Ironically, this ensign was never worn by Honourable Company Ships in American waters, it's use was restricted to The Atlantic Ocean South of Saint Helena, the Indian Ocean and the East Indies.
Posted on 08/02/2010 4:02:37 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
It was the paragon of British imperialism, set up to exploit India’s wealth of resources and ending up governing large parts the country in the process. At its height the East India Company controlled 50 per cent of world trade, bringing tea and coffee to the breakfast tables of the West and spices around the globe. Now, 136 years after it was dissolved, the business is being relaunched - by an Indian entrepreneur. And, initially anyway, it will be a rather more modest enterprise.
Mumbai-born Sanjiv Mehta is opening a luxury food shop this month in Mayfair, London, under the historic name - as he takes his first step towards restoring the company to its former glory. With a nod to the past, the 2,000 sq ft premises will sell a range of teas and coffees, as well as other goods including chutneys, marmalades, mustards and chocolates. Mr Mehta has been granted permission by the Treasury to use the name and original trademarks of the East India Company. With the help of wealthy investors, he has ploughed £12 million into the development of the company, which he bought from private investors for a small sum in 2005.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Are these ‘Feather Indians’, or ‘Hotel Indians’ they are speaking of?
By 1757, it had become a powerful arm of the British establishment with its own armed forces, fleets and currency as well as governing Calcutta, Madras and Bengal. Its activities remain controversial as it used its private forces to suppress local rulers. It was also implicated in the seizure of the fabled Koh-i-noor diamond - now the most famous of the Crown jewels - after the capture of Punjab in 1849. In 1874, the Government of India Act transferred the East India Company powers to the Crown and it effectively ceased to be.
..or did it?
But don’t we get tea and spices from other countries now?
I like the spirit of this. Take the past as part of your history, the good and the bad of it, and move on.
Historical trivia: It was tea from the British East India Company that got thrown into Boston Harbor during the first Boston Tea Party.
LOL! (I’ve signed you up for Diversity Training!)
Dots, not feathers.
These are the “doctor Indians” who are practicing medicine in large numbers in UK & USA.
Lot’s of Cultural Studies and Post-colonial Studies students just found their life’s work writing papers about this.
IF I remember right the US flag was based on the EIC ensign.
Yes, you are right.
The rockets mentioned in the US national anthem were the ones the British had gotten from southern India.
Ironically, this ensign was never worn by Honourable Company Ships in American waters, it's use was restricted to The Atlantic Ocean South of Saint Helena, the Indian Ocean and the East Indies.
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