This book uses a variety of viewpoints to show how, between 1600 and 1857, the East India Company promoted cross-cultural connections between the English and diverse South Asian tribes, and how these interactions changed significant aspects of both British and South Asian history. The volume demonstrates how the Company’s history and its greater historical significance can be best understood by appreciating the myriad ways in which these interactions shaped the Company’s story and changed the course of history as opposed to viewing the Company as an organisation projecting its authority from London to India. The work includes analyses of the formulation of economic theory, the development of corporate strategy, the mechanics of state finance, the mapping of maritime jurisdiction, the government and practise of religions, domesticity, travel, diplomacy, state formation, art, gift-giving, incarceration, and rebellion. It brings together the most recent research and a number of case studies. The pieces taken as a whole will increase knowledge of the particularly corporate characteristics of cross-cultural interaction during a vital early stage of globalisation. This volume will be helpful to academics and researchers of modern history, South Asian studies, economic history, and political studies since it is insightful and clear. fewer books