Captivating History - The East India Company: A Captivating Guide to the English Company That Was Created for the Exploitation of Trade with East and Southeast Asia and India

Imagine, if you will, a typical day at your office. Or rather, a typical day of you getting to your office. You stand up, have breakfast, hug your spouse and your child, and then hug your elderly father; he still has those scars from working in the coalmine for 25 years on that one hand that lands softly on your cheek, telling you how proud he is that youve become a chief business officer of that massive corporate branch in your city. And you cant help but feel proud, too, since you came from nothing and have worked hard to get to where you are, unlike some of your colleagues who got there through a few connections and a few well-placed bribes. But you dont care about that now; you have a cab to catch.

As the cab drives slowly down the main road, you spot a few high school senior girls taking selfies. Two of them, whiter than snow, are wearing kimonos and excessive makeup. Their friend, an Indian girl that appears a bit younger, is decked in the typical Western gearjeans, a flashy shirt, a pair of Converse All Star sneakers, and a hat with an American Eagle logo on it. They are joined by two black girls, both wearing saris, and you giggle as the Indian girl attempts to fix the sari of one of the newcomers. They all look extremely cheerful. Must be the end of the semester or a local festival.

Some noise interrupts you on your drive, as you see a group of protesters clashing with a group of counter-protesters. They are in front of that old theater where a fancy actors group from London is going to stage Hamlet tonight. Upon close inspection, you see that the two groups are the Westboro Baptist Church and the Black Hebrew Israelites. Youre not particularly interested in what they have to shout at each other, so you roll up the window. The corporate office is nearby anyway.

Once you enter the building, youre greeted by your colleagues. From what you can tell, at least forty percent of them werent even born in this country, and an additional fifty percent arent even from this city. But you dont care. Their merit speaks for themselves, and your meeting is about to start.

The early 21 st century is no stranger to these situations, to different cultures either clashing or embracing, to conglomerates being an amazing place for business opportunities but also a hotbed for corruption, to people becoming wealthy despite coming from humble beginnings, to theater plays originating in countries an ocean apart being performed in your own backyard. But interestingly, this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, over 400 years ago, it was more or less the norm in the Indian subcontinent.

For years, the topic of the East India Company has fascinated historians as well as economists, anthropologists, sociologists, and other scholarly types. Some regard the Company as a prime example of an empire draining the resources of underprivileged people and destroying their entire cultures in a heartbeat. Others see it as the earliest corporate business enterprise and a precursor to modern capitalism. But with 258 years of activity, the East India Company cant really be defined in these simple terms. Its all of them yet so much more. And within this volume, wed like to introduce the fascinating world of the EIC to you, with all of its bits and bobs and as uncut as possible. Well get to meet some of the fascinating people that shaped the Company, from various Indian royalty to different British servants of the EIC, as well as its detractors on both sides of the Eurasian landmass. But more importantly, well get to see what made the petty English merchants embark upon the journey to the East and what made the Company rise from a trading business to a semi-independent country. And, consequently, what made it fall.

The flag of the British East India Company