Britain’s rule in India was established almost by accident

Evidence

To call this process “Imperialist expansion” is nonsense, if by that is meant the deliberate acquisition of political power. … Of India it has been well said that the British Empire was acquired in a fit of absence of mind. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 1523

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 1523
• XREF: connects to: Churchill’s narrative captures the chaos of British expansion in India — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 1518; Italy pursued deliberate territorial expansion while Britain’s grew by accident; Mehmed Ali explicitly modeled his army on British colonial rule in India. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1327