The East India Company

Established by Royal Charter in 1600, the East India Company quickly came to control over half the world's trade and a quarter of its population. It ruled India, raised its own army and navy, minted its own currency and traded with every corner of the globe. The book is broadly chronological, but also focuses on particular subjects and incidents - tea, silks, jewellery, cashmere, spices, ships and navigation, battles, communication routes, the opium trade, the English gentleman abroad, and India's War of Independence.