The Anarchy The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire William Dalrymple

Dalrymple is an award-winning Delhi-based historian who has written extensively on European colonialism in the Eastern hemisphere. Our guide explores how the English East India Company rose to power by exploiting a period of chaos and instability in India—when the once-powerful Mughal Empire had collapsed into smaller kingdoms that vied to fill the power vacuum. In the midst of this anarchy, the English East India Company forged alliances, backed coups, installed puppet rulers, and built the largest army on Earth. Our commentary delves into background historical context, the fallout from these events, views from other historians, and political theory that sheds light on the company's machinations.