For several hundred years, one of the most powerful empires in history has ruled the face of this land. This empire, widely known as the British Empire, fearlessly conquered country after country; nearly two-thirds of the world fell to their demise. Their military strength greatly exceeded their neighboring countries, and they had founded many colonies in Asia, Africa and America. One of the most successful colonies they established was in India. In 1600, the East India Company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth to begin trading in the East Indies. Soon after the East India Company was founded in India, the company began interacting with several Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, India, and China. However, these interactions also caused a major uprising in the empire when the “Rebellion of 1857” began in 1857. Not only did British merchants bring their customs to Asia, but they also brought various drugs and foods such as opium. Opium was a huge export. from India, especially China, which created huge revenue for the East India Company. The company struggled to maintain trade with China at first, as it only accepted silver as payment. To convince the Chinese to trade with them, they smuggled huge quantities of opium from Indian Bengal where they had large opium crops, causing serious social and economic unrest in the country. The Chinese became addicted to opium and so began secretly trading with British merchants for opium, in return the British merchants received tea and silk. This interaction between Britain and China has created disputes over trade and diplomatic relations. Finally, in 1839, the Chinese government confiscated all the opium with... half the paper... repressively expanding in Southeast Asia. Britain realized that it was no longer realistic for them to prolong their control over India. In March 1946, the Prime Minister liberated India from British rule. The British Empire had colonized much of Asia Pacific for over 300 years. Interaction with other civilizations had brought both positive and negative conclusions. Trade between Asia and the British Empire connected Asian countries to other regions of the world. The expansion of British colonization brought religion, Western cultures, government and new technology to Asia. However, during the British Raj, they were very aggressive, wanted more control and undermined many trade agreements, and people felt they were not being treated fairly and with respect. As a result, an empire that once ruled the world was finally forced to end.