The Rise of Colonialism: How Europe Divided the World — Fexingo History

In 1751, a young Robert Clive led a desperate defense of the town of Arcot against a vastly superior French-backed force. This episode tells the story of that 53-day siege—how a handful of British and Indian sepoys held out against thousands, and how that victory turned the tide of the Carnatic Wars. We look at the personalities: Chanda Sahib, the Nawab of Arcot; Muhammad Ali, the British ally; an...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna revisit the infamous 'Black Hole of Calcutta' incident of 1756, separating myth from historical fact. They explore how John Zephaniah Holwell's sensational account shaped British colonial propaganda, the actual conditions of the prison at Fort William, and the complex character of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah—not the monster of British lore but a young ruler caught between...

In June 1756, the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah captured Calcutta from the British East India Company. That night, according to a famous account by John Zephaniah Holwell, 146 British prisoners were locked in a tiny guardroom called the Black Hole, and by morning only 23 survived. But how much of that story is true? In this episode, Lucas and Luna sift through the evidence—examining Holwell's ow...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic events of the Battle of Plassey in 1757, where Robert Clive of the British East India Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, with the help of the traitor Mir Jafar. They discuss the political intrigue leading up to the battle, the role of the Black Hole of Calcutta incident, the East India Company's military tactics, and the afte...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the 1757 Battle of Plassey, the pivotal clash that handed Bengal to the British East India Company. They explore the complex web of betrayal, ambition, and corporate warfare that led to Robert Clive's victory over Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal. The conversation covers key figures like Mir Jafar, the traitorous general who switched sides, and the rol...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal yet often overlooked figure of Chanda Sahib, the Nawab of Arcot whose ambitions sparked the Second Carnatic War. They delve into the siege of Trichinopoly in 1751-1752, where Chanda Sahib, backed by the French East India Company, besieged the British-allied Muhammad Ali. The episode covers the daring counter-siege by Robert Clive at Arcot, the ro...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the rivalry between the French and British East India Companies in mid-18th century India, focusing on the Carnatic Wars. They explore how Joseph François Dupleix, the French governor of Pondichéry, leveraged Indian alliances and military strategy to challenge British dominance, only to be undone by the rise of Robert Clive. Key figures include the Nawab o...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise and fall of French colonial ambitions in India. Starting with the founding of Pondichéry by François Martin in 1674, they trace how Joseph François Dupleix transformed the Compagnie des Indes Orientales into a military and diplomatic power, intervening in Mughal succession disputes and launching the Carnatic Wars against the British East India Compa...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the lesser-known story of the French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes Orientales), founded by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1664. They trace its rise and fall, from the founding of Pondicherry by François Martin to the pivotal role of Joseph François Dupleix in the Carnatic Wars. The episode delves into the company's struggles against the British and Dutch...

In this episode, we explore the Dutch East India Company's colonial enterprise in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka). We trace how the VOC seized control from the Portuguese in the 17th century, establishing a monopoly over cinnamon and other lucrative trade goods. We delve into the violent campaigns led by Governor Rijckloff van Goens to subdue the island's interior, including the kingdom of Kandy, an...

In this episode of The Rise of Colonialism, we dive into the 16th-century elephant wars between Burma and Siam. The kings of Toungoo and Ayutthaya deployed thousands of war elephants, transforming Southeast Asian warfare. We explore the famous single combat between King Naresuan of Siam and Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma on elephant back, a story steeped in legend and propaganda. The episode als...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal role of war elephants in the centuries-long conflict between Burma and Siam. They discuss how the Toungoo dynasty under King Bayinnaung used elephant corps to build the largest empire in mainland Southeast Asia, and how Ayutthaya's King Nareshan (the Black Prince) turned elephant warfare against the Burmese. The hosts examine the logistics of cap...

Lucas and Luna explore the centuries-long conflict between Burma and Siam, focusing on the 16th-century wars that reshaped Southeast Asia. They discuss the rise of the Toungoo Dynasty under King Bayinnaung, who conquered Ayutthaya in 1569, and the role of war elephants, Portuguese mercenaries, and firearms in these clashes. The episode examines the aftermath of the Burmese sack of Ayutthaya, the c...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Dutch East India Company's brutal and efficient takeover of Ceylon's cinnamon trade. They follow Rijckloff van Goens' military campaigns against the Portuguese and the Kandyan kingdom, the introduction of the thombo land registry system, and the forced cultivation of cinnamon that turned a spice into a tool of colonial control. They also discuss the litt...

Lucas and Luna explore how the Dutch East India Company (VOC) operated as the world's first multinational corporation — complete with its own army, navy, currency, and diplomatic corps. They trace the company's rise from a speculative trading venture in 1602 to a sprawling empire that controlled the Spice Islands, Ceylon, and the Cape of Good Hope. Key figures like Jan Pieterszoon Coen and Rijcklo...

In this episode of The Rise of Colonialism, Lucas and Luna dive into the Dutch East India Company's little-known campaign to conquer Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) from the Portuguese in the 17th century. They explore the strategic importance of the island's cinnamon trade, the unlikely alliance between the VOC and the Kingdom of Kandy, and the brutal siege of Colombo in 1656. Along the way, they d...

In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) transformed a small Javanese port called Jayakarta into Batavia, the capital of their Asian empire. This episode follows Jan Pieterszoon Coen's brutal conquest, the construction of Batavia Castle and canals, and the city's diverse population of Dutch, Chinese, Mardijkers, and slaves. We explore how the VOC's spice monopoly, the murder o...

Before the Suez Canal, the only sea route between Europe and Asia went around the southern tip of Africa. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) established a tiny victualling station in Table Bay to supply passing ships. But that station grew into a colony, and that colony became the seed of modern South Africa. Lucas and Luna explore the founding of Cape Town under Jan van Riebeeck, the arr...

In 1619, Jan Pieterszoon Coen burned the Javanese town of Jayakarta and built Batavia, the Dutch East India Company's brutal Asian hub. This episode follows the city's rise from a malarial swamp to the 'Queen of the East,' exploring the engineered canals, the Chinese quarter, the slave market, and the massacres that kept the VOC's trade flowing. We meet Coen, the architect of genocide in the Banda...

In the late 16th century, a small Malay fishing village became the hinge of a global empire. When Miguel López de Legazpi founded Manila in 1571, he couldn't have imagined it would soon rival Seville and Mexico City as a crossroads of silver, silks, spices, and souls. This episode dives into the making of Manila as a colonial capital: how the Spanish transformed a Muslim settlement into a walled C...

In this episode of The Rise of Colonialism, Lucas and Luna examine the Spanish Inquisition's arrival in the Philippines and the first auto-da-fé held in Manila in 1600. They explore the Tribunal of the Holy Office, its focus on Sangley Chinese immigrants accused of Judaizing, and the central figures like Diego de Oseguera and Gabriel de Rojas. The conversation covers the role of the Parián market,...

In 1583, Manila held its first auto-da-fé — a public act of faith that burned two men alive for heresy. But the Spanish Inquisition in the Philippines was never a mirror of its Spanish counterpart. This episode explores how the Tribunal of the Holy Office struggled to assert its authority over a remote colony where distance, local politics, and a polyglot population of Chinese merchants, indigenou...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Spanish Inquisition in Manila, focusing on its unique challenges in a colonial setting far from the metropole. They discuss the establishment of the Tribunal of the Holy Office in 1583, its jurisdiction over both Spanish settlers and indigenous Filipinos, and the controversial cases of Judaizing among Portuguese merchants and crypto-Jews in the Parián di...

While the Goa Inquisition is infamous, the Spanish Inquisition in the Philippines operated with its own brutal efficiency. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Tribunal of the Holy Office in Manila enforced Catholic orthodoxy from 1583 onward. They discuss the arrival of the first inquisitor, the case of a Chinese merchant burned for sorcery, and the tensions between Augustinian and Dom...

Lucas and Luna explore the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade, the backbone of Spain's Pacific empire. They trace how silver from Potosí crossed the Pacific to Ming China, fueling commerce and transforming Manila into a melting pot of Asian, European, and American cultures. The episode unpacks the galleon's construction in Filipino shipyards, the grueling four-month voyages that claimed thousands of li...