INDIA SERIES 10

In this episode of The Age of Victoria Podcast, your host Chris Fernandez-Packham takes a deep dive into the personal and social side of the British presence in early Victorian India. With the wars of the frontier temporarily behind us, we explore what it really meant to travel to India during the 1840s—not as a soldier, but as a settler, civil servant, or family member.

From the monotony of months-long sea voyages to the complexities of Anglo-Indian identity, this episode is packed with insights, untold stories, and plenty of surprising realities about imperial life.

Episode Highlights:
The long, difficult voyage to India—rats, scurvy, seasickness, and cramped cabins.
Life aboard ship: class differences, gender restrictions, and DIY cabin prep tips.
Settling in India: Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay as key British hubs.
The social fabric of Empire: Anglo-Indians, cultural fusion, and community tensions.
Museums, mapping, and the start of Britain’s permanent cultural footprint in India.
The rise of steamships and the decline of the old East Indiamen sailing ships.
The paradox of empire: boredom, brutality, ambition, and adaptation.

Key Takeaways:

(I) Empire wasn’t just built by armies—it was built by administrators, families, and everyday people.

(II) Travel to India in the 1840s was a daunting journey, often filled with discomfort and danger.

(III) Anglo-Indian identity and integration were far more complex than the tidy labels of race and class suggest.

(IV) British settlers and Indian society deeply influenced each other in ways that still resonate today.

Next Episode Teaser:
We’ll continue our look at early Victorian India, focusing on the settlers themselves—their backgrounds, motivations, and the lives they built in a land both foreign and familiar.

Host’s Note:
A big thank you to listener HRW13 for the kind review (and fair feedback)! Spotify access should now be fixed, and as always, your support means everything.

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