162 Beckett & Clive: The East India Company and the Empire of Greed

Feb. 28, 2026

You might have heard about the humorous meme making its way around the internet over the past several years which states, “We revolted against the British because they taxed our breakfast beverage.” Well, yes and no. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t really about the tea, or the tiny tax on the tea. It was about taxation without representation. But where did the American colonists get the idea that they were entitled to representation?! What if I told you that the idea came from Britain, where Parliamentarian oligarchs (aka Whigs) used their position to impose accountability on their King because their King had bypassed Parliament to raise funds for himself through the chartering of the English East India Company which became a quasi-governmental business venture that eventually took over India and started extracting its wealth, including….tea. It’s all very complicated! Fortunately, we were joined this week by University of Chicago historian James M. Vaughn, who graciously offered to explain it all to us! Join us for this fascinating and surprisingly current topic! —Streamed February 27, 2026

Buy James's book: https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Empire-Accession-George-Eighteenth-Century/dp/030020826X/