Which of the following British Acts ended the trade monopoly of the East India Company in India, except for the trade in tea and trade with China?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The Charter Act of 1813 ended the East India Company's commercial monopoly in India, opening up Indian trade to all British merchants, while expressly retaining its monopoly over trade in tea and trade with China for another twenty years. This legislative milestone marked the beginning of modern British economic exploitation of India. Earlier acts like the Regulating Act of 1773 and Pitt's India Act of 1784 focused primarily on regulatory and administrative controls rather than ending trade monopolies. Modern history questions often trace the progressive curtailment of Company privileges.