The EIC's Forgotten Map: James Rennell and the Survey of India

In the late 18th century, the East India Company undertook one of the most ambitious cartographic projects in history: the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. But before that, a young surveyor named James Rennell was tasked with mapping Bengal and Bihar after the Battle of Plassey. This episode follows Rennell from his early career as a midshipman to his appointment as Surveyor General of Bengal, and explores how his Atlas of Bengal (1779) and Bengal Atlas (1781) became the foundation of British knowledge of the subcontinent. We touch on his use of astronomical observations, the challenges of surveying in monsoon terrain, and how his maps were used for revenue collection, military campaigns, and administrative control. Rennell's work represents a quiet but transformative episode in the Company's history—the weaponization of geography. #JamesRennell #SurveyOfIndia #EastIndiaCompany #Cartography #Bengal #Bihar #GreatTrigSurvey #AtlasOfBengal #CompanyBahadur #SurveyorGeneral #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #ColonialScience #Mapping #Empire #Geography #Enlightenment Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo