While Portuguese and Spanish influences in the region were soon eliminated, competition against the Dutch resulted in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. The requested diplomatic mission launched by James I in 1612 arranged for a commercial treaty that would give the Company exclusive rights to reside and establish factories in Surat and other areas. The Company decided to gain a territorial foothold in mainland India with official sanction from both Britain and the Mughal Empire. English traders frequently engaged in hostilities with their Dutch and Portuguese counterparts in the Indian Ocean.For 15 years, the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Permission was granted to several ships, but in 1600 a group of merchants known as the Adventurers succeeded at gaining a Royal Charter under the name Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading with the East Indies. After 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean.
