Robert Clive and the Battle of Plassey

Episode 2 of our East India Company series zeroes in on one man: Robert Clive, the military adventurer who, in 1757, turned a trading corporation into a territorial power. We trace Clive's rise from a troubled clerk to the commander who engineered the Battle of Plassey — a 30-minute skirmish that decided the fate of Bengal, and ultimately India. We examine the backroom deals with the nawab's disgruntled general Mir Jafar, the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta incident, and how Clive used a combination of bribery, intelligence, and European military discipline to defeat a vastly larger army. Along the way, we question the morality of 'private' warfare and the origins of Britain's Raj. Lucas and Luna discuss the moment a company became a state. #EastIndiaCompany #RobertClive #BattleOfPlassey #Bengal #MirJafar #SirajUdDaulah #BlackHoleOfCalcutta #BritishRaj #1757 #18thCentury #ColonialHistory #MilitaryHistory #CorporateHistory #Imperialism #India #Warfare #History #FexingoHistory #BritishEmpire #WarrenHastings Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo