The Last Nawab of Awadh: How the EIC Consumed a Kingdom

In 1856, the East India Company annexed the wealthy kingdom of Awadh, ousting its Nawab Wajid Ali Shah on trumped-up charges of misrule. This episode explores the cultural and political world of Awadh before the takeover — its patronage of music, dance, and the Urdu language — and the company's cynical use of the 'doctrine of lapse' and misgovernment allegations. We follow Wajid Ali Shah's exile to Metiabruz near Calcutta, the resistance of the Begums, and how the annexation became a key spark for the 1857 Rebellion. The episode also touches on the trial of Wajid Ali Shah's wife, the spy-turned-heroine Hazrat Mahal, and the erasure of Awadh's legacy under British rule. A story of corporate greed dressed as moral reform, and the last gasp of a princely state that had been a loyal ally. #Awadh #WajidAliShah #DoctrineOfLapse #Dalhousie #1857 #BegumHazratMahal #Metiabruz #Lucknow #Urdu #Outram #Annexation #IndianRebellion #CompanyRaj #19thCentury #PrincelyState #ColonialHistory #FexingoHistory #History #EastIndiaCompany #BritishEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo