I only partially enjoyed the show... The sets, costumes, etc were all phenomenal. The story/dialogue at times was a bit boring at times, and overdone at times.
Either way, it's cool to see that the East India company was real, and about as terrible as the show makes them seem.
I just wanted to say that your post implies that the East India Company could be thought of as fictional and that shocked me. I mean, I've learned about it in school, so I also had no idea it existed before that (I'm not English), but it's concerning that it isn't taught.
I was just coming here to post the same thing. It was a really interesting aspect of the show.