India's Looted Treasures

Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, met his end at the hands of Robert Clive. The end of his reign marked the beginning of the East India Company's dominance over Bengal and the conquest and loot of the Indian subcontinent.

Tipu Sultan was one of the most serious adversaries the British they faced in India. He was the one they were most frightened of and the one they were most pleased to take out in 1799. After his death the loot of his treasures began.

The mighty Maratha empire ended with Peshwa Baji Rao II's defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1818. It resulted in a fight over its booty between the East India Company, the British army, and the British Crown.

After the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the East India Company forced the young king Duleep Singh to sign away the Kohinoor as part of the peace treaty. The diamond remains an enduring symbol of the British empire’s exploitation of India.