[1][2][3] During company rule in India, agency houses facilitated the trade of different commodities including textiles, tobacco, and indigo.
Companies would buy textiles and other processed British goods on consignment, to be paid later after the products had been sold.
Alongside arranging imports, exports of Indian materials such as Indigo, spices, tobacco, and Ivory were major elements of an agency house's business.
A few agency houses would continue operation during the 19th century until the invention of synthetic indigo dye in 1882 by Adolf von Baeyer at the German company BASF.
The agency house laid the roots for the economy of colonial India by starting to introduce the first forms of financial practices such as banking, trading, and managing stock.
While under the control of the East India Company, these agency houses contributed to establishing the Tinkathia System, which would prove to be a major point of contention during the Indian Independence movement.