The Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 let the East India Company collect taxes in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
1. Islamic History Podcast Episode 10-9, “The Company,” tracks British supremacy in Mughal India and the East India Company’s rise from trade to rule.
2. Muttaki Ismail hosts the episode and frames it as part of Season 10 on the Mughal Empire, with references to previous episodes 10-4 and 10-7.
3. The episode asks how the East India Company went from merchants in Surat to a power that controlled Mughal lands and imperial succession.
4. The British first came during Akbar’s reign, opened a trading post in Surat in 1609, and built a fortified base in Madras in 1634.
5. Bombay entered British hands in 1661 through Catherine of Portugal’s dowry, and the EIC initially relied on small armed forces to guard trading posts.
6. The 1686 clash under Aurangzeb ended badly for the British, but the balance changed by the mid-18th century.
7. The first Carnatic War in 1745 is described as a European conflict that spilled into India.
8. In 1757, the British overthrew Siraj-ud-Daulah in Bengal and installed Mir Jafar to protect Company business interests.
9. The 1764 war against Bengal, Awad, and Mirza Najaf led to the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765.
10. That treaty gave the East India Company the right to collect taxes in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa and made the Mughal emperor a British dependent.
11. The episode says losing America in 1776 intensified British urgency to dominate India.
12. Between 1767 and 1799, the British fought multiple wars against Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore.
13. Tipu Sultan’s defeat in 1799 is presented as a turning point before the British advanced into north India.
14. The speaker describes Aligarh, Delhi, and Agra falling in 1803 and the Treaty of Siraji Ajangon in late December 1803.
15. By the end of 1804, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka, Awadh, Mysore, and Delhi were under British control.
16. Shah Alam II is described as a palace-bound figurehead receiving 60,000 rupees a month, while Akbar II faced refusal, reduced respect, and a gradual humiliation campaign.
17. The episode emphasizes the contrast between Akbar II’s symbolic authority and the British control of coins, gifts, and imperial procedure.
18. The style is lecture-like, chronological, and citation-driven, with long explanatory passages and quoted material from William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy.
19. Listeners interested in Mughal decline, Company expansion, and British-Indian politics will get the most from it.
20. Listeners looking for a short, light, or purely devotional episode may skip it.
