The trading posts from which the british east india company operated in india and elsewhere came to be called because they were centers from which the company’s agents operated, and usually included a warehouse but rarely any manufacturing facilities.

factories

Explanation:

The East India Company was a British company that controlled trade in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia between 1600-1874. Though initially created as a trade company, eventually it grew into a power of its own, ruling the territories under its control and having its own army. At the height of its power, it was the largest and most powerful private company in the world.

The Company set up a series of trading posts in India and elsewhere from which it operated. These posts were called "factories", as the "factors", which was the name given to the company's agents, operated from these centers. This might seem confusing, as these trading posts usually had warehouses but no manufacturing facilities, so the term factories might seem a misnomer. However, these posts eventually became centers from which production was actually controlled by the factors of the company, and as they grew in importance, they hosted manufacturing facilities of their own, thus becoming actual factories.