British Empire

State · 1757–1858 CE · at its largest around 1856 CE

Britain's East India Company era, when Bengal's wealth after Plassey flowed to an industrializing nation of steam, cotton mills and global sea power. Abolition of the slave trade, convict settlement of Australia and the 1857 Indian uprising all marked these years.

On its lands while it lasted

Mughal Empire founded (1526–1857 CE): Empire founded by Babur that at its height ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, famed for its wealth, administration and architecture.
Maratha Empire (1674–1818 CE): Maratha state founded by Shivaji's coronation in 1674, which became the dominant power in India in the 18th century before defeat by the British.
Ahmad Shah Durrani (c. 1722 CE – 1772 CE): Founder of the Durrani Empire, the basis of modern Afghanistan, who repeatedly invaded northern India.
Tipu Sultan (1751 CE – 1799 CE): Ruler of Mysore who fought the East India Company in several wars and pioneered the military use of iron-cased rockets.
Battle of Plassey (1757 CE): East India Company forces under Robert Clive defeated the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, beginning Company rule in Bengal.
Third Battle of Panipat (1761 CE): Ahmad Shah Durrani's Afghan army defeated the Marathas in one of the largest battles of the 18th century.
Battle of Buxar (1764 CE): The East India Company defeated the combined forces of the Mughal emperor and the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh.
Great Bengal famine of 1770 (1770 CE): Famine in Company-ruled Bengal and Bihar that killed millions, possibly a third of the population of Bengal.
Ram Mohan Roy (1772 CE – 1833 CE): Bengali reformer who founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati.
Ranjit Singh (1780 CE – 1839 CE): Founder of the Sikh Empire who captured Lahore in 1799 and united the Punjab.
Colombo (c. 1796 CE): Capital of British Ceylon (1796–1814), Sri Lanka (1972–today).
Gujranwala (c. 1799 CE): Capital of Sikh Empire (1799–1848).
First cholera pandemic (1817–1824 CE): The first cholera pandemic began in the Ganges delta of Bengal and spread across Asia to the Middle East and East Africa.
Indian Rebellion of 1857 (1857–1858 CE): Uprising that began with a mutiny of sepoys at Meerut and spread across northern India, leading to the end of East India Company rule.
British Raj (1858–1947 CE): After the 1857 rebellion the British Crown took direct rule of India from the East India Company, governing until independence in 1947.