This book is a thorough history of the East India Company, and how they started from a small business trying to import spices and tea and then became the de facto ruler of an entire country, eventually handing over a defeated India to the British crown for another 150 years of rule.
Unlike some dry history books that I’ve read, this one is full of exciting battles, behind the scenes intrigue, and colonial domination. One significant point in this book’s favor is that it was written recently, and the author has conscripted various Indian historians and translators to review historical documents from India in those days. There are already plenty of documents in English from the archives of the East India Company, but contrasting these with the viewpoint of the Indian people (and rulers) of that time gives the book a balanced aspect that I suspect is missing in previous books through the years.
In the beginning of the book and near the end the author cautions us that the book is about the power of an unchecked corporation, and says this book should be taken as a cautionary tale. However between those two warnings is hundreds of pages of vivid descriptions of battles, artillery movements, cavalry charges, and plenty of foot soldiers dying for their commanders. Despite what the author says, this book read more like an adventure to me.
I really enjoyed this book because it really brought you to that era and you could judge the behavior of these people through modern values. It is hard to imagine today some company enslaving a nation and sucking all the wealth out using its own army and navy. In this book it apparently seemed like a perfectly natural thing to do. All while sipping a gin and tonic from the comfort of your tent as you order your local staff to make your dinner.
One other point I really enjoyed was the occasional appearance of foreign individuals traveling in India, They gained employment here and there by offering their skills and experience, and seemed to be greatly prized by Indian rulers for their advice and wisdom. These people were unattached to any army, and were simply traveling to see the world. In this book they played some key roles in events, and they were referred to as “adventurers”. I liked the idea that you could strike out into the world and do what you felt like doing, all the while being considered as on an adventure. I don’t hear about many professional adventurers these days, but it seemed like quite a lifestyle back then.
This book was a long one, but it held my interest throughout and I hope that more books on history will be written in this style in the future.
Next I am reading Let’s Talk About Race by Nancy A. Dome, who is a friend that I haven’t seen in a long time.
