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by Naga 2878 days ago
I'm not as familiar with the VOC as maybe I should be, but the British East India Company actually was the government of India from 1757 to 1858, when the British state took over. Until 1858, the territory of the EIC was administered by a Board of Directors who were responsible to shareholders, not to Parliament.
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VOC also functioned as a govt of sorts, establishing colonies in Indonesia and SE Asia etc and having a private army that fought for territorial purposes.