The East India Company received a charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, which made them the sole British trader operating in the East. In 1608, the Hector, which was the first ship of the Company docked at Surat. The first English factory was set up on the banks of the river Hugli, in 1651. As trade expanded, merchants and employees of the company started settling down near the factory. In 1696, it began building a fort around the settlement.