East India Company

The East India Company, also known as Honourable East India CompanyAssassin's Creed Chronicles: India – Database: East India Company or British India CompanyAssassin's Creed: Syndicate – Database: British India Company (BIC), was a British trading enterprise that delivered goods and commodities to several ports throughout the British Empire, and a major naval force during the Age of Enlightenment and the Golden Age of Piracy. 
==History==
The company, originally chartered as the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, was founded in 1600, through a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I of England. Throughout its history, the company held a tight monopoly on trade throughout most of the coastlines of the known world, and established a massive trading network that spanned from India and China in the east to the Caribbean Sea and the Thirteen Colonies in the west. The company owned over 1700 ships, creating the largest and most powerful merchant navy of all time.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Secretly, however, the business was used on several occasions by members of the Templar Order, in their efforts to spread their influence throughout the ever-growing empire. As of 1713, Sir Aubrey Hague was an executive of the company, and Benjamin Pritchard was a captain sailing for the company until his death that year; both men had been Templars. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Additionally, Duncan Walpole had been in the employ of the company, before a fellow sailor approached and recruited him into the Assassin Order. Later, Duncan Walpole was persuaded by Henry Spencer, a Templar and a member of the East India Company's Court of Directors, to betray the Assassins and join the Templar Order.Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
By 1725, the company had become engaged in a proxy war with the rival Dutch East India Company, resulting in political tensions between the British and the Dutch. This was especially true around Southeast Asia, where many Dutch sailors blamed the British for the deaths of their comrades at sea, and would not hesitate to attack any Englishman on sight.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple - Episode 2
Around 1748, the East India Company was in danger of facing resistance from the and the Assassins in the area. John Harrison, who was stationed in Calcutta, wrote a letter to William Johnson asking for aid in dealing with the Assassins stationed in the area and to help the company prosper.Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters
Several years after, in 1773, the company was being used by William Johnson to fund the sale of Kanien'kehá:ka territory in colonial America. The company was the only business able to import tea to the city of Boston, where it was taxed at alarming prices before the profits would go to Johnson. However, the intervention of the Sons of Liberty, as well as that of the Colonial Assassin Connor, sparked the Boston Tea Party and saw the remainder of the unsold tea dumped into Boston's harbor, foiling Johnson's plan.Assassin's Creed III
In 1839, after the Templar Francis Cotton successfully poisoned, Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, the resulting confusion following the ruler's death allowed the company to launch the , which ultimately resulted in the annexation of India by the British.Assassin's Creed: Brahman
Following Cotton's death in 1839, the senior Templar William Sleeman of the same company was placed in charge of Templar operations in India, and organized several expeditions to find Isu Temples, hoping to retrieve the Pieces of Eden housed within. After stealing the Koh-i-Noor from the Indian Assassin Brotherhood, Sleeman used it in conjuction with a Precursor box to reveal the locations of several Temples. However, his plans were foiled by the Assassin Arbaaz Mir, who managed to steal back the Koh-i-Noor and hide it away.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India
 eventually took control of the company's powers and assets in 1858. In 1868, the company wanted to crush the independence of India, with the assistance of Templars led by Brinley Ellsworth, but the Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye thwarted their plans with the help of Ellsworth's former friend, Maharaja Duleep Singh.Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – The Last Maharaja
==Gallery==
ACC India DB EIC Rifleman.png|East India Company Rifleman
ACC India DB EIC Sniper.png|East India Company Sniper
ACC India DB EIC Corporal.png|East India Company Corporal
ACC India DB EIC Highlander.png|East India Company Highlander
ACC India DB EIC Lieutenant.png|East India Company Lieutenant
ACC India DB EIC Sepoy.png|East India Company Sepoy
ACC India DB EIC Lance Corporal.png|East India Company Lance Corporal
ACC India DB EIC Sergeant.png|East India Company Sergeant
ACC India DB East India Company.png|East India Company Building
ACS DB British India Company.jpg|Members of East India Company during Victorian era
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed III 
*Assassin's Creed: Black Flag 
*Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
*Assassin's Creed: Brahman
*Assassin's Creed: Rogue 
*Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – The Last Maharaja
*Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India
*Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
*Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
==References==
zh:东印度公司
Category:Companies
Category:Military forces
Category:Templar-affiliated groups
Category:Navies