The EIC's Forgotten Fortress: St. George and Madras

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 wealth funded Yale University; the nawabs of the Carnatic who first leased the land; and the unlikely hero Ananda Ranga Pillai, a Tamil merchant-broker who navigated between Company and court. From the fort's whitewashed walls to the Black Town that grew outside, we explore how a small coastal factory became the capital of the Madras Presidency, and how the Company learned to rule—not just trade—one brick at a time. #EastIndiaCompany #FortStGeorge #Madras #Chennai #ElihuYale #Carnatic #NawabOfCarnatic #AnandaRangaPillai #FrenchEastIndiaCompany #SiegeOfMadras #Dupleix #MadrasPresidency #BritishColonialHistory #17thCentury #18thCentury #IndianHistory #History #FexingoHistory #BritishEmpire #RobertClive Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo