Answer: The British were able to take control of India mainly because India was not united. The British signed treaties and made military and trading alliances with many of the independent states that made up India. The British were very effective at infiltrating these states and gradually taking control. They often left the local princes in charge of the various parts of India. These local princes were effective at maintaining British rule and gained much from being loyal to the British.
The British presence in India began through trade. Men like Robert Clive, of the British East India Company, combined military prowess with a ruthless ambition, and became fabulously wealthy. With wealth came power, and traders took control of huge swaths of India.
He was a white Massachusetts abolitionist & suffragist. He & Isaac Knapp created the newspaper "The Liberator" which aided in the abolition of slavery. He later in life created The American Anti-Slavery Society.
