The English East India Company's Bengal Famine of 1770

In this episode of The Rise of Colonialism, Lucas and Luna explore one of the darkest chapters of the English East India Company's rule in India: the Bengal Famine of 1770. They discuss how Company policies—including heavy land taxes, grain hoarding, and the diversion of resources to military campaigns—turned a drought into a catastrophic famine that killed an estimated ten million people, a third of Bengal's population. The conversation covers the role of Company officials like Warren Hastings and John Cartier, the infamous 'Permanent Settlement' precursor, the combination of natural disaster and corporate greed, and the famine's long-term impact on British colonial governance. They also touch on the surprisingly modern debates the famine sparked about corporate responsibility, market intervention, and the ethics of profit in times of crisis. This episode offers a sharp, specific look at how a private company's relentless pursuit of revenue created a humanitarian disaster that reshaped colonial history. #BengalFamine1770 #EastIndiaCompany #WarrenHastings #BritishColonialism #Famine #IndianHistory #JohnCartier #PermanentSettlement #CompanyRule #MughalDecline #Drought #GrainHoarding #TaxPolicy #ColonialDisaster #History #FexingoHistory #ColonialGreed #HumanitarianCrisis Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo