The East India Company expanded English trade with Asia and conquered much of India between 1600 and 1830. This talk will examine the effects of political instability on the growth of the Company’s trading capacity and its involvement in conflicts with other European companies and Indian rulers. It will provide evidence that regime changes in England and India raised the probability of conflict and extraction, and generally decreased trading capacity. The effects of instability are compared with shocks to Company revenues which also affect investment and conflict. The findings presented in this talk contribute to a general understanding of conflict and trade and the rise of British political and economic hegemony in India.