 Complete the following phrase:  On 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I granted a Royal Charter to the English East India Company, often colloquially referred to as John Company. It was initially a joint-stock company that sought trading privileges in India and the East Indies, but the Royal Charter effectively gave it a 21-year monopoly on all trade in the region. In time, the East India Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to one which virtually ruled India as it acquired auxiliary governmental and military functions, until its dissolution in 1858 following the 