5.4.2

Expansion of the East India Company

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Expansion of the East India Company

Britain set up the East India Company as a way to reap the benefits of trading with India, but over time the British established control over much of India.

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Breakdown of the Mughal Empire

  • By the mid-1700s, the power of the Mughal Emperor was beginning to break down.
  • He no longer had a strong grasp over the country, and his nawabs were often fighting amongst themselves.
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The EIC army

  • The EIC had established its own army in India to protect its trading interests.
  • Over time, the EIC’s army helped the company gain more and more Indian territory, and establish control across the region.
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Robert Clive

  • Robert Clive was a British nabob who began working with the EIC as a small-scale trader.
  • He went on to work for the EIC’s army, becoming an officer.
  • During his time working for the EIC, he became incredibly rich and won several important victories for the EIC’s army.
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Victories

  • The most important came in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey.
  • Clive led the EIC’s army against the army of the nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah, and won a decisive victory.
  • After winning the Battle of Plassey, the British gained power over the wealthy and populous state of Bengal.
  • This victory forced the Mughal Emperor to negotiate with Clive in the Treaty of Allahabad.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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