The East India Company

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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…