In this episode, Vasundhara and Sumit delve into the history of the Dutch adventurer William Bolts. Bolts was employed by the East India Company and became a successful and wealthy trader in India . His business practices were often unscrupulous.
However, what he did have was insider information on how the East India Company conducted its business in India. At one point, after repeated confrontations with higher Company officials, Bolts decided to tell all.
The East India Company tried to stop him. This is the story of how William Bolts became one of the first whistleblowers on the East India Company and how it signalled the arrival of the newspaper moment in India.
Cultural historian and an expert on British history, Dr. Callie Wilkinson joins us for the first time in this episode sharing her insights on the topic of protest culture in late 1700s. As a friend of the podcast she will be reappearing in many of our subsequent episodes.
Sources used in this episode:
NL Hallward: William Bolts: A Dutch Adventurer under John Company, 1920.
Willem GJ Kuiters: The British in Bengal, 1756-1773. A society in transition seen through the biography of a rebel: William Bolts (1739-1808), 2003.
Margarita Barnes: Indian Press : A History of the Growth of Public Opinion in India. London: Allen & Unwin, 1940
William Bolts: Considerations on India Affairs, particularly respecting the present state of Bengal and its dependencies, 1772.
Benedict Anderson: Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Verso: 1983.
Music
The following tracks were used in this episode and were taken from the YouTube Audio Library. They do not require attribution under the YouTube Audio Library License. However, we will credit the artists for their work.
"East West" by John Patitucci
"Stealth" by Aakash Gandhi
"Low Noon" by John Patitucci
"On the Delta" by John Patitucci
Podcast Artwork: Sumit Chaturvedi
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Reality Scribes has been conceptualised, scripted, narrated and produced by Sumit Chaturvedi and Vasundhara Sirnate.