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This was only ever a trading concession and had to purchase goods which had passed through many hands before reaching the Ottoman ports of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Levant Company was set up in 1580 and set up a base of operations in Aleppo. The Muscovy Company would ultimately eke out an existence as a whaling and fur company but would never gain access to the trade routes that were so craved by their investors back in England.Ī third alternative for connecting to the trade of Asia was through the Mediterranean Sea and to trade from the ports of the Near East. There were still more attempts to discover trading routes along the rivers of Central Russia but these invariably foundered once reaching the Muslim khanates of Central Asia which already had their own established trading partners and did not wish to disrupt existing trading patterns. Although the Hanseatic League, Poland and Lithuania lobbied hard to reduce the amount of trade with what they regarded as a hostile and barbarian rival. Again weather and the icy conditions of the Arctic defeated the grand aims of the enterprise but Chancellor was at least able to establish trading relations with the rising power of the Russians. Attempts to find this new passage were continued into the reign of Edward VI under explorers like Sir Hugh Willoughby and Sir Richard Chancellor. The Muscovy Company was given permission to find navigable rivers to penetrate Russia with a view to getting to China and the Spice Islands.
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However, towards the end of his reign he did allow the formation of a company which had a novel plan for discovering a North East Passage to the Orient. With disappointing results, Henry VIII turned his attention back to European dynastic politics for most of his reign. The hoped for route appeared elusive in the wastes of North America and the Arctic Sea. John Cabot in the service of Henry VII and his son Sebastian Cabot in the service of Henry VIII probably represent England's first serious attempts at maritime exploration on an inter-continental scale. The first English attempts were to try to discover a North-West passage linking Europe to Asia. The English were relative late-comers to the commercial opportunities presented by maritime trade on an oceanic scale but that did not prevent them from trying to discover their own routes to the Orient. England was forced to watch from the sidelines as Iberia turned itself into an economic powerhouse off the back of their maritime endeavours. A land route across the narrow isthmus of Panama would prove an easier route and would later link Spanish trade routes with the Philippines. Eventually, even Spanish would later discover a less easy route to the Orient through the Magellan Straits or around Cape Horn. It did not help when the Spanish seemed to find their own wealth creating opportunities with the discovery of the 'New World'. The Portuguese jealously guarded these trade routes to maintain their privileged position around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean. Portuguese caravels returned with spices, silks and other exotic goods that sold at impressive prices back in Europe. The English, amongst other nations, watched with envy as Portuguese fortunes were made through their Oriental maritime trading from the end of the 15th Century onwards. The Silk Route had long brought back goods that were desirable by the wealthy and well connected in Europe. Asia was the very first target of imperial and commercial activities for the English.