16. The British Empire converted natives into British troops that would fight wars for them.
Throughout its administration of the empire, Great Britain trained native troops to serve as the enforcement authority of their fellows, usually under British officers. To do so, they exploited native tribal rivalries, choosing one side over the other. Before the Napoleonic wars ended, Great Britain exerted increased authority over the East India Company in India, which had become one of the most lucrative colonies. By the middle of the 19th century, it was the single most valuable of all Great Britain’s possessions. In the late 1850s, Indian troops rebelled against British rule, and in 1858, Great Britain dissolved the East India Company after brutally suppressing the rebellion.