The East India Company, which had extensive interests in the Far East, India and China, used Portsmouth as a base. The Company had its own army and detachments would leave from Portsmouth together with company officials and passengers. Often these would be protected by naval escorts. The Company's involvement in the Town was such that they built repair facilities and extensive storehouses. For example, Lord Clive returning from India to Portsmouth in 1767 brought with him raw silk, redwood and saltpetre.
To find out more, read The East India Company and the Provinces in the Eighteenth Century: Portsmouth and the East India Company 1700-1815 v. 1 (Studies in British History) by James H thomas
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