The East India Company

General aspects

The East India Company was a British stock company created for trading purposes in the Indian Ocean area. However, through a mixture of diplomacy and violence, the company ended up controlling large parts of the Indian subcontinent.

The company was first set up in the 1600s through a royal decree, and in the 17th century, it was mainly concerned with trade. However, the company saw the decline of the Mughal Empire in the 1700s as an opportunity to also seize territory in India. Its main opponent at the time was the French East India Company, but through various battles, the East India Company gained control of Bengal.

By the 1800s, the East India Company was not only dealing with trade but also had a powerful private army with which it managed to control large parts of India.

The political rule of the East India Company started in 1757. Then, the East India Company got involved in the internal fights for political control in Bengal at the request of Indian army ...