How The East India Company Took Over An Entire Country

#eastindiacompany #history #documentary

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The city of London has been the centre of Britain’s economic and commercial activity for centuries, with many of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world choosing to locate their headquarters in the nation’s capital to this day. However, none of these modern businesses can compare to what was undoubtedly the most powerful multinational corporation the world has ever seen. Established over 400 years ago, the East India Company, from it’s headquarters on Leadenhall Street, would rise from humble beginnings as a trading company for voyages to India; to effectively becoming the de facto state government of the entire sub-continent.

During it’s heyday, the Company would surpass the strength and wealth of even the mightiest nation states, and with it’s own private armies, would push aside the long established native dynasties of India, seizing control of their territories for itself. All this would be achieved by maintaining an iron grip on the most valuable trade routes in the world, which generated staggering amounts of wealth for it’s employees and shareholders. But how did this private corporation come to rule over one of the largest and richest regions on earth in the first place? This is the history of the East India Company.

The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with East Asia. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent and colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. At its peak, the company was the largest corporation in the world. The EIC had its own armed forces in the form of the company's three Presidency armies, totalling about 260,000 soldiers, twice the size of the British army at the time. The operations of the company had a profound effect on the global balance of trade, almost single-handedly reversing the trend of eastward drain of Western bullion, seen since Roman times.

Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies", the company rose to account for half of the world's trade during the mid-1700s and early 1800s, particularly in basic commodities including cotton, silk, indigo dye, sugar, salt, spices, saltpetre, tea, and opium. The company also ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
The company eventually came to rule large areas of India, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions. Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858. Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the form of the new British Raj.

The company subsequently experienced recurring problems with its finances, despite frequent government intervention. It was dissolved in 1874 under the terms of the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act enacted one year earlier, as the Government of India Act had by then rendered it vestigial, powerless, and obsolete. The official government machinery of the British Raj had assumed its governmental functions and absorbed its armies.

[Vntihero]

Fascinating how a tiny island conquered these big Empires with a much larger population.

[studytime]

Fun Fact: The same cornwalis who was defeated by George Washington in the Americas was reassigned as governor general of eic in India and his prior experience was put forth in defeating Maratha-Nizam-Mysore triple alliance.

[RishiGupta]

British East India company won first territory in India with the help of one of the wealthiest and powerful banking family at that time whose name was “Jagatseth Family”. Jagatseth family lived in Kingdom of Bengal (one of the most powerful wealthy kingdom at that time situated in East part of India) and they used to give loans to many Indian kigdoms and fund war but during 17th century head of Jagatseth family was not happy with the economic policies of then Newab of Bengal and he saw British East India Company is trying to defeat the Kingdom of Bengal but they are getting defeat from Bengali Army so Jagatseth family Head dicided to fund the British conquest of India and with the help of Jagatseth Family British east India company. When Nawab of Bengal got to know about low interest loans given to British East India company by Jagatseth Family, they got brutally murdered by Bengal secret service before EIC could reach Capital, but they surrounded it and at the end conquered the whole Kingdom. This is how Britishers won their first territory in India.

[joecarrick]

the channel has so much potential honestly, the videos are so well put together, good luck mate and keep at it, hundereds of thousands of subscribers will flock! xx

[daddy_]

I never understood why these local Kings allowed foreign business's to set up FORTS on their homeland.

[ItinerantIntrovert]

Bit of an exaggerated point about the inevitability of acquiring Japanese markets. The English did open a trade port in Hirado, Japan in the early 17th century but their efforts failed in the face of Dutch competition. And Japanese markets were only forced open by an American naval threat in 1853

[inUSA]

I like how a company from a small island defeated two big powers at the time

[HankD]

No mention of the French at Pondichéry and their involvement at Plassey? In 1756 (France and Britain were at war), the French encouraged the Nawab (Siraj ud-Daulah) to attack and take the British Fort William in Calcutta, which led to the Black Hole massacre. That is what led to Plassey (and the French artillerymen that supported the Nawab)? The French had their own Indian ambitions which Plassey ended. Not as simple and black and white as this makes out.

[geoffhoppy]

There was no Indian tea produced until approximately 1840. Prior to that the East India Company shipped Chinese tea to Britain.

[rishikeshwagh]

A very well made video! This channel has huge potential. Thanks for the video 🙏

[keithfernandes]

It was the local Maharajas who had no backbone to stand up for the locals; helped the EI company and justiably so

[FGPRBrunoCauz]

The East India Company may have started out as a trading company, but by the 1780's it had withdrawn from general trade, keeping only the opium trade (which later became a Crown monopoly) and deriving the bulk of its revenues from taxation. That's where its shareholders got their dividends from. The EIC also started the (illegal) international drug trade, which contributed to the demise of the Chinese Empire.
Opium and cocaine were freely available in Victorian Britain. Laudanum was cheap and available without a prescription. Even marketed for use by children and babies. Opium wasn't illegal in Britain until 1916 after the tendency to addiction had become apparent.

[CrimsonAlchemist]

You forgot to mention the Anglo-Burmese Wars which were the most expensive wars in the East India Company's and British India's history.

[purpleninja]

“It simply became too big to be allowed to exist”

Modern corporations: 👀

[gillesleduc]

The Hudson's Bay co. in Canada had some of the same effects in the early development of my country spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Difference is that it did not affect nearly the overall number of people. Fewer people lived in North America in comparison to India. The Bay department store is still around as a vestige of that commercial empire.

[saurishghosh]

Bengal Subah ( province of bengal) was not a seperate entity from Mughal Empire, Nawabship literally meant: deputy to the Badshah (Emperor). In 1765 The Emperor granted the tax collecting rights of three of its provinces (Bengal Bihar and Orissa) to East India Company in exchange of a yearly tribute. The coinage and system of government were still very much Mughal even after 1765. The map and some of the information presented here ..are factually incorrect.

[ruudraijmakers]

Some people say that the Dutch VoC more rich was than the britisch, when you speak about ability.

In 1637 the VOC was worth 78 million Guilders on the stock exchange. If you convert that to today, that would be 7.9 trillion dollars, about 6.7 trillion euros. This is based on an inflation rate of just over 3 percent per year. The VOC was by far the largest listed company that has ever existed.

[cowart]

Great video. Factual and to the point. Definitely will show to my 8th graders.

[nee]

7:05 Clive did not win because of superior weapons. Rather they conspired with the Head General of Bengal Mir Jafar.
It was a victory through strategy and conceited diplomacy, conspiracy.

[fredvaladez]

One of the most fascinating stories I have ever heard and very well presented. I often wondered about the East India company and how India became the Jewel in the Crown for Victoria.