List of ports of call of the British East India Company

Summary

The East Indiamen of the British East India Company (EIC) passed many places and stopped at many ports on their voyages from Britain to India and China in the 17th to 19th centuries, both on the way and as destinations. Some of these places were simply landmarks, but a number of the places were the locations of EIC factories, i.e., trading posts.

In many cases the spelling of the names of these locations has changed between then and now. One purpose of this list is to link, where possible, the names as given in ships' logs with the modern name. Names in italics represent cases where the modern and older name are different.

A edit

B edit

  • Babelmandel Island
  • Balambangan
  • Balasore; Balasore Roads is about 125 miles south of Calcutta; it provided a sheltered anchorage for vessels awaiting a pilot or favourable winds to take them upriver, or to transfer cargo
  • Bally is the island of Bali
  • Bally Town is on the Hooghli River, slightly north of Calcutta
  • Banaca
  • Banda
  • Bancoot (17°59′N 73°30′E / 17.983°N 73.500°E / 17.983; 73.500) - about 75 miles SE of Bombay, on the Savitri River.
  • Bandar Abbas
  • Banjarmasin (See also Tamborneo)
  • Bankshall - general term for the office of harbor-master or other port authority; at Calcutta the office stood on the banks of the Hooghli
  • Bantal 2°45′49.1″S 101°20′01.7″E / 2.763639°S 101.333806°E / -2.763639; 101.333806 - west coast of Sumatra in the Moco Moco district (see below); 20 miles SE of Moco Moco and 17 miles NW of Ipuh (see below)
  • Bantam; see also Banten Sultanate
  • Barrabulla or Barra Bulla is a sandbank that forms near Kedgeree (see below) in the Hooghli River.
  • Basara
  • Bass Strait
  • Bassein a city in Maharashtra state, India; known as Bassein to the Portuguese and British
  • Batavia
  • Bencoomat 5°30′S 104°12′E / 5.500°S 104.200°E / -5.500; 104.200
  • Benkulen or Bencoolen; see also Fort Marlborough
  • Benguela
  • Bimilipatnam (or Bhimili)
  • Billiton is an island that also gave its name to a strait. See also Caramata. Billiton and Caramata islands flank a passage that connects the South China Sea to the Java Sea
  • Bona Vista
  • Bocca Tigris, or Bogue
  • Bombay
  • Bouru
  • Burah Bazaar
  • Busher (Bushire)

C edit

D-H edit

I-J edit

  • Ile de Rhé
  • Indremayo, or Indramayo
  • Ingeli (or Hijili, Engelee, Ingelee, or Hidgelee): a point on the west side of the Hooghli Estuary
  • Ipoh = Ipuh 2°59′57″S 101°29′04″E / 2.999301°S 101.484517°E / -2.999301; 101.484517; west coast of Sumatra, not the city in Malaysia
  • Jagarall Creek, near Calcutta
  • Jambi - EIC factory 1613-1681
  • Jaggernaickpuram (or Jaggernaikpoeram, or Jagannathapuram). Also known as Cocinga or Cocanada
  • Jari - possibly Jarajah on the west coast of Sumatra near Bantal.
  • Johanna

K-M edit

N-R edit

S edit

T-W edit

Unidentified locations edit

  • "Broken Ground" - a place or region between Bengal and Madras; possibly a section of the Hoogli between Ingeli and Barrabula
  • Capshee Bay
  • Caipang Bay
  • Cockelee
  • Doens (probably a typographical error for The Downs.)
  • Jangarall Creek, Calcutta
  • Hollis Bay (possibly a miss-transcription of Wallis Bay)
  • Lombon Strait (not Lombok Strait)
  • Monsourcottah – probably near Ganjam
  • Pulo Massey (or Pulo Masey) - possibly Sumbawa, in the Lesser Sunda Islands group.

See also edit

List of Dutch East India Company trading posts and settlements

Bibliography edit

  • Erikson, Emily (2014) Between Monopoly and Free Trade: The English East India Company, 1600-1757: The English East India Company, 1600-1757. (Princeton University Press). ISBN 9780691159065
  • Horsburgh, James. (1836) India Directory or Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, New Holland, Cape of Good Hope, and the interjacent Ports, compiled chiefly from original Journals and Observations made during 21 years' experience in navigating those Seas 4th Edn. W. H. Allen, London.