Frosty Stuff

  Why was Britain able to establish an Empire in India? In 1600, the East India Company was originally chartered to trade basic commodities such as silk, tea, salt, opium, and spices from India. Over time, the East India company radically transformed itself from a trading company into an entity that controlled India's massive empire. Through the East India Company, Britain was able to dominate the Indian sub-continent, which includes modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar, and Sri Lanka from the 1750s. The British effectively ruled the sub-continent for almost two centuries, from the 1750s until 1947, with relatively little opposition and unrest.  ​ How was Britain, several thousand miles away and with a much smaller population, able to dominate an entire sub-continent? The reason for this was as a direct result of a unique series of circumstances that allowed Britain to establish its authority over hundreds of millions of people.  When was the East India Company Est