Sir Josiah Child: Mercantilist Governor of the EIC

Josiah Child

An English merchant, economic thinker, and politician. One of the prominent economic theorists representing mercantilism, he served as a major shareholder, director, and deputy governor of the Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies before becoming governor in 1681. He strongly advocated for the political power and trade monopoly of the East India Company, leading company policy during the Anglo-Mughal War (1686–1690). Also a Member of Parliament and baronet, he authored works on trade, interest rates, and colonial policy.

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	Josiah Child
1630	Birth of Josiah Child (Period: c. 1630–1631 (baptized February 27, 1630/31), Location: London, England)
1650	Entry into Portsmouth Municipal Politics (Josiah Child, Age: 20 years old, Period: 1650s–1660s, Location: Portsmouth, England)
1654	Marriage (Josiah Child, Hannah Boate, Age: 24 years old, Period: December 26, 1654, Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire, England)
1655	Commencement of Naval Supply Business (Age: 25 years old, Period: Around 1655, Location: Portsmouth, England)
1659	Member of Parliament for Petersfield (Josiah Child, Age: 29 years old, Period: 1659, Location: Petersfield, England)
1663	Marriage (Josiah Child, Mary Atwood, Age: 33 years old, Period: Around June 14, 1663, Location: Unknown)
1668	Publication of 'Brief Observations Concerning Trade and Interest of Money' (Age: 38 years old, Period: 1668, Location: London, England)
1673	Member of Parliament for Dartmouth (Josiah Child, Age: 43 years old, Period: 1673, Location: Dartmouth, England) Purchase of Wanstead Manor (Josiah Child, Age: 43 years old, Period: 1673, Location: Wanstead, Essex, England)
1676	Marriage (Josiah Child, Emma Willoughby, Age: 46 years old, Period: Around August 8, 1676, Location: Unknown)
1677	Appointment as Director of the East India Company (Josiah Child, Age: 47 years old, Period: 1677, Location: London, England)
1678	Creation as Baronet of Wanstead (Josiah Child, Age: 48 years old, Period: 1678, Location: England)
1681	Appointment as Governor of the East India Company (Josiah Child, Age: 51 years old, Period: 1681, Location: London, England)
1682	Breakdown of Bengal Trade Negotiations (Age: 52 years old, Period: 1682–1685, Location: Bengal Region, Mughal Empire)
1685	Shift in East India Company Policy toward Hardline Stance against Mughals (Age: 55 years old, Period: 1685–1686, Location: London, Bengal, West and East Coasts of India) Member of Parliament for Ludlow (Josiah Child, Age: 55 years old, Period: 1685–1689, Location: Ludlow, England)
1686	Anglo-Mughal War (Age: 56 years old, Period: 1686–1690 (Child's direct policy involvement mainly late 1680s), Location: Indian Subcontinent, especially Bengal, Bombay, Madras, and coastal regions of the Mughal Empire) Leadership in the Anglo-Mughal War (Josiah Child, Age: 56 years old, Period: 1686–1690, Location: Indian Subcontinent)
1689	Appointment as High Sheriff of Essex (Josiah Child, Age: 59 years old, Period: 1689, Location: Essex, England)
1690	Apology to the Mughal Empire and Restoration of Company Trade Privileges (Age: 60 years old, Period: 1690, Location: India, Mughal Empire Territory) Publication of 'A New Discourse of Trade' (Age: 60 years old, Period: 1668, Revised edition 1690, Location: England)
1699	Death of Josiah Child (Age: 69 years old, Period: June 22, 1699) Death and Burial at Wanstead (Josiah Child, Age: 69 years old, Period: June 22, 1699, Location: Wanstead, Essex, England)

Map

Category
Element

Europe World

Group	List
East India Company	James Lancaster John Davis William Keeling Henry Middleton Thomas Best Thomas Roe Josiah Child Gerald Aungier Job Charnock
Expansion into North America	John Smith John Winthrop William Bradford William Penn James Oglethorpe Cecil Calvert John Cabot
Science and Astronomy	Galileo Galilei Johannes Kepler Francis Bacon René Descartes William Harvey Robert Boyle Robert Hooke Christiaan Huygens Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Isaac Newton Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Arts and Culture	Peter Paul Rubens Rembrandt van Rijn Diego Velázquez Johannes Vermeer Anthony van Dyck Giovanni Battista Lulli Antoine Watteau

People Timeline

Sir Josiah Child: Mercantilist Governor of the EIC

Josiah Child

Timeline

Map

Related Links

Other Languages

Comments

About

Other Languages