Write a short note on: British East India Company

Answer:

The English East India Company was formed by London merchants and received a charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600 for trade with the East. With a farman from the Mughal emperor Jahangir (obtained through Sir Thomas Roe) it set up its factory at Surat in 1613, and later at Madras, Bombay (1668) and Calcutta.

It defeated the French in the Carnatic Wars and won the battles of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), gaining the Diwani of Bengal. Through wars, the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse it became ruler of most of India. After the uprising of 1857 the Act of 1858 ended its rule and India came directly under the British Crown.