Summary of William Dalrymple's The Anarchy

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of William Dalrymple's The Anarchy in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: The Anarchy tells one of history's most remarkable stories: how the Mughal Empire-which dominated world trade and manufacturing and possessed almost unlimited resources-fell apart and was replaced by a multinational corporation based thousands of miles overseas, and answerable to shareholders, most of whom had never even seen India and no idea about the country whose wealth was providing their dividends. Using previously untapped sources, Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before and provides a portrait of the devastating results from the abuse of corporate power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669342427

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on William Dalrymple's The Anarchy

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The word loot, which originated in India, originally meant to plunder or steal, and was later adopted by the British to describe the plunder of India.

#2

The East India Company was a for-profit corporation that existed solely to make money for its investors. It conquered large amounts of India in less than half a century, something the Victorians tried to cover up by saying the British conquered India, when in reality it was a privately held company.

#3

The East India Company, a business set up to trade with India, was the first to bring British and Indian soldiers together in battle.

#4

The East India Company was a giant that sucked the wealth of the subcontinent dry, almost single-handedly causing the Famine of 1769.

#5

The East India Company reversed the Roman drain of wealth, which had occurred since the days of Alexander the Great, by shipping vast quantities of opium and Chinese tea to China. It then turned around and fought the Opium Wars in order to secure a monopoly on opium trafficking.

#6

The East India Company was a business entity that was granted a charter by the British Crown to trade exclusively with the Indian subcontinent. It essentially controlled India for more than a century, until the British government nationalized it in 1857.

#7

The author’s approach to the subject was to firstly research and write about the Company’s military campaigns, which resulted in the book’s subtitle, The Great Anarchy.

#8

The author would like to express his gratitude to all those who helped him with his research, in particular to Jaya Ravindran and Anumita Bannerjee of the British Library for their assistance in accessing the archives, and to Bruce Wannell for his translations of the previously untranslated French sources.

#9

Many people helped the author with this project, both in India and in Britain. He is most grateful to his family, who have always stood by him.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

On 24 September 1599, a diverse group of Elizabethan men gathered in the Founders’ Hall of the City of London to petition the aging Queen Elizabeth I to start a company that would trade with the East Indies.

#2

The rise of the East India Company can be traced back to the Elizabethan era, when England was largely isolated from the rest of the world and had to resort to piracy to acquire foreign goods.

#3

The English had little experience in the more demanding skills of long-distance trade or colonial administration, and their search for a North West Passage ended in failure.

#4

The English were furious when the Dutch outsmarted them and began trading to the East Indies directly, bypassing Aleppo.

#5

The East India Company was originally created to trade with the East Indies, but later expanded its reach to trade with China as well. It was a joint stock company, meaning that anyone could buy shares, which could then be sold to someone else.

#6

In