18世纪英国在印度的贸易统治

British Trade Interests in India in the 18th Century

第一帝国时期,英国在亚洲的历史以18世纪中期为界可分成两个阶段:第一阶段英国东印度公司在印度的贸易和势力渐进发展;第二阶段,东印度公司的政策发生了重大改变,一方面是这一时期印度国内出现一种政治混乱的局面,另一方面,英国与法国等殖民国家在印度的商业竞争日益激烈,东印度公司开始谋求通过获得领土来确立自己的贸易地位,战争成为实现这一目标的手段。

During the First British Empire, its expansion to Asia before the 1750's could be divided into two periods: In the first period, the empire focused on the trade development of East Indian Company. In the second period, great changes took place in the management of the East Indian Company. There were certainly some reasons for the change. On the one hand, political confusions appeared in India. On the other hand, France competed with Britain in commercial interests in India. So the East Indian Company of Britain began to seek the territory expansion to strengthen its trade. Colonial wars between the two sides helped to gain its aim.