Concise Indian History: Britisher's Arrival in India

Charter of Queen Elizabeth I

The British were encouraged to venture in the east due to their victory over Spanish Armada in 1588 and Francis drake's voyage around the globe in 1580.
On 31st December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter with exclusive rights to trade to the company named as 'Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into East Indies'.

As mentioned in the post Portuguese in India ,Captain Hawkings was the first Englishman to arrive in India. He arrived in the court of Jahangir in 1609.
Due to Portuguese resistance, he was unable to set up a factory at Surat and left Agra in 1611. However, The English had started trading at Masulipatnam (established factory later in 1616) on the south-eastern coast of India.
Next year, Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese ship fleet near Surat which impressed Jahangir so much that he granted them the permission to establish a factory at Surat under Thomas Aldworth. They also got permission to establish factories at Agra, Ahmedabad & Broach.
Britishers were rid of their rivals (Portuguese & Dutch) as the Dutch won't interfere with the English Company's trade in India as decided by Anglo-Dutch compromise (Dutch in India).
The Portuguese King gifted Bombay to King Charles II as dowry when he married Portugal princess Catherine in 1662.
Their position strengthened by the 'Golden Farman' issued by the Sultan of Golconda in 1632 according to which they earned the perks of trading freely in the ports of Golconda on payment of 500 pagodas a year.
In 1639, they received permission to build a fortified factory at Madras which later became the Fort St. George and replaced Masulipatnam as headquarters of the English settlements in south India.

The English were allowed to trade in Bengal in 1651 by Shah Shuja, the subahdar of Bengal, in return of Rs. 3000 annually. Factories were opened at Hoogly, Kasimbazar, Patna & Rajmahal.
The Britishers wanted to fortify the factories and appealed the same to Shayista Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal, in 1682. As the appeal wasn't granted, tension became the Mughals and the English increased. Violent clashes forced the Britishers to leave Hoogly and were sent to an unhealthy location.
Job Charnock, an agent of the company, signed a treaty with the Mughals in February 1690 to negotiate as to return to a place called Sutanuti. Thus, the English factory was established on February 10, 1691, the day an imperial farman (order) was issued permitting the English to continue trade on payment of Rs 3000 annually in lieu of all dues.
Sobha Singh, a zamindar in Bardhaman district, rebelled this farman and gave the English the pretext they were looking for, to fortify their settlement at Sutanuti in 1696. They bought zamindari of surrounding villages of Sutanuti, Gobindpur & Kalikata (Kalighat) and made the settlement fortified named as Fort William in 1700. It also became the seat of the eastern presidency of Calcutta with Sir Charles Eyre as its first president.

In 1717, the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar secured three famous farmans, giving the Company a number of trade concession and privileges. These farmans were also called as Magna Carta of the Company.
This was issued because William Hamilton, a doctor associated with the company, cured the emperor of a disease.
As per the farmans:-
* The Company was permitted to issue dastaks (passes) for the transportation of goods.
* In Bengal, the Company's imports and exports were exempted from additional customs duties on payment of Rs 3000 annually.
* Similar privileges were enjoyed by the English in Hyderabad and Surat too.
* It was ordered that the coins of the Company minted at Bombay were to have currency throughout the Mughal empire.