British East India Company

Colonial power Level 2 ★ Major power

1600 – 1858

A trading company that became the dominant territorial power in India.

🗺 See on map in 1850

Also known as: EIC, Company Bahadur
Capital: Surat, then Madras / Bombay / Calcutta
Region: Pan-Indian
Duration: 258 years
Main period: East India Company Rule

Changing extent

1600 — ~1 km radius: Chartered in London; no Indian territory yet
1613 — ~25 km radius: Surat factory
1690 — ~40 km radius: Calcutta founded
1757 — ~180 km radius: After Plassey
1765 — ≈ 420,000 km²: Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (Midnapore)
1805 — ≈ 1,090,000 km²: Wellesley: Bengal to the doab and Delhi; Orissa; the Madras Presidency
1818 — ≈ 1,380,000 km²: After the Third Anglo-Maratha War: the paramount power
1849 — ≈ 1,970,000 km²: Punjab annexed: British India up to the Khyber (princely states excluded)

Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).

At a glance

Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.

Rulers

Robert Clive Robert Clive Warren Hastings Lord Cornwallis Lord Wellesley Lord Hastings Lord William Bentinck Lord Dalhousie Lord Canning

Events

Extent

1600170018001858

Rulers

Robert Clive Governor of Bengal
Victor at Plassey.
1758 – 1760
Robert Clive Governor of Bengal
Obtained the Diwani; dual government.
1765 – 1767
Warren Hastings Governor-General
First Governor-General of Bengal.
1773 – 1785
Lord Cornwallis Governor-General
Permanent Settlement.
1786 – 1793
Lord Wellesley Governor-General
Subsidiary alliance.
1798 – 1805
Lord Hastings Governor-General
Third Anglo-Maratha War.
1813 – 1823
Lord William Bentinck Governor-General
Abolition of sati.
1828 – 1835
Lord Dalhousie Governor-General
Doctrine of Lapse; railways.
1848 – 1856
Lord Canning Governor-General
1856 – 1858

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

Constituent & related polities

Fort St George, Madras

1639 – 1858

Bombay (English East India Company)

1668 – 1858

Key events

Year	Event	Place
1600	East India Company chartered Royal charter granted in London on 31 December 1600.
1611	English factory at Masulipatnam The Company's first factory on the east coast.	Machilipatnam
1612	Battle of Swally English defeat the Portuguese; Surat factory follows. The English defeated the Portuguese and won trading rights at Surat.	Suvali near Surat
1639	Fort St George founded at Madras	Chennai
1690	Job Charnock founds Calcutta Calcutta grew into the capital of British India.	Sutanuti
1757	Battle of Plassey Clive defeats Siraj ud-Daulah; Company rule begins in Bengal. Siraj ud-Daulah was defeated and Mir Jafar became a Company-backed nawab.	Palashi
1760	Battle of Wandiwash British defeat the French. French power in India was broken.	Vandavasi
1764	Battle of Buxar Company defeats Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II. The Company defeated Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II together.	Buxar
1765	Diwani of Bengal granted Treaty of Allahabad gives the Company revenue rights over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Company won the right to collect revenue in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.	Allahabad
1770	Great Bengal Famine Perhaps a third of Bengal's population died.	Bengal
1773	Regulating Act; Warren Hastings Governor-General	Kolkata
1784	Asiatic Society founded	Kolkata
1793	Permanent Settlement of Bengal	Kolkata
1803	British capture Delhi The Mughal emperor came under British protection.	Delhi
1803	Battle of Assaye Second Anglo-Maratha War. Arthur Wellesley defeated the combined Scindia and Bhonsle armies.	Assaye
1806	Vellore mutiny	Vellore
1828	Brahmo Samaj founded	Kolkata
1829	Sati abolished	Kolkata
1835	English Education Act	Kolkata
1843	Annexation of Sindh Sindh was annexed after the Battle of Miani.	Hyderabad (Sindh)
1848	Doctrine of Lapse applied to Satara Satara was annexed because its ruler died without a natural heir.	Satara
1849	Punjab annexed After the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The Sikh Empire ended and Maharaja Duleep Singh was pensioned off.	Lahore
1853	First passenger railway: Bombay to Thane	Mumbai
1855	Santhal Hul (rebellion) Led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu. Suppressed in 1856; the Santhal Parganas district was created.	Santhal Pargana
1856	Awadh annexed Wajid Ali Shah was deposed on the charge of misgovernance.	Lucknow
1856	Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act Remarriage of Hindu widows was legalised.	Kolkata
1857	Mangal Pandey's attack at Barrackpore Mangal Pandey was hanged; his regiment was disbanded.	Barrackpore