(Shah Alam II)

Shah Alam II also known as Ali Gauhar was the 16th Mughal Emperor. The British East India Company struck the first coins in India in the name of Shah Alam II.

(coins struck by the British in the name of Shah Alam II)

Shah Alam II son of Alamgir II was born on 25th June 1728 in Shahjahanabad, Subah of Delhi, Mughal Empire. Shah Alam II faced invasion by the Emir of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali leading to the Third Battle of Panipat between the Maratha Empire. Shah Alam II was considered as a depleted Mughal ruler who under the protection of Maratha general Mahadaji Shinde returned to Delhi in 1772. Shah Alam II died on 19th November 1806 at the age of 78 in Shahjahanabad, Subah of Delhi, Mughal Empire.

The East India Company (EIC) was founded on 31st December 1600 by John Watts. The headquarters of the British East India Company was at London, United Kingdom. The company was formed to trade with the East Indies(present-day Maritime Southeast Asia) but the trading took place with Qing China (the last imperial dynasty of China). The commodities for which the company traded are cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, spices, saltpetre, tea and opium. The company seized control of the Indian subcontinent and set up the British Empire in India. 

Following the victory in the battles of Plassey and Buxar, the company secured its base in India and emerged as the major military and political power in the Indian subcontinent. Gradually the British East India Company increased its military size and by 1803 the count of the private army of the company stood at 260,000 soldiers twice the size of the British Army. The revenues of the company were £13,464,561 and the expenses were £14,017,473. Slowly the company acquired administrative control of India by applying the Company rule in India. Because of recurring finance problem the company was dissolved in 1874 following the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act.