. As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups began worrying about imports from other countries. . They pressurised the government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so that • Manchester goods could sell in Britain, without facing any competition from outside. . Industrialists persuaded the East India Company to sell British manufactures in Indian markets as well. . Export of British cotton goods increased dramatically in the early 19th century. . At the end of the 18th century, there had been virtually no import of cotton piece goods into India but by 1850, cotton piece goods constituted over 31 per cent of the value of Indian imports.