England and the United Netherlands formed joint-stock companies: the English ( later British ) East India Company ( in 1600 ) and the Dutch East India Company ( in 1602 ). Those companies carried out the lucrative spice trade. India was the most important market for the trade. The East India Company lost its power of government in 1858 when British India came under the rule of the Crown. After that, Queen Victoria took a title of Empress of India. Answer: India became officially a British colony in 1858.
