The history of the British silk industry is inextricably linked with the importation of raw silk. Climatic conditions in Britain do not allow for the rearing of silkworms, thus the rise of silk weaving in the seventeenth century gave an impetus to raw silk imports. Before the late nineteenth century, raw silk came primarily from the Mediterranean, Turkey and Persia. The fact that domestic production prevented the outflow of bullion and gave employment opportunities to the poor, guaranteed silk weaving a privileged position and support from government. The steady demand for raw silk and government backing for the importation of raw silk from the colonies underpinned the English East India Company's interest in Bengal raw silk. Furthermore, the Company needed to expand Indian exports to Britain in order to transfer its Indian Diwani revenues and meet its financial obligations in London.

This combination of factors underlaid the EEIC's perception that Bengal raw silk was one of ‘the choicest goods’, and induced the Company to become a silk manufacturer in Bengal. This chapter argues that the interest in Bengal raw silk was aided by changes to the EEIC's finances in the aftermath of the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the acquisition of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa (1765).