The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire
William Dalrympleamazon.com
The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire
The comparative ease with which the East India Company was able to seize power was partly due to the increasing weakness of the Emperors. However, their task was also made easier because so many small Sultanates and Kingdoms were prepared to collaborate with the British in exchange for favours and protection.
The East India Company, headquartered in London and operating between 1600 and 1874, traded a wide range of items—largely to and from the Indian subcontinent—ranging from textiles and metals to spices and opium. The Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) imported spices, textiles, gems, and coffee mostly from Southeast Asia;
... See moreHowever patriotically inclined, they served the Company not the King, and put profits – their own as well as the Company’s – before power.