The Birth of Empire: The East India Company

Season 1

Centuries ago, England controlled India and was heavily invested in China. The country's economy and trade dwarfed all others, and it was all in the hands of the first multinational: the East India Company. This series reveals how the British company grew into an imperial power in the 16th to 19th centuries, and became a hotbed of corruption and greed that led to its downfall.

20142 episodes

TV-G

Special Interest

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Episode number
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S1 E1 - Episode 1
April 29, 2014
49min
TV-G
The East India Company, founded in 1600, lasted for 258 years before the British state gained full control of its activities. How did it become so powerful? British historian and TV presenter Dan Snow travels through India in the footsteps of the company that revolutionized the British lifestyle and laid the foundations for global trading systems that remain in place today.
Free trial of BBC Select
S1 E2 - Episode 2
May 6, 2014
48min
TV-G
How did the British government control the East India Company - and help it create an empire that, at its peak, funded governments, toppled princes and generated spectacular amounts of money from trading textiles and spices? In the second and final part of his documentary series, British historian and TV presenter Dan Snow traces the rise and fall of the world's first multinational.
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