At the beginning of the 16th century AD England’s main trade was in cloth, exported to the Netherlands and managed from London through the Merchant Venturers Company (with connections in Bristol and Exeter). Disruption of the trade during Elizabeth’s wars with Spain threatened the national economy. This, with advances in shipbuilding and navigational techniques, led English merchants to seek other markets abroad.

English mariners like Hawkins and Drake led the way, first as privateers and then attracting royal and noble patronage. Drake’s circumnavigation of the world in 1577-80 was a huge success for his sponsors. The English competed with Dutch privateers and, in the Mediterranean, Barbary pirates who roamed the North African coast. The threat from privateering, however, encouraged merchants to combine in new trading companies.

After 1577 a number of new trading companies were created, including the Spanish, Barbary (North African coast) and Levant (Middle East) companies. The Levant Company dealt with the Turkish Ottoman Empire, importing spice, perfumes and currants. It received its charter from Elizabeth in 1581, a year after Spain annexed Portugal and its colonies, including the East Indies, the source of the spice trade. In 1599, the East Indies Company was founded, and English merchants began to carve an empire from the Spanish territories.