Episodes

  • The EIC's Forgotten Ship: The East Indiaman's Hidden Voyages

    The EIC's Forgotten Ship: The East Indiaman's Hidden Voyages
    Jul 4 2026
    In Episode 134 of The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten world of the East Indiaman — the mighty merchant ships that were the literal engines of the Company's trade and empire. These vessels, built in Bombay's dockyards by Parsi master shipwrights like the Wadias, were among the largest and most advanced ships of their age, yet they remain overshadowed by warships and naval battles. Lucas reveals the grueling six-month voyages from England to India, the dangers of scurvy, pirates, and storms, and the surprising economics of private trade that made officers wealthy. He discusses the design innovations that allowed East Indiamen to carry massive cargoes of tea, silk, and spices while defending themselves with cannons. The episode also covers a little-known mutiny aboard the ship 'Kent' in 1800, where Lascar sailors revolted against brutal conditions. Throughout, Luna's sharp questions draw out details about life at sea, the role of the Bombay Marine in convoying these ships, and the eventual decline of the East Indiaman as steam power and the Suez Canal changed global shipping. A concise, vivid look at the vessels that built the Company's global network. #EastIndiaCompany #EastIndiaman #BombayDockyard #ParsiShipwrights #LowjiNasarvanjiWadia #KentMutiny #LascarSailors #Scurvy #TeaTrade #IndianOcean #Convoy #BombayMarine #AgeOfSail #MaritimeHistory #GlobalTrade #BritishEmpire #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Spy: Jaswant Rao and the Network of Informants

    The EIC's Forgotten Spy: Jaswant Rao and the Network of Informants
    Jul 4 2026
    This episode uncovers the shadowy world of East India Company intelligence in 18th-century India. While the Company's armies and navies are well-documented, its network of spies, informants, and double agents was just as crucial. We focus on Jaswant Rao, a Marathi-speaking Brahmin who served as a key informant for the British in the 1770s. Operating out of Pune, he fed intelligence on Maratha troop movements, court intrigues, and French contacts to Company officials in Bombay. His reports, preserved in the Maharashtra State Archives, reveal a sophisticated system of coded letters, dead drops, and bribery. We explore how the Company used local intermediaries to gather intelligence on rivals like the Marathas, Mysore under Hyder Ali, and the French. This episode challenges the notion that British military superiority alone won India — it was also won through whispers, gold, and betrayal. We also touch on the moral complexities of collaboration and the risks faced by Indian spies caught between empires. #EastIndiaCompany #Espionage #JaswantRao #MarathaEmpire #Pune #BritishIntelligence #HyderAli #Mysore #18thCentury #ColonialIndia #Spies #IndiaHistory #CompanyBahadur #BombayPresidency #MarathaHistory #FrenchInIndia #HistoryPodcast #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Rebel: The Sanyasi Uprising of Bengal

    The EIC's Forgotten Rebel: The Sanyasi Uprising of Bengal
    Jul 3 2026
    Before the Great Rebellion of 1857, another revolt shook Company rule in Bengal: the Sanyasi Uprising. In the 1760s and 1770s, bands of Hindu ascetics—sannyasis—took up arms against the East India Company's revenue collectors, sparking a guerrilla war that terrified British officials. Lucas and Luna explore who these rebels were: a motley mix of pilgrims, dispossessed peasants, and wandering monks led by figures like Bhawani Pathak and Devi Chaudhurani. They discuss how the Company's ruthless tax farming after the Diwani of 1765 created a perfect storm of famine and exploitation, turning spiritual seekers into armed insurgents. The episode digs into the blurred line between religion and rebellion, the brutal counterinsurgency tactics of Warren Hastings, and how Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay later immortalised the sannyasis in his novel 'Anandamath'. A forgotten story of resistance that challenges the narrative of passive Indian submission to colonial rule. #SanyasiUprising #Bengal #EastIndiaCompany #WarrenHastings #BhawaniPathak #DeviChaudhurani #Anandamath #GuerrillaWarfare #CompanyRule #Diwani #1760s #1770s #IndianHistory #ColonialHistory #Rebellion #FexingoHistory #History #EIC Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Artist: Tilly Kettle and Company Painting

    The EIC's Forgotten Artist: Tilly Kettle and Company Painting
    Jul 3 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked role of Western artists in the East India Company's empire. They focus on Tilly Kettle, the first British portrait painter to work in India, who arrived in Madras in 1769. Kettle painted Company officials, nawabs, and even the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, blending European oil painting with Mughal miniature traditions. The episode discusses the social world of Company painting, the challenges of shipping portraits back to England, and how these artworks served as tools of diplomacy and status. Luna asks about the cultural exchange involved, and they touch on later artists like Johann Zoffany. The conversation reveals how art documented and shaped the Company's presence in India, offering a visual record of a complex colonial encounter. Tilly Kettle's career in India ended in debt, but his paintings remain a window into the period. The episode ends with a reflection on how art can illuminate hidden layers of history. #TillyKettle #EastIndiaCompany #CompanyPainting #Madras #ShahAlamII #MughalEmpire #BritishIndia #PortraitPainting #JohannZoffany #ArtHistory #ColonialArt #OilPainting #MughalMiniature #18thCentury #IndiaArt #FexingoHistory #History #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Reformer: Lord William Bentinck and the End of Suttee

    The EIC's Forgotten Reformer: Lord William Bentinck and the End of Suttee
    Jul 2 2026
    In 1829, the Governor-General of Bengal, Lord William Bentinck, banned sati — the Hindu practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre. This episode dives into how the East India Company finally took a stand on a practice it had tolerated for decades. We trace the campaign of Bengali reformer Ram Mohan Roy, the legal wrangling over whether Company courts could intervene, and the shocking case of a twelve-year-old widow in 1824 that galvanized public opinion. We also examine the hypocrisy: Company officials had long profited from pilgrim taxes at temples like Puri's Jagannath Temple, where sati was sometimes performed. Bentinck's decision was a watershed — but it also revealed the limits of Company power, as conservative Hindus petitioned the Privy Council to overturn the ban. A story of religious custom, colonial reform, and the uneasy birth of modern Indian feminism. #LordWilliamBentinck #Sati #RamMohanRoy #EastIndiaCompany #Bengal #PrivyCouncil #JagannathTemple #Puri #HinduReform #ColonialIndia #1829 #Suttee #CompanyBahadur #FexingoHistory #History #India #BritishEmpire #SocialReform Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Shipwright: Lowji Nasarvanji and Bombay's Dockyard

    The EIC's Forgotten Shipwright: Lowji Nasarvanji and Bombay's Dockyard
    Jul 1 2026
    In this episode of The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations, Lucas and Luna explore the life and legacy of Lowji Nasarvanji Wadia, the Parsi master shipwright who transformed Bombay's dockyard into the finest in Asia. From his first commission — the 32-gun frigate HMS Bombay — to the legendary Bengal-built ships that outlasted their British counterparts, Lowji's innovations in teak construction and design gave the Company a strategic edge. They discuss the Wadia family shipbuilding dynasty, the Duncan Dock, and how a small community of Parsi carpenters and caulkers from Surat built vessels that held together an empire. Along the way, they touch on Bombay's transformation under Company rule, the relationship between the Parsi merchant elite and the British, and the shipwreck of the Britannia that proved Lowji's ships were tougher than any built in London. A story of skill, patronage, and the quiet power of naval architecture. #EastIndiaCompany #LowjiNasarvanji #WadiaDynasty #BombayDockyard #ParsiShipwrights #CompanyBahadur #BombayMarine #Surat #HMSBombay #Teak #DuncanDock #Britannia #NavalArchitecture #18thCentury #Shipbuilding #IndianShipwrights #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Battle: Plassey and the Price of Betrayal

    The EIC's Forgotten Battle: Plassey and the Price of Betrayal
    Jul 1 2026
    In 1757, a decisive battle changed the course of Indian history — but the real story of Plassey is less about muskets and cannons and more about treachery, ambition, and a massive rainstorm. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the conspiracy between Robert Clive and Mir Jafar, the greed that drove the East India Company's first major territorial grab, and the staggering loot that followed. They discuss how a small force of 3,000 men defeated an army of 50,000, the role of the monsoon in the battle's outcome, and the lasting consequences of the 'Black Hole of Calcutta' myth. Along the way, they touch on the jagirdari system, the nawabs of Bengal, and the financial windfall that turned a trading company into a colonial power. A story of ambition, betrayal, and the birth of an empire. #Plassey #BattleOfPlassey #RobertClive #MirJafar #SirajUdDaulah #Bengal #Nawab #EastIndiaCompany #CompanyBahadur #BlackHoleOfCalcutta #Jagirdari #1757 #ColonialHistory #BritishEmpire #IndianHistory #FexingoHistory #History #MilitaryHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The EIC's Forgotten Fortress: St. George and the Siege of Madras

    The EIC's Forgotten Fortress: St. George and the Siege of Madras
    Jun 30 2026
    In 1746, the French East India Company launched a daring assault on Madras, the English Company's most prosperous settlement. This episode follows the siege of Fort St. George, a desperate defense that nearly ended British rule in India. We meet Nicholas Morse, the embattled governor; Mahé de La Bourdonnais, the French admiral who captured the fort; and the shadowy Nawab of Arcot, whose shifting alliances shaped the outcome. The siege set the stage for the Carnatic Wars and the rise of Robert Clive. We explore the fort's design, the brutal artillery duel, the controversial surrender, and the uneasy truce that ultimately left Madras in English hands. A tale of courage, betrayal, and the fragile nature of empire. #FortStGeorge #SiegeOfMadras #EastIndiaCompany #FrenchEastIndiaCompany #NicholasMorse #MaheDeLaBourdonnais #NawabOfArcot #CarnaticWars #RobertClive #Madras #1746 #ColonialIndia #BritishEmpire #FrenchColonial #MilitaryHistory #MughalIndia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    5 mins