The English East India Company, which later dominated Indian trade, was formally established in which year?

Introduction / Context:
The English East India Company began as a trading company and eventually became the main vehicle of British expansion in India. Knowing the year of its establishment helps place the origins of British influence in the broader timeline of world trade and colonisation. This question asks for the year in which the company was formally founded by royal charter.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The subject is the English East India Company.
- The question is about its formal establishment, not about later territorial gains.
- Options include dates in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries.

Concept / Approach:
Historical records show that Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to the Company in 1600, allowing it to trade in the East. This date is often remembered as 31 December 1600. The approach is to recall that British commercial ventures in Asia began at the turn of the seventeenth century, not earlier or later.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Remember that European powers began serious maritime trade with Asia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Step 2: The English East India Company received its charter at the very end of the sixteenth century, effectively on the date 31 December 1600.
Step 3: Among the options, 1600 is the only year that matches this information exactly.
Step 4: The years 1400 and 1500 are too early, while 1700 is too late for the company foundation.
Step 5: Therefore, 1600 is chosen as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
An alternative way to verify is to recall the rough sequence Portuguese voyages in the late fifteenth century, Dutch and English East India companies around the turn of the seventeenth century, and the growth of their trading posts through the seventeenth century. This temporal pattern confirms that the English East India Company could not be as early as 1500 or as late as 1700, reinforcing 1600 as the correct year.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a is wrong because 1400 predates the age of Portuguese exploration and is much too early.
Option b is wrong since 1500 is still too early for the English company, though by then Portuguese and Spanish ventures had already started.
Option d is wrong as 1700 falls after a century of company operations and cannot represent its foundation.
Option e is wrong because 1550 is not associated with any formal establishment of the English East India Company.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners vaguely place the company in the colonial age without anchoring it to a century. Others confuse the British company with the Portuguese or Dutch ventures and pick earlier dates that belong to another power. Memorising 1600 for the English East India Company is a useful fact for multiple topics in modern Indian history.

Final Answer:
The English East India Company was formally established in 1600.