Overview

This is a popular history of one of the world's most famous companies. Founded in 1600, the East India Company was the forerunner of the modern multinational. Starting life as a trader in Asian spices, the Company ended its days running Britain's Indian empire. In the process, it shocked its contemporaries with the scale of its violence, corruption and speculation. This is the first-ever book to expose the Company's social record. Robins reveals a hidden story of tragedy and intrigue. War, famine, stock-market bubbles and even duels between rival executives are all to be found in this new account. For Robins, the Company's legacy provides compelling lessons on how to ensure the accountability of today's global business.

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9780745325231

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Reviews

A magnificent book about the father and mother of all companies. ... Everyone who studies corporate power and structure must read this well-written account. --Gordon Roddick, Chairman Emeritus of The Body Shop, co-founder of the Big Issue and Human Rights activist   A powerful analysis of the rise and fall of the British East India Company, a private company that conquered a subcontinent and subjugated an entire people. --Huw Bowen, Professor of Imperial and Maritime History at the University of Leicester   [This] will become a classic. --Simon Zadek, Chief Executive, AccountAbility   Elegantly written and sharply argued. --Sankar Muthu, Princeton University

A magnificent book about the father and mother of all companies. ... Everyone who studies corporate power and structure must read this well-written account. -- Gordon Roddick, Chairman Emeritus of The Body Shop, co-founder of the Big Issue and Human Rights activist [This] will become a classic. -- Simon Zadek, Chief Executive, AccountAbility A powerful analysis of the rise and fall of the British East India Company, a private company that conquered a subcontinent and subjugated an entire people. -- Huw Bowen, Professor of Imperial and Maritime History at the University of Leicester Elegantly written and sharply argued, Nick Robins' gripping account of the rise and fall of the English East India Company brings to life a crucial episode in the history of globalization. -- Sankar Muthu, Assistant Professor of Politics, Princeton University The book has been widely reviewed and the scholarship behind it has never been questioned. And - something that is not always the case with history books - it is certainly well written. -- Lloyd's List

A magnificent book about the father and mother of all companies. ... Everyone who studies corporate power and structure must read this well-written account. --Gordon Roddick, Chairman Emeritus of The Body Shop, co-founder of the Big Issue and Human Rights activist A powerful analysis of the rise and fall of the British East India Company, a private company that conquered a subcontinent and subjugated an entire people. --Huw Bowen, Professor of Imperial and Maritime History at the University of Leicester [This] will become a classic. --Simon Zadek, Chief Executive, AccountAbility Elegantly written and sharply argued. --Sankar Muthu, Princeton University

Author Information

Nick Robins has more than 20 years experience in the policy and practical realities of corporate accountability. A historian by training, he currently works on sustainable and responsible investment in London. He is the author of The Corporation That Changed the World: How the East India Company Shaped the Modern Multinational (Pluto, 2012), and has written on the East India Company for the Financial Times, New Statesman and Resurgence.

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