Arguably, corporations were more powerful then than they are now. Wars were fought because of the British East India Company - in 1778, it had a private army of 67,000 soldiers, over 50% more than the total strength of the American militia at that time.
The British East India Company didn't just have its own standing army. It also (since 1765) held the legal right to collect taxes in Bengal. For a large portion of India, it was the government.