The first attempt of globalization considered by many is the British empires attempt to dominate the world the British empire began and ended with the East India company and this is the history of the EIC and the beginning of Globalism.
The EIC was founded by a group of merchants on the 31st of December 1600[]. These merchants secured exclusive trading rights to the east indies. The first of the company's ships landed on the port of surat in 1608 aboard this ship was Sir Thomas Roe an emissary of King James I. The From this point forward the EIC saw a massive increase in their operations and this was furthered when in 1717 the company received a firman by the Mughal emperor exempting the company from paying custom duties.
The EIC continued to grow within India eventually the Nawab of Bengal (also known as the prince of Bengal) wanted to end what he saw as British incursion into his country mobilizing the resources of the wealthiest province in India he assaulted several EIC settlements within India. Sir Clive struck back and in Battle of Plassey in 1757 the Nawab was defeated and the EIC gained the wealthy province of Bengal. However the EIC’s administration of Bengal was poor and led to the plunder of Bengal leaving the once wealthy province in a state of “utter disrepair”[1] it is also believed that the policies carried out by the company may have “taken the lives of as many as a third of the population.” The fall of Bengal was the first and nowhere near the last province to be acquired by the EIC “The East India Company subsequently gained administrative authority over Bengal, which eventually spread to the entire Indian subcontinent.”[1] The Nawabs in 1765 were then made puppet rulers reduced to husks for the EIC to enact their policies through in India for the EIC.
However despite the victory the EIC was ill prepared to take such massive military incursions within India and fell into free fall with it’s destruction imminent but the state quickly intervened with the ”North's India Bill, also known as the Regulating Act of 1773, provided for greater parliamentary control over the affairs of the Company, besides placing India under the rule of a Governor-General.”[1] This moment in 1773 was the closest the EIC had come to unraveling and it was rebuilt by the British parliament the act of 1773 placed greater control of the EIC to the English government marking a beginning of true British mercantilism regarding the EIC. The EIC was tied to the government and so were its views and the government wanted control over all of India. This also led to the destruction of the puppet system created in 1765 and instead direct British rule took over. This continued until 1775 when all Nawab influence was removed from the Indian administration leaving the Nawabs as mere “pensioners”. The aforementioned governor-general of India was Warren Hastings who solidified EIC rule within India until 1784 when Charles Cornwallis a British general who failed to put down the American revolution took power in India.
The American revolution was incited by the EIC backed tea act which forced the American colonists to only buy EIC tea which led to protests and then outright insurrection that forced the British to give up their colony in order to avoid more losses significantly weakening the British empire as a whole ”Britain spent a huge amount of money fighting the Revolutionary War, increasing national debt hugely and creating a yearly interest of nearly ten million pounds. Taxes had to be raised as a result.”[] This was only the economic fall back to the Empire as there was a political effect on other colonies who wanted freedom from the empire, however, the English were able to stop their collapse by brutally crushing other signs of revolution, especially in Ireland. Yet the British continued expanding “it retained Canada and land in the Caribbean, Africa, and India. It then began to expand in these regions instead, building up what has been called the ‘Second British Empire’, which eventually became the largest dominion in world history.”
Tune in next week for my continuation of globalism
Bibliography
"Manas: History and Politics, East India Company." Manas: History and Politics, East India Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu
Gutenberg, Project. "Nawabs of Bengal." Nawabs of Bengal | Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing - EBooks | Read EBooks Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. http://www.gutenberg.us
Http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aboutcom-European-History/225505610840034. "The Effects of the American Revolutionary War on Britain." About.com Education. N.p., 15 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. http://europeanhistory.about.com
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