EIC's Forgotten Hospital: The Bombay Lunatic Asylum

In this episode of The East India Company: The Corporation That Conquered Nations, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known institution: the Bombay Lunatic Asylum. Established in the 1740s, it was one of the earliest mental health facilities in British India. They discuss the asylum's founding within the Bombay Castle complex, its role in Company policy, and the harsh treatments of the era. Key figures include Governor William Hornby and surgeon John McLennan. The episode touches on the 1857 Rebellion's impact on patient demographics, the shift from custodial to moral management, and the eventual transition to the Colaba Asylum. Comparisons are drawn to contemporary asylums in England, like Bethlem (Bedlam). The conversation also highlights the clash between European psychiatric ideas and Indian cultural understandings of mental illness, including the case of a Brahmin patient who claimed possession. This episode sheds light on a neglected aspect of Company rule and the history of psychiatry in colonial contexts. #EastIndiaCompany #BombayLunaticAsylum #ColonialPsychiatry #BombayCastle #WilliamHornby #JohnMcLennan #1857Rebellion #MoralManagement #BethlemHospital #ColabaAsylum #MentalHealthHistory #BritishRaj #Bombay #CompanyRaj #History #FexingoHistory #India #Psychiatry Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo