An East Indiaman is a large sailing merchant ship built from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries for the chartered East India companies of Britain, the Netherlands, France and other European states to carry goods and passengers on the long voyage between Europe and Asia. Heavily built, often armed against pirates and rival powers, and capable of carrying substantial cargo, East Indiamen were central to the spice, tea and textile trade that made the chartered companies among the wealthiest commercial enterprises of their era.
Facts
SignificanceMerchant ships operated under charter or licence for European trading companies that traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. 1 Sources
1. East Indiaman, Wikipedia
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East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries.
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