Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean. The permission was granted, and despite the defeat of the English Armada in 1589, on 10 April 1591 three ships sailed from Torbay around the Cape of Good Hope to the Arabian Sea on one of the earliest English overseas Indian expeditions. One of them, Edward Bonventure, then sailed around Cape Comorin and on to the Malay Peninsula and subsequently returned to England in 1594.

This time they succeeded, and on 31 December 1600, the Queen granted a Royal Charter to "George, Earl of Cumberland, and 215 Knights, Aldermen, and Burgesses" under the name, Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading with the East Indies. For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601 and returned in 1603. and in March 1604 Sir Henry Middleton commanded the second voyage. General William Keeling, a captain during the second voyage, led the third voyage from 1607 to 1610.

Now, provide a numbered list of answers to these questions:

1. Who did business people in London bring a petition to?
2. Did the petition involve an ocean?
3. Which one?
4. Did the petition involved sailing?
5. Was the petition approved?
6. How many ships set sail from Torbay?
7. In what year?
8. In what month?
9. On what day of the month?
10. When was the English Armada defeated?
11. Did the ships from Torbay travel around something?
12. What?
13. To where?
14. Who took a trip around Cape Comorin?
15. And what was his next stop?
16. Did he then go back to England?
17. In what year?
18. What year was a Royal Charter given?
19. Who granted it?
20. Who was in charge of the first trip of East India Company?
1. Queen Elizabeth I
2. yes
3. the Indian Ocean
4. yes
5. yes
6. three
7. 1591
8. April
9. the tenth
10. 1589
11. yes
12. the Cape of Good Hope
13. the Arabian Sea
14. Edward Bonventure
15. the Malay Peninsula
16. yes
17. 1594
18. 1600
19. the Queen
20. Sir James Lancaster