The Raj has often been seen as one of the most impressive examples of imperialism in modern history. What began from extremely humble beginnings-a cluster of isolated trading posts and “factories” along the coast-had by the late eighteenth century turned into a huge, sprawling Asian empire and the “jewel in the crown” of Britain’s overseas possessions. It was situated between the borders of Afghanistan and Thailand and included the present-day states of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma. A central component of the empire was the Indian Empire or Raj, which contained the bulk of Britain’s imperial subjects, estimated at over 300 million people in 1914. Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to IndiaĪt its height in the 1920s, the British Empire was the largest and most populous empire in world history, with up to a quarter of the world’s landmass coming under the British flag.
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