sentence: english possessions in india and the east indies fort st george , madras , the first english fortress in india bantam : the english started to sail to the east indies about the year 1600 , which was the date of the foundation in the city of london of the east india company ( '' the governour and company of merchants of london trading into the east indies '' ) and in 1603 a permanent '' factory '' was established at bantam on the island of java .