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Courses / Modules / HIST3176 Forging the Raj: The East India Company and Britain’s Asian World, part 1

Forging the Raj: The East India Company and Britain’s Asian World, part 1

When you'll study it
Semester 1
CATS points
30
ECTS points
15
Level
Level 6
Module lead
Christopher Prior
Academic year
2025-26

Module overview

What are the origins of Britain’s long relationship with Asia? How did a trading company become a territorial power, with its own army and navy? What did people in Britain make of this phenomenon, and how did it influence their views of Britain’s global empire? In this module, we consider the role of the East India Company in creating the British Empire in Asia. We explore the rise of the Company, from its modest origins as a small Elizabethan trading venture, to a corporate giant which controlled Britain’s trade with Asia for nearly 250 years. The scale and impact of the Company’s activities changed the lives of millions of people around the world. It is a story of wealth, adventure and the pursuit of power. But it is also one of conflict, conquest and piracy on the high seas; policy, politics and intrigue on land.