Rating: 5/5
William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy is a cautionary tale about what happens when a corporation is left dangerously unregulated. Set in the distant east, the book navigates the story of the British East India Company, a trading corporation accountable to only its shareholders, as it rises to overthrow one of the world’s wealthiest empires.
The Anarchy reads like a novel and is told through the eyes of many colourful characters. Not only does it provide a balanced perspective on the company’s history, but it is one of those rare works of Western scholarship that relies heavily on non-Western primary sources. The book sheds light on a period of history that is often not talked about but was foundational for the rise of the British Empire.
For anyone interested in the colonisation of India, British history, or colonial history more
broadly, this book is a must read.
