Reading in world civilization

Section 2 , Question 2 : What Prompted the British East India Trading Company to establish to become military involved in India

The British Empire established the East India Company primarily for the purpose of trading and strengthening its economic and commercial prowess in 1600 . However , it was more or less forced a military wing of its own in India mainly because of the increasing threats among neighboring countries (New World Encyclopedia , 2008 . These countries , most notably among them , France and China , were threatening the trade routes and wanted to gain control of the

resources and goods for their gains

In general , the British East India Company had only a few military strongholds in its early years . However , in 1670 , King Charles authorizes the company to have autonomous territories , exercise criminal and civil jurisdiction , and establish its own military wing in the area due to increasing threats among neighboring competitors and hostile natives (New World Encyclopedia , 2008 . But it was the Battle of Plassey in 1757 which proved to be a major turning point in the militarization of the East India Company . In that battle , Robert Clive led the company 's forces to victory over Siraj Ud-Daulah , who was then backed by the French , which effectively established the East India Company as both a commercial and military powerhouse . Similarly , due to differences in trading policies with China on opium , the company also became involved in The Opium Wars in 1840 , which resulted in the British capture of Hong Kong in 1842 (New...