The Company had a fairly loose management structure. Its main centres at Bantam, Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were called Presidencies. Headed by a President or Governor, and supported by a council of experienced men, each looked after a number of factories (the trading posts). It was not easy.

London faced the uphill task of keeping faraway workers sober, honest and hardworking. India could only communicate with HQ as fast as a ship could sail. All business was carried out in writing. The result survives today as the massive East India Company archive in the British Library.