The East India Company (EIC) was first England's and then Britain's tool of colonial expansion in India and beyond. Revenue from trade and land taxes from territories it controlled allowed the EIC to build up its own private armies, collectively the largest armed force in South and South East Asia.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2080/the-armies-of-the-east-india-company/.