East India Company

The East India Company (EIC) was a British joint-stock company that had its headquarters in London. It was started for trading with the East Indies, but most trade was with India and China. It was given a royal charter (official permission) to exist, in 1600 and traded many things in India.

In the mid-18th century, the company built up its own presidency armies and won the Battle of Plassey, which brought it from only trading with India to actually ruling the Indian subcontinent.

The company had armed forces and armed ships. It fought against various Indian rulers and struggled against the Dutch East India Company and other European powers. It was ruled by one governor and 24 directors and became a monopoly in most parts of India.Chaudhury S. 1999. Merchants, companies, and trade: Europe and Asia in the early modern era. London: Cambridge University Press.

After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the British government ruled India directly, and the company was dissolved in 1874.Gardner, Brian 1972. The East India Company: a history. McCall Publishing Company.  Its role was taken over by the British Raj, which was the Indian government. At its height, the Raj covered a huge area from Baluchistan in the west to Burma in the east, as well as Ceylon and a number of other islands.

 References 

Category:Defunct companies of the United Kingdom
Category:17th-century establishments in England
Category:1870s disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Category:1600s establishments in Europe