Pioneering Trade: The Malda Factory's Role In English East India Company's Foray Into Bengal (1680-1705)

Abstract

From the mid-seventeenth century onwards, Kasimbazar emerged as the English East India Company's (EIC) primary market for silk and its textiles. The region surrounding Kasimbazar was prolific in producing silk goods destined for export. Attracted by Bengal silk's substantial profitability, EIC's directors in London envisaged an expansion to regions with existing infrastructure capable of delivering high-quality raw silk and textiles. Subsequently, Mr. Streynsham Master was dispatched to Bengal as a special envoy to strategize this expansion. The establishment of the EIC's sixth factory at Malda directly resulted from this mission. However, the nascent years of the Malda settlement were fraught with challenges, leading company officials to perceive Malda as a subordinate to Hooghly and Kasimbazar with uncertain business potential. But, within two decades, consistent profits began to reshape this perception. Up until the key shifts in 1898 and 1899—EIC acquiring zamindary rights in Calcutta, establishing Fort William as the English headquarters, and the subsequent relocation of the subah capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad in 1706—interactions with local provincial rulers were mired in extortion and bribery. Nonetheless, the handsome profit margins painted a promising outlook for the EIC's future in the region. This paper delves into the initial 25 years after the Malda factory's inception. It evaluates the hurdles faced; the resolutions reached—whether through diplomacy or through petitions to distant Dhaka—the appointment of dadani merchants, the inclusion of pykers, and most notably, the trajectory of business growth and profits during this period.