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‘Greenwich, Docklands and the Rise of East India Trade II’

03 Aug | News,

I received the below announcement from Leila Redpath this morning as some FIBIS members attended previous related events and she thought members might also be interested in this one.

“Following the success of this event last year, please join us for ‘Greenwich, Docklands and the Rise of East India Trade II’ on Sunday 4th September 2011.

This year we will follow the same route but with the added bonus, we hope, of an exclusive preview of the soon-to-launch Asia Galleries of the National Maritime Museum, as well as new commentaries from our experts.

Our audiences so far have been almost as wonderful as our subject matter so you are sure to be in good company if you attend.   We hope to see you on the 4th.

If you receive this and have already made your booking, please view for your information only.

Please see details of the tour below, or click here for a link to the Jeevika Trust web page for this event and to see reviews of our well-received ‘Kew and the India Museum’ excursion in May.

‘Greenwich, Docklands and the Rise of East India Trade II’

Sunday 4th September 2011 – Full day excursion

How did England’s maritime trade with East India begin? What were these great sea voyages really like? How did Blackwall get its name?   Who were the Lascar sailors?   What was shipping on the Thames like before the great Docks were built in 1800?   Which was the world’s first truly multinational corporation?   And why is there so little trace of it today?

Join us to find the answers to these questions and follow the trail of the original East India Company in London today.   Meet the Chief Curator of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich – Dr Robert Blyth – and Nick Robins, author of ‘The Corporation that changed the World’ and head of HSBC’s new Climate Change centre of Excellence – on this exclusive excursion. All proceeds from the day go to support our work for village livelihood in India.

The Itinerary

Depart 9.00am from the pavement outside Embankment tube station where we board our private luxury coach. You will be greeted by your host and guide Leila Redpath and get a historical overview as we depart.

This excursion begins with a romantic visit to Greenwich and the dazzling National Maritime Museum for a private India-themed tour with its chief curator, Dr Robert Blyth including the inside story on the museum’s new Asia galleries and behind-the-scenes preview if we are lucky.

After lunch at Greenwich market, we drive to London’s Docklands to discover the preserved lock gates that were once the sole entrance to the entire great East India Dock built in 1806.

Then we drive on past some more East India Company (EIC) clues on our way into the City of London, including a brief pause outside the hidden-away church it had built for the souls of its sailors and staff.

Here we have a brief refreshment stop before we are greeted by Nick Robins, author of ‘The Corporation that changed the World’, for a gentle walking tour (approx 45mins). See the old Cutler St warehouses where the most precious cargoes of tea were brought for safe-keeping.

And finally we board our coach once more to finish our day in the heart of London to relax in good company at a private venue and sample the wonderful range of teas of today’s new incarnation of the EIC.     Here you can also meet with Andrew Redpath, Executive Director of Jeevika Trust.

Those still keen to socialise can join us for further drinks and perhaps a meal afterwards, but otherwise this is where we end the Excursion between 4.30 and 5.30pm.

This promises to be another fascinating and sociable day of discovery, an itinerary researched and devised by your host and guide, Leila Redpath – an International Tour Director of 12 years.

Cost £45 per person.

For full details including how to book visit our website.

For all inquiries please call Leila Redpath directly on: 07791 368 134 or email her at:   [email protected].”