The East India Company: Trade and Conquest from 1600

by Antony Wild

Here is a historical chronicle of the most powerful corporation in world history, beautifully illustrated with full-color paintings, photographs, and maps. Established by Royal Charter in 1600, the East India Company was, and remains to this day, the largest and most powerful multinational business the world has ever seen. It controlled over half the world's trade and a quarter of its population. It singlehandedly ruled India, raised its own army and navy, minted its own currency, and traded with every corner of the globe. It also trafficked in opium, greed, and brutal oppression, sowing the seeds that would lead to its downfall-and absorption by the British Crown. The East India Company describes how "the Honourable Company" created its extraordinary trading empire by introducing an exotic cache of tea, silks, porcelain, cashmere, and spices to a luxury-starved England. It also explains how the company conducted its day-to-day business at home and in the East, through colorful figures such as Captain James Skinner and John Nicholson; how the opulent daily life of East India Company rulers amongst the ruled led to "the Mutiny"; and why India's first war of independence spelled an end not only to the company itself, but, eventually, to an entire empire.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

191 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Devan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good overview of the British East India company especially in regards in India. Unfortunately the book was written for an audience with previous knowledge of the history of Britain and India during this time period so there were many cases where historical figures were briefly noted when some further explanation would have helped the novice history reader.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of the East India Company is one that has been cloaked in a great deal of corruption as well as controversy from its time and to the present day. It was, on the one hand, a private company that was supposed to earn profits for its directors back home, but it was also an (unofficial) agent of English and then British imperialism around the world. It had a corporate structure and company directives but also had to answer to Parliamentary oversight even as it received benefits from crony capitalist deals made with Parliament to increase its profits, on occasion, although this too did not come without problems. Frequently the company demonstrated the agency problem in that its directors had one set of priorities and the company’s employees on the ground frequently acted in their own corrupt interests and according to their own plans and designs that did not always end up serving the interests of the company well. And then there are the bungles that the company engaged in that led to foreign problems with the Dutch East India company, imperial problems in North America and India, and eventually the end of the company itself.

This book is a relatively large one at 200 full-sized pages, thankfully with a fair amount of visuals. After a chronology (very important in a book like this) and an introduction, the book is divided into seventeen chapters. The author begins with a look at the origins of the East India Company (1), as well as their first steps in India (2), the Spice Islands and Japan (3), as well as China (4). After this broad overview of the company’s activities, the author turns his attention to the Indian presidencies (5) as well as how the East India behaved at home (6). This is followed by a look at the company’s behavior overland and at sea (7) as well as in the East (8), before the author looks at its fortunes (9) and the meeting of east and west (10). After that the author turns his attention to things like life under the rule of the company (11), and the company at war (12), and the company going West (13), as well as the company at work, rest, and play (14). The book then completes with chapters that discuss the company’s consolidation (15), the trouble they faced in the Indian Mutiny (16), and the end of the company (17), after which there are appendices, picture credits, and an index.

Yet even if the East India Company clearly had a checkered and complicated past, there are at least a few people who might be said to have a nostalgic perspective of the company. For example, through the alliances created between English and British company employees and local figures, an Anglo-Irish elite was created that still manages to serve India well even after independence through business skills and the establishment of an excellent civil service. Also, the importance of the East India Company in creating and cultivating ports as different as Singapore and St. Helena, to say nothing of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, can hardly be overestimated, and the company’s willingness to pay for workers and residents was often far greater than the empire. The people of St. Helena have never reached the economic level under the British Empire that they had under the East India Company, and it seems unlikely that they ever will be given the scarcity of connections with the outside world that they have. Other areas, like Bengal, may find the East India company less nostalgic given the famines that periodically killed many of the people there, for which the English are still being blamed. This is a book that, to its credit, certainly brings up plenty of material that could be pinned or blamed on the British or the East India Company, as this is by no means a whitewash, and as someone who is a mild imperialist, that is something that can be appreciated.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know much about the East India Company beyond the broad outlines one learns in school. This book creates a complex and engrossing picture, combining history, politics, and culture. Wild doesn't shy away from the cruelty and avariciousness of members of the Company, many of whom saw their part in it as a way to create a fortune, in addition to extending the British Empire. There are lots and lots of color photos, which help illustrate the country, as well as the military, and the cultural artifacts that often became part of British culture as well--tea, pajamas, chintz, etc. Sometimes the inserts about the culture interrupt the history so it can be hard to keep track, but it's a fascinating introduction to an economic institution that affected much of the world.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fascinating stuff!! The East India Company is my latest intrigue. At first I just wanted to learn about how the stock exchange kind of came out of this (and is why I’m reading this and a few other books like it), but then it took me down the tea and coffee road and right now, at this very moment, I am craving a cup of coffee! But, I digress. This is a really informative book that covers so much more than the title would suggest. The author really knows his stuff and I see he has a bunch of other books that I hope to find and read.
Note: the publication date on this book is 1999, though history won’t have changed. I’m just mentioning it. Lol.

[Subodh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The physical copy was expensive. I didn't find a downloadable digital copy on Kindle store or elsewhere. So, I had to settle for the unsatisfactory option of reading it online at archive.org.

It packs a lot of information in a book of this size, less than 200 pages. It is profusely illustrated in colour. Overall at good review for those like me who have already read a lot about the Company. It may not be a good introduction to one without such background.

[Ian Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable history of this influential merchant company which, in many ways, both rivalled and supplemented the power of the Royal Navy. The HEIC often relied on the Navy for armed escort and the Navy relied on the HEIC to carry essential merchandise to and from markets, defend their bases and assist the Navy when attacked. As a nursery for seamen the EIC provided a pool of resources for the Navy to exploit through the press gang while navigation, chart making and diplomacy were all within the merchant captain's gamut.

[Stuart Faulkner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp through the history, peppered with interesting facts of how the EIC still affects today's world

[Tom Cousins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very basic overview of an important historical period. The pictures in the book gave it one star, a book useful for primary school students.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed reading this book, especially finding out the origins of ketchup, the American flag and Worcestershire sauce.

[Lanea · Rating 5 out of 5]

great, what more is there to say...

[Amuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read that provided the right amount of history and context. Great photos.