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The East India Company

In the glory days of colonization around the beginning of the 19th century, the British vied with other European powers - Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish and the Belgian for dominance in the provinces in India. The European powers fought each other and many alliances were born. Provincial Hindu Maharajas and Muslim Nawabs, in trying to break free from the Mughal Empire, forged alliances with any European power willing to help. Diplomacy ,intrigue and treachery was the order of the day. The British, having gained naval supremacy during this period and with astute court craft, emerged the winners in India. And so it came to be that the (British) East India Company almost became the masters of the Indian subcontinent. Then, in 1857 AD there was a serious uprising. With some difficulty the British managed to control the volatile situation. The British government blamed the East India Company for this sedition, and assumed direct jurisdiction over the Indian subcontinent.

In 1877, Queen Victoria proclaimed herself the Empress of India.

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