Instructor: John Karas is a graduate of The University of Toledo and has taught at Harper College in Illinois. His lifelong interest in history led him to become a member of the 250 Committee preparing and educating about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Description: The East India Company was the original CORPORATE RAIDER. They were instrumental in the birth of the ENGLISH EMPIRE. From their beginning to their demise, from England to India, from cotton trade to drug trading, they did it all with their own army and navy. They put the GREAT into Great Britain.