The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations — Fexingo History

In Episode 47 of The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the founding and transformation of Fort St. George, the English settlement that grew into modern Chennai. They trace its origins from a 1639 land grant by the Nayak of Kalahasti, Damarla Venkatappa, to a vital center of trade and politics. The episode covers the fort's construction, its ro...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the complex legacy of Sir Josiah Child, the East India Company's most powerful governor in the late 17th century. Child transformed the Company from a struggling trading enterprise into a political and military force, but his aggressive policies sparked the First Anglo-Mughal War (1686–1690). We dive into Child's rise as a 'merchant prince,' his infamous con...

Before the East India Company ruled India, it needed money—and that meant borrowing from the House of Jagat Seth, the Rothschilds of the Mughal world. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the astonishing financial power of the Jagat Seth family, who controlled the imperial mint at Murshidabad, issued hundis (bills of exchange) accepted from Bengal to Persia, and effectively bankrolled the Compa...

In 1741, a small Indian kingdom shattered the myth of European invincibility on the subcontinent. This episode tells the story of the Battle of Colachel, where the Travancore army under Raja Marthanda Varma and his commander Eustachius De Lannoy—a Flemish naval captain who switched sides—decisively defeated a Dutch East India Company (VOC) force. It's a tale of naval ambition, local resistance, an...

This episode dives into the early years of Bombay, the East India Company's neglected backwater that would become its commercial capital. Lucas and Luna explore the vision of Governor Gerald Aungier, who transformed a malarial island into a thriving port city. They discuss the Company's acquisition of Bombay as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry, the construction of Bombay Castle, and the strat...

In this episode of The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the tenure of Sir John Shore, Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1798. While his predecessor Lord Cornwallis and successor Lord Wellesley are famous for wars and expansion, Shore pursued a policy of non-intervention and financial consolidation. Lucas explains how Shore avoided entan...

Before Bombay became the center of British power in India, the port city of Surat was the commercial capital of the Mughal Empire and home to a remarkable network of merchants, bankers, and shipowners who ran their own maritime republic. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise and fall of Surat's merchant oligarchy—the 'nagarseths' and 'shroffs' who funded empires, built ships that sailed...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792), a conflict that pitted the British East India Company against Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore. They delve into Tipu's innovative use of rockets, his alliance with the French, and the devastating siege of Seringapatam. The episode covers key figures like Lord Cornwallis, who replaced Warren Hastings as Governor-General...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a watershed moment in British imperial history that began as a mutiny among Indian soldiers of the East India Company's Bengal Army. They trace the deep-seated grievances over cultural insensitivity, rapid Westernization, and fears of religious pollution symbolized by the greased cartridge controversy. The conversation covers ke...

In this episode of The East India Company podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic final confrontation between the British East India Company and Tipu Sultan, the 'Tiger of Mysore'. They trace Tipu's rise to power, his innovative military technologies like iron-cased rockets, and his alliance with the French. The episode details the climactic Siege of Seringapatam in 1799, where British forces...

Before the Bank of England or the Wall Street stock exchange, the East India Company invented modern corporate finance. This episode follows the dizzying rise and catastrophic fall of the Company's banking operations in Bengal. Meet the shroffs — Indian money-changers whose gold mohurs and silver rupees backed the entire trade network — and the British factors who built a credit system on opium ch...

In this episode of The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations, Lucas and Luna explore the hidden history of bibis—the Indian women who became companions, housekeepers, and sometimes wives of Company officials. Drawing on the story of William Hickey, a Company lawyer who lived with his bibi Jemdanee for over a decade, the episode reveals how these relationships shaped colonial h...

This episode, Lucas and Luna revisit the Banda Islands, scene of one of the most brutal episodes in early colonial history. In 1621, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) under Jan Pieterszoon Coen orchestrated a massacre of the Bandanese population to secure a monopoly on nutmeg. Lucas details the events leading up to the invasion, the siege of Lonthor, the enslavement and execution of thousands, an...

In 1600, a group of London merchants secured a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, creating what would become the most powerful corporation in history. But who was the man who organized the first voyage? Sir Thomas Smythe, a merchant, diplomat, and governor of the East India Company for its first two decades, laid the foundations for an empire. This episode traces the Company's earliest days: th...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the humble cowrie shell — the unlikely currency that powered the East India Company's early trade. From the Maldives to Bengal, millions of tiny shells flowed into Europe and Africa, financing the slave trade and purchasing Indian textiles. Learn how these shells were harvested, traded, and eventually replaced by silver and copper coinage. Along the way, we...

While Robert Clive gets most of the glory, Sir Eyre Coote was arguably the East India Company's finest military commander. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Coote's decisive victory at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760, which broke French power in India and paved the way for British supremacy. They discuss Coote's early career, his rivalry with the French general Comte de Lally, the tactical b...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the early history of Bombay, the East India Company's first territorial acquisition in India. They discuss how the Company transformed a small Portuguese outpost into a thriving port city through strategic marriage, infrastructure development, and the allure of religious freedom. The episode covers key figures like Gerald Aungier, the Portuguese dowry of Cat...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842), a catastrophic military campaign orchestrated by Governor-General Lord Auckland. They delve into Auckland's misguided policy of 'forward defence' against Russian influence, leading to the ill-fated 'Army of the Indus' that invaded Afghanistan to install Shah Shuja on the throne. Lucas details the complex geo...

This episode explores the East India Company's opium monopoly, a dark chapter in its history that led to the First Opium War (1839–1842). Lucas and Luna discuss how the Company cultivated opium in Bengal, smuggled it into China despite Qing bans, and triggered a conflict that reshaped global trade. They delve into key figures like Commissioner Lin Zexu, who confiscated and destroyed 20,000 chests...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782), a conflict often overshadowed by later battles but crucial to the East India Company's rise. They focus on the Treaty of Surat, the role of Raghunathrao (Raghoba), the intervention of Mahadji Scindia, and the eventual Treaty of Salbai. The episode examines how the EIC's overreach led to a humiliating defeat and a stra...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into one of the most dramatic episodes of the East India Company's early military conquests: Robert Clive's defense of Arcot in 1751. They explore how a young, disillusioned clerk with a tenuous grasp of military command led a small force of 200 Europeans and 300 sepoys to capture and hold the capital of the Carnatic against a siege of over 10,000 troops. The...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the East India Company's pivot to opium as a solution to its trade deficit with China. They trace the origins of the poppy in Bengal, the auction system in Calcutta, and the rise of a vast smuggling network along the China coast. The conversation covers key figures like Warren Hastings—who institutionalized the opium monopoly—and Commissioner Lin Zexu, whose...

Before Plassey made him a legend, Robert Clive was a young clerk who talked his way into command and captured the city of Arcot with just 200 men. This episode revisits the siege of Arcot in 1751—a daring gamble that humbled the French and their Indian allies, turned the tide of the Carnatic Wars, and launched Clive on his meteoric rise. We follow the chaotic march from Madras, the desperate defen...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the East India Company's relentless quest to break China's monopoly on tea. From the illicit opium trade that drained Chinese silver to the botanical espionage of Robert Fortune, who smuggled tea plants and manufacturing secrets out of China in the 1840s. They discuss the first tea auctions in London, the invention of 'orange pekoe' as a marketing term, and...

In the shadow of the more famous Calcutta and Bombay, Madras—home to Fort St. George—was the East India Company's first major settlement and a crucible of its power in India. This episode follows the fort's founding in 1639, its transformation from a trading post to a military hub, and the siege that nearly ended it: the French capture of 1746. We meet Elihu Yale, the fort's governor whose looted...