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The Anarchy
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The Anarchy traces how the East India Company developed from a commercial corporation into the dominant military and political power in eighteenth-century India. As Mughal authority fragmented, Company officials used private armies, revenue collection, diplomacy and financial leverage to intervene in Indian succession disputes and seize territory.
The narrative follows the conquest of Bengal and the expansion that brought the Company into conflict with Mysore and the Maratha states. Dalrymple emphasises the role of Indian bankers, rulers, soldiers and administrators as well as British officials, presenting Company rule as an early example of corporate power operating with the resources of a state but the priorities of shareholders.