The Great Indian Fire Sale: How an 18th-Century Subcontinent Asset-Stripped Itself
Why Your Favorite "National Heroes" Were Just Bad CEOs of Regional Fiefdoms, and How the East India Company Executed the Most Ruthless Corporate Takeover in Human History Let’s stop romanticizing the 18th century. If you look past the gilded miniature paintings, the swirling court dances of Delhi, and the epic poetry, the geopolitical reality of the Indian subcontinent between 1720 and 1775 wasn't a tragic saga of noble kings fighting off alien invaders. It was an absolute corporate clown show. Hindustan did not fall to British military superiority. It was systematically liquidated by its own management. For over half a century, India’s regional rulers ran a relentless, self-destructive elimination tournament against one another. They behaved less like sovereigns protecting a civilization and more like short-sighted, highly volatile executives driving their regional firms into bankruptcy out of pure personal ego. Meanwhile, sitting quietly on the coastline was a hyp...