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The east india company
Calcutta was the capital of the British Imperial India, the local language is Bengali and the national language is Hindi. However, the language that you see on street signs, in shops, and on public transport is often English. Queen Elizabeth, started the East India Company in 1600. English became the language used for trading. However, some words, which meant one thing in Britain, meant another thing in Indian English. A dictionary called Hobson-Jobson was made to explain these words. -
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The English language
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The triangle trade.
The slave trade began in the 17th century and one part of the slave trade was called The Triangle Trade. Ships would load up with guns from Britain, then sail to West Africa. In West Africa, the manufactured goods were exchanged for African slaves. Then they sailed across the Atlantic, through the so-called the middle passage. The buyers were owners of large plantations in the Caribbean and in North American. Then the ships loaded up with sugar, tobacco, and cotton and sailed back to England. -
First Fleet
Before 1788, there were 250 languages spoken in Australia, with a population of 750, 000 people. Many of these languages were Aboriginal, which died out as the number of indigenous people fell. The 'First Fleet' arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney) in Australia in 1788. It was a fleet of 11 ships, which held about 780 English people. Many of them were criminals who were 'transported for life'. This meant that they had committed a crime and as a punishment, they were sent to Australia.