Tales from later Mughals

y the European nations on the issue of trade. Each
European nation saw the others as a threat to its interests
and resorted to war to oust the rival power, as in Indonesia
where the English lost against the Dutch. European rivalry
was not limited to Asia and Africa; they were also fighting
bloody wars in Europe on political fronts. However, in India
the conflict was not directly between European states but
between the private companies; albeit with the indirect
support of their respective governments.
In 1687, the East India Company assumed political
power; it built fortresses and struck its own coins. It
recruited the local people into its army. Armenians, Arabs,
Africans and Europeans who were settled here and married
to local women were the first to join. Once it had an army, it
became ambitious and set out to acquire territory. It got this
opportunity because of the political chaos in the Indian
subcontinent, where, after the decline of the Mughal
dynasty, regional powers were fighting for political
domination. They needed help and the Company`s army
provided armed assistance to those who paid well.
It became a regular feature for the Company to
defend any ruler who asked for its help in return for either
cash or territory. The Company`s army was well trained and
equipped with modern weapons. On the other hand, the
Indian armies were disorganised and ill equipped. Thus the
Company`s army had a higher success rate and earned
respect in the eyes of the Indians; this led to a sense of
superiority and the realisation that it could easily defeat the
Indian armies.
The first time the Company interfered in the political
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