The foundation of the East India Company and arrivals from the Indian…

The idea

This topic covers two linked strands of migration between c.1500 and c.1900. First, the East India Company was founded in 1600 and its trade brought people from the Indian subcontinent to Britain: Lascar and other Asian merchant seamen, child servants and ayahs. Learn how each group arrived, often through Company shipping and port employment, and how they lived in England, frequently in port cities such as London. Second, African communities grew in Britain. Explain the reasons: the Royal African Company, chartered in 1672, organised the trade in enslaved Africans; the loss of the American colonies after 1783 redirected trade and settlement; and the expansion of the British Empire drew more people to Britain. Link causes to consequences rather than listing dates.

What earns the marks

• Identifies the East India Company as founded in 1600 and links its trade to the arrival of people from the Indian subcontinent.
• Names Lascar and other Asian merchant seamen, child servants and ayahs as groups arriving from the Indian subcontinent.
• Explains how these groups arrived, for example through Company shipping and work in port cities.
• Describes the lives of these arrivals in England, such as settlement in port communities.
• Explains that the Royal African Company, chartered in 1672, organised the trade in enslaved Africans.
• Links the loss of the American colonies to changes in trade and the growth of African communities in Britain.
• Connects the expansion of the British Empire to increased migration to Britain.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Treats the East India Company as founded in a later century.

  Put it right: Place its foundation in 1600.

• Lists the migrant groups without explaining how they arrived.

  Put it right: Add the shipping and port-employment routes.

• Omits the African strand entirely.

  Put it right: Include the Royal African Company, the trade in enslaved Africans, the loss of the American colonies and imperial expansion.

• Gives reasons for African settlement without linking them to consequences.

  Put it right: Connect each cause to the growth of communities.

Exam tips

• Read the question stem carefully to see whether it asks about the Indian subcontinent strand, the African strand or both.
• Match each option to a specific cause or group named in the specification rather than a general statement about migration.
• Eliminate options that give a wrong date, such as placing the East India Company outside 1600.
• Check that an option explains a reason for migration, not just a consequence of it.