In order to break a Dutchdominated trade with India, England formed the East India Company. Between the years of 1639 and 1690, the Company acquired territory in three of India's prime trading areas-Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. On each of these sites, the English erected forts, known as factories, which handled the business of trade and export. The English who ran these forts eventually became involved in local government.
India's last central dynasty, the Moguls, had by this time disintegrated into several camps of feuding princes. With the lack of a centralized governmental organization, India surrendered its power to rule itself without much of a fight. By 1765 England had gained the right to collect land revenues and govern most of India. The areas to which its power did not extend proved too remote to pose much of a threat.
Up to this point, the East India Company had more or less been running the country. Because of growing corruption in the Company, such as private trading, the British government began involving itself in Indian affairs. Under the Regulating Act of 1773, the English Parliament created a Governor General for India.
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