The East India Company

Over 400 years ago, a bold commercial venture was established to allow an ambitious group of English merchants to send ships halfway around the world in search of spices, skills, and profit. It was known as The East India Company.

Over the next 250 years, the Company grew into one of the most powerful and controversial enterprises in history. At its height, it had the powers of a sovereign state - fighting wars, extracting wealth, and changing the fate of nations.

But how could a private company be allowed to wield so much control? What are the consequences when capital rules without conscience? And what does its rise and fall reveal about the economic and political empires that shape our world today?

This is a Short History Of The East India Company.

A Noiser Production, written by Sean Coleman. With thanks to Dr Mark Williams, a Reader in Early Modern History at Cardiff University, who has published widely on the English East India Company.

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions