverpool merchants played a leading part.
Liverpool’s Asia trade involving the export of cotton goods and import of tea, EastIndian sugar and Asian produce underlined its importance as a world-class port.
The East India Company's monopoly of trade with India was abolished in 1813. The companywas dissolved in 1858.
A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the LiverpoolEcho (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/). A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum,newsagents, bookshops or from the MerseyShop website (http://www.merseyshop.com/products/productdetail.php?category_id=&product_id=1124&variation_id=2573&search_term=maritime%20tales) (£1.00 p&p UK).
More... (http://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/EastIndiaDays.aspx)
I like to use spices when cooking but only sparingly. To my mind there's nothing worsethan making things so hot or spicy you can't taste the food.
Many years ago a friend took me around old spice warehouses on the River Thames whenthey were empty, awaiting redevelopment. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful smellsthat still permeated everywhere – this was part of the East transported to London.
British trade with India and China was controlled by the East India Company from theclosing years of the Tudor era until the 19th century.
The company was granted a royal charter by Elizabeth I in 1600 and went on to generatehuge wealth for many investors. The charter granted a monopoly of trade with all countriesto the east of the Cape of Good Hope and to the west of the Straights of Magellanin South America.
In its early days the company fought Dutch and Portuguese rivals in sea battles onthe Indian Ocean. These operations were costly so the company decided to set up basesin mainland India, initially with the agreement of Indian rulers.
These footholds grew over the years until the East India Company was largely responsiblefor the British conquest of India and was used by the government to rule that vastcountry.
The company's ships were among the finest and largest of their time. Among the cargoesthey brought back were tea, silks, spices, porcelain, sugar and rice. They also carriedpassengers – mainly military and government officials – between London and India.
At Merseyside Maritime Museum (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/) thereis an oil painting called 'An East Indiaman taking a pilot off Dover', attributedto Robert Dodd (1748 – 1815).
This finely-observed work shows the ship with ensigns flying alongside other vesselsoff the White Cliffs of Dover as the pilot prepares to board.
The company’s century-long rule of all of India effectively began following the Battleof Plassey in 1757 when Robert Clive defeated Siraj Ud Daulah, the last independentruler of Bengal.
The East India Company's monopolies were scrapped in the 19th century following acampaign in which Liverpool merchants played a leading part.
Liverpool’s Asia trade involving the export of cotton goods and import of tea, EastIndian sugar and Asian produce underlined its importance as a world-class port.
The East India Company's monopoly of trade with India was abolished in 1813. The companywas dissolved in 1858.
A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the LiverpoolEcho (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/). A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum,newsagents, bookshops or from the MerseyShop website (http://www.merseyshop.com/products/productdetail.php?category_id=&product_id=1124&variation_id=2573&search_term=maritime%20tales) (£1.00 p&p UK).
More... (http://blog.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/EastIndiaDays.aspx)