The Mughal Empire was Muslim in religion and Turkic in culture, founded in 1526 by Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. The Mughal Empire ruled India from 1556 to 1707 through a central administration, sectioned provinces led by governors appointed by the emperor, and villages established in the provinces. In later years increased turmoil developed due to an increasingly weak and corrupt government, which persecuted the Hindus. This power breakdown led to British East India Company movement toward conquest of India as it sought to defend its trading posts that had been setup as early as the 1600s, mainly for spice trade. Later, some of these trading posts would grow into major cities such as Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. Uprisings by Indians in 1857 against the British East India company then caused the British government to bring troops to India and eventually they took control and ruled India from 1858 to 1947. India was divided into 11 provinces and 250 districts. These two empires changed the development of India, but the British Empire changed the Indian Economy in a way that made the Indians more dependent than they were under the Mughal Empire. At the same time, both empires continued to develop agriculture through well developed irrigation systems and irrigation canals. The British Empire changed the Indian Economy in a way that made the Indians more dependent than they were under the Mughal Empire.
The Mughal Empire sold Indian cottons for European coin.