<P> The last vestiges of local administration were restricted to the northern regions of Delhi, Oudh, Rajputana, and Punjab, where the company's presence was ever increasing amidst infighting and offers of protection among the remaining princes . The hundred years from the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 were a period of consolidation for the company, during which it seized control of the entire Indian subcontinent and functioned more as an administrator and less as a trading concern . </P> <P> A cholera pandemic began in Bengal, then spread across India by 1820 . 10,000 British troops and countless Indians died during this pandemic . Between 1760 and 1834 only some 10% of the East India Company's officers survived to take the final voyage home . </P> <P> In the early 19th century the Indian question of geopolitical dominance and empire holding remained with the East India Company . The three independent armies of the company's Presidencies, with some locally raised irregular forces, expanded to a total of 280,000 men by 1857 . The troops were first recruited from mercenaries and low - caste volunteers, but in time the Bengal Army in particular was composed largely of high - caste Hindus and landowning Muslims . </P> <P> Within the Army British officers, who initially trained at the company's own academy at the Addiscombe Military Seminary, always outranked Indians, no matter how long the Indians' service . The highest rank to which an Indian soldier could aspire was Subadar - Major (or Rissaldar - Major in cavalry units), effectively a senior subaltern equivalent . Promotion for both British and Indian soldiers was strictly by seniority, so Indian soldiers rarely reached the commissioned ranks of Jamadar or Subadar before they were middle aged at best . They received no training in administration or leadership to make them independent of their British officers . </P>

Where did english east india company first set up their trading post