One can really say that the subjugation of Pakistan, and really the subjugation of the entire Indian subcontinent, began with the christening of the British East India Company by Queen Victoria in 1600. At first, the company’s intent was to merely make a profit for Britain in India through trade, but they soon came to take political control of the region, and later established themselves as complete rulers of the region.
In the 1600s, the East India Company had completely economic goals, and were working on establishing secure trading for themselves in India. Several skirmishes with the Portuguese gained Britain the right to trade in the port of Surat, and soon after, in 1610, the first British trading posts were established in the Indian provinces of Madras and Bombay. Britain quickly went about establishing ties with the Mogul rulers of India and in 1620 the British East India established what was to become the bustling city of Madras, and three years later was granted the power of law enforcement on land and sea. Britain skirmished on and off with the Dutch for trade dominance in the east until the peace treaty with Holland in 1654. Though the East India Company faced trouble in the beginning of the 18th Century, but established their position as Britain started to rely more heavily on tea.
After a rocky transition of power in India near the tail end the 18th Century, Britain started to begin to assert legal control in India thanks to what the British dubbed the “Tanjore question”. The Regulating Act of 1773 made the appointment of the governor of Bengal subject to British government approval. The East India Act of 1784 by British Parliament established a board that would be responsible for military, political, and financial matters in India. The Indian’s rebellious response to these matters led to the British to establish even stricter control.
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| The seal of the British East India Company |
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