42. How did Britain accidentally-on-purpose take over India?

We get to India by looking at the origins of Empire, Elizabeth I’s Muslim friends and England v Britain

In investigating why and how the English (later, the British) got involved in India, we discover how a bit of charm and a trading company can spread an empire – all backed with brute force. We enjoy a side-track into a headless Mary and how England most definitely does not equal Britain. And you’ll find answers to the best homemade jokes like “Which country’s empire tastes best at Christmas?”

Elizabeth I is back, and she’s full of charm for the Islamic world. (Ever since we recorded this episode, whenever James wants to charm his way to more gaming time he quotes Elizabeth I’s letters to the Turkish Sultan, calling me the “Most Imperial and Most Invincible Emperor”.)

So, do you know the answer to the Christmas joke now?!?

Here are six questions to test your listening skills:

1. In which continent outside Europe did Britain’s empire begin?
2. What was the slave trade?
3. Why did Elizabeth say that Catholics are so last century*? (*Not her exact words)
4. What is the difference between “England” and “Britain”?
5. What was the name of the only business that Elizabeth allowed to trade with India?
6. How did Britain go from only having a trading company in India to invading India?

Read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available on Kindle, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II.

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We’ll be back on the first Monday of next month!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

All music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2021 © BBC