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m Afia, Africa, and America ; the whole, however, agree- able to the jjfages and Cutloras of Merchants, and the Laws of England. In 1662, the fame Prince granted the Compa- ny a Charter* which contain'd a Confirmation of the anrient ones of King James 1. and Queen' Elizabeth * or rather, a new Charter" granting 'em abundance of Privileges which they had not before enjoy'd : This Charter is properly the Bails of the Company, and the Foundation, wherein are founded all the Rights, and the Policy of the Ne-w Compa- 7?v, eilabiilVd in 1698.
" This Charter confiils of 28 Articles : In the firft, the King erects the Company into a Corporation, or Body Poli- tick,^ under the Name of the Governor and Company of Merchants trading to the Eaft-Indies. The $d grants 'cm a common Seal : the 4th a Governor, and 24. Directors, or Af- fittants, chofe out of the Proprietors, or Actionaries 5 the 6th, 7th, 8ih, and 9th, regulate the Order and Policy of the Company, fettle the Officers, manner of Election, Autho- rity, General Meetings, &c. The 10th fixes the Extent of the' Grant; permhs'all thofe of the Company, their Chil- dren if %i "iears of Age, their Apprentices, Factors, and Domefticks, to trade to the Indies, and any Part of Afia, Africa, and America, beyond the Cape of Good Hope, and the Straits of Magellan. The 11 da grants 'em Power to make By-Laws, to be obferv'd by the Officers, Factors, &c. and ro enjoin Penalties ; provided thofe Laws be not contrary to the landing Laws of England. By the rath, the Pay- ment of the Duties, Cufloms, l$c. of Goods imported or exported is delay 'd ; one half of it for half a Year, the otlicr half a whole one : Providing, withal, that if the Goods thus imported, be exported again in the Space of 13 Months, no Duties fhall be paid for fuch Export, provided it be done aboard Engl'jh Veflels. The 13th Article grants 'em a Power of exporting foreign Gold for their Service abroad, and even Englijh Gold coin'd in the Tower ; provi- ded the Sum do not exceed 50000 Pounds Sterling at a Voy- age. By the 14th and 1 5th, they are allow'd fix large Ships, and fix Pinks, to pafs freely thro' all the Limits of their Grant, without the King's being able to lay any Imbargo on 'em on any occafion. The i(fth grants 'em an exclufive Privilege*-; to have the fole Right of dealing to the In- dies : ordering the Seizure and Confifcation of all VefTels, &C. which mall interfere. The 19th obliges 'em to bring, at lead, as much Gold and Silver into the Kingdom, as they carry out each Voyage. The 21ft fixes the Sum in the Capital Stock neceffary to have a Vote in the Meetings, at 500/. Sterling : allowing, however, feveral of thofe who have Jefs, to join feveral together to form a Voice. Laftly, the ztfth allows 'em to fend VefTels of War, and even to make Peace and War with all the Nations not Chriflian, in the Extent of their Grant.
AU thefe four Charters of King Charles II. were con- firm'd by King 'James II. efpecially the lad, which was en- fore'd with new Sanctions ; particularly the Article of Exclu- fion ; which, in the Time of King Charles, had been but little regaided, but was now enfore'd with fuch rigorous Pro- hibitions, that all Interlopers feem'd for ever excluded.
The Anions, or Subscriptions of the Company were origi- nally only of 50 Pounds Sterling : but the Directors having a confiderable Dividend to make in i6f6, it was agreed to join the Profit to the Original, indead of withdrawing it ; and thus the Actions were doubled, and became of 100 Pounds Sterling.
The firft Capital was only 369891 /. Sterling, and 55. which being thus doubled, amounted to 739782. /. Sterling, and 10 s. to which, if the Profits of the Co?npany to the Year itfS 5, viz-. 90'56'qp /. Sterl. be added, the whole Stock will be 1703422 /. Sterling.
The Company had from time to time undergone great LofTes; firlt, in 16S0, by the Lofs of Bantam, out of which they were driven, and their Magazines plunder'd by the c J)utch ; under Pretence of affifling Sultan Agui againd Sul- tan Agom, his Father. 2-dly, In 1682, when the great Numbers of: Interlopers, to whom King Charles II. too ea- fity granted Permiflions, lower'd their Actions Cent, per Cent. 3dly, By the War which the Company maintain'd in the Indies againd the Great Mogul ; wherein it was oblig'd to abandon the Factory of Surat, and to retire to gombay. •■ But Itill, fhe had repair'd her Stock, and fiipported the Re- putation of her Commerce, till the Revolution, which hap- pen'd foon after : when the War, and the incredible Lofies the Company fuftain'd by the French Privateers,^, put it into lo delperate a Condition, that appearing fcarce poflible to be fupportcd, a new one was erected : to which, howe- ver, the old one was in a little time united.
The Charter of the New Ea/l-India Company is of the Year 1698 : its Stock was fo confiderable, and the Subfcrip- .tions lo very ready, that in two Years time, the Company .had 40 Veflels equipp'd in its Service ; which was double of what the old one ever had : and fent to the Indies (com- mnmhus minis) a Million Sterling in Silver; Whereas the
former had never fent above 500000 /. This New Company Hands on the fame Footing with the old one 3 its Charter is the fame, in effect : and having enter'd with it, the Pro- priety of all the Factories and Effects in the Indies, has adopted mod of its Regulations : So that this is rather to be efteem'd a Continuation of the fame Company, than a new Corporation.
Forthe ^Policy of the Company: Tobe a Member there- of, the Candidate mud be an EngliJJrman, at lead natura- liz'd, and pay 5 Pounds Sterling at his admittance. To bo a Director, the Candidate mud have 2000 I. Sterl. Capital Stock : The Deputy and Sub-Governor not to be continued above two Years fuccefiively. Seven of the Directors to be chofen new every Year.
The Court of Directors, which meet twice a Week, is or- dinarily divided into feveral Committees, or Offices ; firft for the buying of Goods to be fent to the Indies ; a lecond for the freighting of Veflels ; a third for the examining of what paffes in the Indies 5 a fourth to take Care of the Ma- gazines ; and a fifth for the folliciting of Affairs. The Com- pany has a Secretary and a Book-keeper ; under the firft j s 12 Clerks, and under the lecond 6. They have alio a Ca- lheer, and Warehoufe-keepers; under the firlt. are fix Clerks, and under the fecond feveral Porters, %§c.
The Company has, properly, only a few little Veflels of its own, ufed in the Indies : the red, which make the Com- merce, belong to other Perfons j ordinarily, to three or four of the richeft Directors, or other great Merchants, who build 'em on purpofc, to let 'em out, on freight, to the Compa- ny for each Voyage, according to a Charter-Party agreed on between 'em.
The Cargo the Company fends to the Indies, is chiefly In- gots of Gold, Gold-Dud, French Louis d'Ors, Spanijh Pif- toles, Pieces of Eight, and even Englijh Money, but under certain Reflections : This Gold and Silver ordinarily makes \ or -} of the whole Cargo. The red is Lead, Swed'ijh and Spanijh Iron, Guns, Pouder, Englijh Cloths, Serges, and other Manufactures of the Country ; Cochineal, Quickiilver, Vermilion, Coral, Amber, &c.
The Returns from the Indies are, Pepper, Drugs, Coffee, Cotton, Saltpeter, Cloths of Gold and Silver, Raw Silks from Terfia and China, China and Japan Ware, and other Curiofities. Thefe Returns ufually amount to 900000 /. Sterling per Annum, i
Tho the whole Commerce of the Indies belongs to the Company, exclufive of all other Subjects of England ; yet private Perfons are admitted to trade thither in two manners.
id, By obtaining a Permiflion of the Company, on the Terms of a Charter-Party : e.gr. whereof the Principal are, that they fhall carry a certain proportion of Silver, Merchan- dize, and even Recruits of Soldiers, for the Company, &c^ and that they pay a Confederation to the Company, for the Manufactures, Gold, Silver, &c. Thefe Veflels of Allow- ance are not at liberty to bring home any Kinds of Mer- chandize at pleafure, but only fuch as are permitted by the Regulation of \6%6 : the chief of which is Pepper, and other Commodities, from China, Japan, and 'Tonquin. At their Return, the Cargo mud be confign'd to the Company, who fell it by Inch of Candle, at their next general Sale.
The 2d way is by means of Allowances of Luggage, which the Company grants to the Proprietors of the Ships it freights to the Indies, and the Officers and Crew of the fame.
The Company has, four principal Eftabliffiments, or Fac- tories in the Indies ; viz. at Surat in the Gulf of Bengal, the Coaft of Coromandel, and in I'erfia : that at PriarMrt ' in the Ifland of Sumatra, is inconfiderable. See Factory.
Royal African Company, eftablifh'd for the Commerce of the Coafts of Guinea, is govern'd like that of the Eajh Indies.
Its Privilege is exclufive: It fends our, yearly, ten or a Dozen Ships, of about 150 Ton, loaden with Iron- Works, Sciflars, Knives, Mulkets, Cottons, and other lefs confide- rable Merchandizes.
The Returns are in Gold-Dud, Elephants Teeth, Wax, and Leathers : But the bed Article of its Commerce is the Negroes, which it fends to Jamaica, Sarhadoes, and other EngliJJj Ifles in America ; frequently, even to the Parts of Ne-w Spain. See Negeo, Assiento, $$c.
Its publick Sales are five or fix times in a Year, in the manner of thofe of the Eaji-India Company.
\The firjh Eflablijbment of this Company, was by a Char- ter granted in 1661, in favour of the Duke of York ; l" ecu " ring to him the Commerce of all the Country, Coafls, lilands, ££c. belonging to the Crown of England, or not poffefs'd by any other Chriftian Prince 5 from Cape 3 lane in 20 Kor. Lat. to the Cape of Good Hopein 34°5o' Sou. Lat. The Charter was foon after return'd into the King's Hands by the Duke, and revok'd, by confent of the Parties aflbciated with him in the Enterprise ; and a new Charter granted in ifitfj* with ampler Privileges than the former.
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