<P> In the aftermath, all power was transferred from the British East India Company to the British Crown, which began to administer most of India as a number of provinces . The Crown controlled the Company's lands directly and had considerable indirect influence over the rest of India, which consisted of the Princely states ruled by local royal families . There were officially 565 princely states in 1947, but only 21 had actual state governments, and only three were large (Mysore, Hyderabad, and Kashmir). They were absorbed into the independent nation in 1947--48 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> British Raj </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> <P> The British Indian Empire at its greatest extent (in a map of 1909). The princely states under British suzerainty are in yellow . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Victoria Memorial was dedicated to the memory of the Empress of India Victoria in Calcutta, which served as the capital of British - held territories in India until 1911 . </P> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> British Raj </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> <P> The British Indian Empire at its greatest extent (in a map of 1909). The princely states under British suzerainty are in yellow . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Victoria Memorial was dedicated to the memory of the Empress of India Victoria in Calcutta, which served as the capital of British - held territories in India until 1911 . </P> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr>

Which empire was located in the indian subcontinent in 1500 ad