The British

East India Company (British East India Compa ny, sometimes colloquially referred to as John Company) - British investors trading company, based in London, operating from 1600 until 1858, mainly in India today, also in South-East Asia and th e Far East. Activities company launched an English Queen Elizabeth I, giving the privilege of a monopoly in trade with East India. In areas colonized by the British, the institution has had broad political and administrative powers far beyond the traditional trade.