The Anarchy
The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire
by William Dalrymple · first published 2019
17mentions
10recommended by
16HN commenters
2019–2026first – last mentioned
63% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Engaging, well-detailed history of how the East India Company rose from a trading charter to ruling much of India; recommended for readers wanting narrative history of empire, trade and violence.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…Autobiography: A man for all markets by Edward O Thorp (Claude Shannon shows up and helps the author try to cheat at Roulette using wearable computers! A lot of fascinating stuff). More history: The Anarchy by William Dalrymple. (A book on the British East India company went from being a merchant company to eventually becoming the British Raj).
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗…even financed by major Bengali bankers for their conquest. India was possibly the big outlier in this regard, ergo the whole "crown jewel of the empire" angle. Read this: https://a.co/d/7r25CnA - The Anarchy by William Dalrymple.
on “World conker champion found with steel chestnut, cleared of cheating” ↗If you want to delve into the history of EIC (and you should, esp. if you’re interested in how Northern Europe’s tremendous growth was fueled) I suggest reading The Anarchy by Dalrymple. It has great detail but also vey well written and engaging (qualities usually hard to combine in history books).
on “Exploring the richness and variety of letters sent to the East India Company” ↗If it's history you seek, William Dalrymple's The Anarchy is a fantastic read. It talks about how a private enterprise managed to dominate and rule over the richest part of the world in its time. Guns, Germs and Steel may also for your requirement.
on “Ask HN: Is there a book about how a technological advantage wins wars?” ↗The Anarchy by William Dalrymple throws some light on Clive's life as well.
on “The Atrocious Robert Clive” ↗As I read this I thought it was ripped off from William Dalrymple's history book The Anarchy, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Delighted to discover it was in fact ripped off from one of his other books and that there's a series of 4 he wrote on the history of the general area/time period.
on “Heavy Wears the Crown and the Kohinoor” ↗Encourage persons interested in these letters to read The Anarchy by William Dalrymple. Summarizes establishment of East India Co. and subsequent financial outcomes and violence.
on “Exploring the richness and variety of letters sent to the East India Company” ↗A bit off topic, but William Dalrymple's book "The Anarchy" does an excellent job tracking the development of the East India Company from "the king gives you a right to establish trade with India" to the "the purpose of [all of India] is to... increase the wealth…
on “Are U.S companies legally obligated to maximize profits for shareholders? (2012)” ↗Dalrymple has a uniquely addictive style of writing that very few history writers do. I can't recall any other nonfiction book becoming such a page-turner for me as his "Anarchy" did. Terrific writer.
on “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World” ↗I enjoyed "The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company" by Dalrymple, which has a specific focus, but conveys a fascinating history of British involvement with India.
on “Talkie: a 13B vintage language model from 1930” ↗…famines that happened. It lead to forced labour being used to attempt to keep up with the ever increasing taxation on the land, once taxes failed the company would seize your land. You should pick up The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple. Really good overview. They also destroyed the cotton industry of India so less competition for uk based cotton industry. That’s how…
on “India's unrealistic demands sank WTO agri talks, claims commissioner” ↗…(from https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-...) “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power,” by Shoshana Zuboff “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company,” by William Dalrymple “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,” by Casey Cep “Girl, Woman, Other,” by Bernardine Evaristo…
on “Obama lists his favorite books of 2019” ↗1. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, by Shoshana Zuboff https://www.worldcat.org/title/age-of-surveillance-capitalis... 2. The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company, by William Dalrymple https://www.worldcat.org/title/anarchy-the-relentless-rise-o... 3. Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,…
on “Obama lists his favorite books of 2019” ↗The example of the EIC was used as an argument against the British Crown by proponents of American independence. Source: Dalrymple's The Anarchy.
on “Amazon, Apple and Google Cut Off Parler” ↗William Dalrymple's book The Anarchy has some excerpts from American pamphlets decrying the EICs treatment of Indians (particularly during the Bengal famine of 1770) and also warning that the British would attempt to re-organize the colonies…
on “Collections: How to Roman Republic 101, Part IIIb: Imperium” ↗