It was the company that bestrode the globe, helping to found an empire and put the â??greatâ? into Britain. But in a forthcoming BBC drama, the East India Company will be portrayed as something quite different.
The Corporation has commissioned a major drama about the firm, which â?? according to its script writer â?? will depict it as the historical equivalent â??the CIA, the NSA, and the biggest, baddest multinational corporation on earthâ?.
The characterisation has already raised eyebrows among historians, who argue that it gives an overly negative view of the organisation, which operated from the 17th to the end of the 19th century, coming to account for around half the worldâ??s trade and helping the British achieve dominance in India.
The series, Taboo, will star Tom Hardy as James Keziah Delaney, a rogue adventurer who returns from Africa with ill-gotten diamonds to seek vengeance after the death of his father. He sets out to build his own trade and shipping empire, drawing him into conflict with the East India Company.
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