Enfield
Queen
3. The British army introduced a new type of rifle, the
4. The revolt of 1857 was called the
Peese Nos
5. The rule of East India Company ended and the rulership was handed to
Write 'T' for true and 'F' for false statements.
1. The trade with India had been the monopoly of Spain and Portugal.
2. India was under the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar at the time of
arrival of the East India Company
3. The land revenue system was implemented in favour of farmers.
4. The spearhead of revolt of 1857 was Rani Lakshmi Bai.
Answer the following questions.
1. Write a short note on the Battle of Buxar.
2. What was factory system?
3. What was the cause of unhappiness of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daullah?
111
4. What were Diwani Rights?
PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT 14
(Based on Chanter 14 India Gains Independence)
Answers
Answer:
How did the East India Company change the world?
BY JOSH CLARK
Uniforms of the East India Company's private army, circa 1843
Uniforms of the East India Company's private army, circa 1843
HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
What comes to mind when you hear the word "corporation?" Maybe a giant, faceless conglomerate? Ruthless captains of industry? Perhaps you think of corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom. In fact, the unscrupulous plundering done by some modern-day corporations pales in comparison to the activities carried out by one of the world's first corporations: the British East India Company (EIC).
The concept of corporations was first established under ancient Roman law [source: University of Virginia]. But it wasn't until England emerged from the Middle Ages that it created what we recognize as the modern corporate structure. It all began on Dec. 31, 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the British East India Corporation, naming the corporation "The Governor and Company of Merchants of London, trading with the East Indies." The corporation conducted business in the East Indies (land that we now consider India and the Middle East) at the behest of the queen.
The East India Company established a few major precedents for modern corporations. But it also shaped the world in countless other ways. With both the financial and military support of the Crown, the EIC served as an instrument of imperialism for England. The company had its own private army and raised soldiers in the areas it subjugated. Its expansionism spurred several wars that produced at least two sovereign nations. Among its many claims to fame (and notoriety), the EIC indirectly built Yale University, helped create two nations and was the world's largest drug-dealing operation in the 18th century.
The company was ruthless in its quest for profits. Parliament even called the EIC tyrannical. However, without the EIC, England may have never developed into the nation it is
The Creation of the East India Company
The East India Company and the United States
The East India Company and India
The Creation of the East India Company
Queen Elizabeth I, depicted here on the occasion of the Spanish Armada's defeat in 1588, chartered the East India Company 12 years later.
Queen Elizabeth I, depicted here on the occasion of the Spanish Armada's defeat in 1588, chartered the East India Company 12 years later.
HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
When the British East India Company (EIC) was formed in 1600, there were already other East India Companies operating on behalf of France, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. Thanks to the naval route that explorer Vasco Da Gama discovered, riches from the Orient were pouring into Europe. With other nations importing fortunes in goods and plunder, Queen Elizabeth decided England should get some, too. So she granted the charter for the East India Company.
Queen Elizabeth used more than just royal decree and coffers (treasury funds) to help merchants and explorers establish trade on behalf of England in the East. The charter she issued created the first official joint-stock corporation. A joint-stock corporation is composed of investors who are granted shares in a company. In return for their initial investments, shareholders are given dividends, or percentages, of the company's profits based on the number of shares the investor holds.
Shares and dividends were not new concepts in England. Twenty years prior to the EIC's charter, Queen Elizabeth was already a major stakeholder in Sir Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hind. Although it's not certain how much she made from Drake's voyages to the New World, the captain himself made a 5,000 percent return on his initial investment [source: Hartmann].
So a joint-stock corporation like the one Queen Elizabeth formed in the East India Company wasn't much of a financial leap. But it was the first of its kind, and following the establishment of the EIC, its Dutch, French and other competitors followed suit. But granting charter to the EIC wasn't the only part of the prototype for modern corporations that Queen Elizabeth devised.
Under the auspices of her royal authority, Elizabeth also limited the liability of the EIC's investors -- including hers. This made the company the world's first limited liability corporation (abbreviated as LLC in the United States and Ltd. in the United Kingdom). Under an LLC, the investors in a corporation are granted protection from losing any more money than their initial investments in the venture. If the company goes under, the investors only lose the amount of money they put into the LLC. The company's outstanding debts aren't divvied up among its investors [source: IRS].
Queen Elizabeth covered any losses or debts owed by the East India Company with the royal coffers; modern LLCs are subject to bankruptcy procedures, where creditors may be forced to take pennies on the dollar or nothing at all if a corporation goes under.