The East India Company: A Tale of Brutal Colonialism and Ruthless Capitalism

Probably the most powerful corporation in human history, the East India Company used heartless methods of destruction to establish dominance in its territory, specifically the land of India. Founded in 1600, after being granted a royal charter to set out on its voyage of trade, the EIC endured, until its formal dissolvement in 1874. Unregulated, and resolute to gain a profit for its shareholders (some of whom were Members of Parliament), the EIC was prepared to use all sorts of tactics, or more accurately, methods of brutality, to ensure its success.

Britain in the 16^th and early 17^th centuries was nowhere near the level of military or economic success of its European counterparts. For instance, the Dutch were already established in the East Indies and the Spanish were highly successful in the New World (when I say “successful”, I mean in their exploitation of African slaves and the indigenous population of America). In this context, Britain needed to catch up, but it seemed more occupied with wars of religion, and internal conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. Nonetheless, a group of merchants met together, and decided to request a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, so they could freely trade and essentially make a name for themselves, which was eventually granted.

They later reached India, which was under the rule of the wealthy and inclusive Mughals; at their zenith, they produced approximately 25% of the world’s production. The British were initially dismissed, as not high on the priority list for the Mughals, but were granted permission to trade freely. There were already other Europeans present here, such as the Portuguese, but Mughal authority ensured nothing ‘fishy’ occurred. The EIC understood that diplomacy and negotiation was the only method to use with the Mughals, since their strength, at that time, was unparalleled in the European world.

Now, the manner in which the traders functioned was that they first would seek permission to build a trading fort, or post, from the regional governor. This would inhabit a small population, and they would be allowed a small army for protection, conditional on Mughal approval. At first, the EIC incurred heavy losses, but eventually became rather profitable for its shareholders. This success led to its first fort in Madras, which was later followed by Bombay (though that was gifted to the Company by the Crown). By 1693, shares in the Company were being bought by MPs in the British Parliament. Despite this, Mughal authority remained, which was evident to the Company, when they endeavoured to use force against the Mughals, resulting in a swift defeat against the British. Their forts and trading privileges were confiscated, and the EIC officials were made to beg for forgiveness from Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor at the time, which he gave, after a period of grovelling.

It was the death of Aurangzeb, in 1707, that changed the story. Mughal rulers were inclusive, appreciated all religions; an idea that was sagacious, since the population consisted of more non-Muslims than Muslims. However, Aurangzeb did not follow in this tradition, but followed a more dogmatic, possibly bigoted path, which led to multiple factions of his dominions engaged in rebellion, towards the end of his rule; something he ultimately understood to be his failure. Hindus, in the form of the relentless Marathas, the Sikhs of Punjab, and others, all rose, after his death, resulting in chaos, and a visible decline of Mughal authority. At this point, Mughal governors were forced to fend for themselves, and the Emperors became puppet rulers. This immense fall from grace was manifested when Nader Shah, an Afghan of Safavid history, invaded Delhi, ransacked the city, and took with him the famous Koh-i-Noor and the Peacock Throne. With the Marathas in the North, and the destruction of the Mughals, the EIC and other Europeans capitalised.

The news of this reached the ears of the French, whose presence in India arrived relatively late, though they did set up a rival to the EIC, which was not as well funded. After hearing news of this immense deterioration of Mughal power, Joseph-Francois Dupleix arrived on the scene in 1742, with the sole aim of increasing French military power, and therefore, France’s success, in India. He attacked the Mughals and the EIC in Madras. This, coupled with the French presence in the Americas, was a startling sight for the British, who sent their own man to fix the problem: the failed politician, Robert Clive.

The Company, at this point, was an economic giant, and its importance to the EIC directors in London, as well as its shareholders, could not be understated. They sent their reply to the French, in the form of Clive, someone whose ruthless and ambitious tendencies brought the EIC’s military supremacy to a whole new level. He was able to defend the fort of Madras in 1752, and eventually led to Dupleix being sent back to France in shame. The French remained a thorn in the side of the British, as they always do, but this was a big win, at least for the EIC. The Company, with its increasing influence and size, began its ascent.

A vital victory for Clive and the Company was that of the Battle of Plassey, in 1757, in which the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, and the French were defeated decisively by the 3000 EIC soldiers, against the Nawab’s 50,000. It was made possible by defections and bribes to influential men, such as Mir Jafar, who essentially became a puppet ruler of Bengal for the Company. The battle lasted a mere 11 hours. With such a small number of men, the EIC controlled one of the most promising lands in the continent. In the years that followed, the Company managed to occupy further territory, using the same tactics it had been employing for decades.

Attempts were made to fight back against the EIC by warring factions, who tried to unite, such as in the Battle of Buxar, in 1764, with the Mughal Emperor, if he could still be called that, Shah Alam, Mir Qasim, the Bengal Nawab at the time, who rebelled against the EIC, and Shuja-ad-Daula, a Nawab from another state. This led to another defeat, for the 40,000 strong army of the Indians. Disunity and contempt of one another led to another embarrassing defeat. It solidified the British presence, who were now able to pass freely, collecting extortionately high taxes, manipulating resources, and exploiting along the way. Embarrassingly, Mir Jafar was installed again as the Nawab of Bengal. Shah Alam wandered around back to Delhi, remaining a pawn. Combined together, the military success and economic exploitation, which gained the Company literal fortunes, was an unassailable defeat, of an unprecedented nature, for the population of Bengal, in what became known as the Bengal Famine in 1770-71.

The historic famine affected around 30 million people, with prices increasing exponentially and increased taxes being levied by the EIC. People were dying literally everywhere. Who were these people though? Were they officials of the Company? Of course not! They were landless labourers and the poor who starved to death. Well, that’s okay, right? As long as the rich and privileged are satisfied, who cares about the workers? One EIC official described the scenes of Bengal as “the streets and passages choked with the dying and the dead”. Sons and daughters were sold, leaves and grass was eaten; all done to simply survive. Diseases became widespread across the land, as at least 500 people died daily in 1770. Disgracefully, the Company claimed they were responsible for the maintenance of the defences of Bengal and their military forces, so weren’t able to assist. To add to this diabolical display of gluttony, individual EIC merchants engaged in their own hoarding and profiteering of grain and rice. Not surprisingly, this was one of the most successful points in the EIC’s history. I cannot help but feel like I’ve heard this story before.

By 1771, back in England, reports of the horrific scenes and acts committed by the Company were becoming widespread among the public, which led to a trial and various state interventions. Certain government figures, such as Phillip Francis, eventually departed for India, to ensure that further atrocities were not committed, or most likely, to guarantee that they didn’t reach the population back home. Francis took the approach of Clive, dismissing India and its inhabitants as ignoramuses and being rather contemptuous of everything. The Company dictator at the time, Warren Hastings was quite the opposite, and the two certainly did not get along; their rivalry culminated in a duel between the two men. It resulted in internal splits in decision-making, as business stood still.

Meanwhile, other powers in India strengthened, while the EIC’s division continued. The Marathas in the West and Central India, as well as a new force: Haidar Ali’s Mysore Sultanate, and his daring son Tipu Sultan. The army of this latter power were trained and moulded in the image of the French, which levelled the playing field, as the Indians caught up with the military might of the British by the 1760s. The Company was forced to plead for peace, in the first exchange against Tipu’s forces. However, in 1779, it was the Marathas that caused the first blow against the Company, who attempted their typical scheme of ‘divide and conquer’, but resulted in a complete surrounding of EIC troops on the battlefield. Indian unity was needed now, with the Marathas and Haidar agreeing to put aside their differences, in order to expel the outsider. Haidar confronted the Company again, and it was another devastating defeat for the Company, who now understood how it felt to be prisoners of war. Tipu forcibly circumcised a few hundred, and made several of them wear dresses and dance like women. What a turn of events for both the coloniser and the colonised. This was all happening while the British were losing another colony: America. They decided this must not happen with India.

In 1783, Haidar Ali died, and the mantel was passed to Tipu Sultan, who was advised avidly to remain in alliance with other Indian powers. He was keen to keep the people on his side, but also created many enemies, something that would come back to haunt him. Specifically, he cut off ties with the Marathas, and in a more extraordinary fashion, broke away from the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, who was in Maratha ‘protection’. This was the first time any Muslim ruler distanced himself formally from the Mughal ruler. All of this was to be the downfall of any future for Tipu, as he fell into a war against the Marathas and the EIC, who, at this point, brought Marquess Cornwallis from the Americas to try and keep India under British control; something he failed to do in the New World. The battle resulted in major territorial gains for the Company, with Tipu nearly losing half of the lands he inherited from his father.

Another great European general, Richard Wellesley, the brother of the future Duke of Wellington, made his way to India. The two were a force that would change history forever. Richard’s intention in India was to make sure India was solely Britain’s treasure, and Tipu was the first target to be eliminated. And that was exactly what happened. With his position weakened, Tipu knew his chances were very slim, with Wellesley patronisingly confident of victory. Until his last breath, Tipu remained a gallant soldier, fighting until his soul returned to its maker. 10,000 of Tipu’s forces died, with the Company suffering 300 dead. Cities were plundered, women raped and killed. Richard understood that this was an enormous victory, when he raised his glass and said “I drink to the corpse of India”. Only the Marathas remained.

They became disjointed as the high Maratha families were ruled by inexperienced teenagers, each with their own flaws. Despite Richard Wellesley’s attempts to divide them further, it simply reignited the fire within the Marathas, a much bigger force than every faced by the Company. The Marathas claimed further legitimacy, as, within their ranks, was the blind, old Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, who was essentially a neglected prisoner. Wellesley understood the symbolic authority that the Mughal Emperor embodied, and made sure to keep a secret communication open with his close confidants. Alongside the Marathas was the French, who made sure to train the Marathas, as they did with Haidar Ali’s men. The final showdown was set. And it was the British that emerged victorious, with swift British victories across all battles. The rich among the Marathas were given a luxurious lifestyle, away from any control; a common method used by the colonial powers.

The Company annexed most of the Indian peninsula, through control or coercion, by 1819. The Mughal Emperor now remained under the control of the British. A sad reality for a power that once dismissed the Europeans, and specifically ignored the British, as was seen in the first exchange. As with all colonial endeavours, the British utilised the population itself for its advantages. From puppet rulers to enlisting the Indians in its own army, ‘divide and conquer’ is the motif for British rule in India. Its armies were larger than nearly all nation states, a level of power never to be matched by any other corporation. There is an incredibly vast amount that could be read upon, with regard to British colonialism in India, from the debts it incurred that were bailed out by the Bank of England, which could have destroyed the economy of Britain itself, to the deteriorating life of Shah Alam, and the impeachment of Warren Hastings in Parliament. Eventually, by the 1820s, there was a large push from MPs to discard the Company to a governmental approach, which would at least, theoretically, answer to someone. The rebellion in 1857, a topic that could on its own be researched for years, led to the eventual takeover of Company territory by the British Crown, where plunder continued, only with a different face. Sound familiar?