1 00:00:21,221 --> 00:00:24,588 India a land of seductive riches, 2 00:00:25,091 --> 00:00:28,219 land of the ohinoor diamond 3 00:00:31,264 --> 00:00:36,429 a priceless gem which legend says was given by the god rishna 4 00:00:36,569 --> 00:00:39,504 to test mankind's greed. 5 00:00:41,174 --> 00:00:43,108 Possessed of such wealth and beauty, 6 00:00:43,243 --> 00:00:47,111 thought rishna, would men behave like beasts? 7 00:00:49,315 --> 00:00:52,478 Or would they think and achieve wisdom? 8 00:01:01,061 --> 00:01:04,656 This is the story of India and its conquerors. 9 00:01:04,798 --> 00:01:08,063 One stormed south across the mountains, 10 00:01:08,201 --> 00:01:11,193 one came from across the seas, 11 00:01:11,337 --> 00:01:14,829 both were hungry for wealth and dominion. 12 00:01:15,475 --> 00:01:19,206 Each would become his own answer to rishna's question 13 00:01:19,879 --> 00:01:23,713 wise man or beast? 14 00:02:05,558 --> 00:02:09,961 For three hundred years the Mughal empire dominated India. 15 00:02:11,831 --> 00:02:15,733 It was a Mughal emperor who created the radiant mountain of white marble 16 00:02:15,869 --> 00:02:20,101 called the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world. 17 00:02:28,681 --> 00:02:33,015 The wealth and sophistication of the Mughal court were legendary. 18 00:02:34,220 --> 00:02:35,881 Here, Mughal kings ruled 19 00:02:36,022 --> 00:02:40,618 from the famous peacock throne made of gold, rubies and sapphires. 20 00:02:47,033 --> 00:02:48,967 All these treasures of the Mughal empire 21 00:02:49,102 --> 00:02:54,301 were the legacy of one remarkable man, a poet, a killer, 22 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,376 a wild nomad who was not from India at all. 23 00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:01,113 His name was Babur. 24 00:03:09,355 --> 00:03:12,916 Babur's life began in 1483 in Fergana, 25 00:03:13,059 --> 00:03:16,688 a small kingdom in the highlands of central Asia. 26 00:03:17,797 --> 00:03:21,528 Fergana was one square of a bloodstained checkerboard 27 00:03:21,668 --> 00:03:23,795 of competing dynasties, 28 00:03:24,270 --> 00:03:27,239 each struggling to expand its little empire. 29 00:03:28,007 --> 00:03:31,807 But a little empire wasn't what Babur had in mind. 30 00:03:34,647 --> 00:03:38,447 Babur's dynasty was part Turk and part Mongol 31 00:03:39,152 --> 00:03:41,518 "Mughals" as the Persians called them. 32 00:03:43,990 --> 00:03:45,617 Babur was a direct descendant 33 00:03:45,758 --> 00:03:49,216 of the two greatest conquerors of Central Asian history, 34 00:03:49,996 --> 00:03:54,865 Genghis han and Timur or Tamerlane. 35 00:03:55,802 --> 00:03:59,397 He wanted something that would be worthy of their memory. 36 00:03:59,973 --> 00:04:01,406 From the very beginning, 37 00:04:01,541 --> 00:04:05,875 Babur tried to take inspiration from Genghis and Timur. 38 00:04:06,012 --> 00:04:07,377 These were his two heroes. 39 00:04:07,513 --> 00:04:13,509 And it was probably this reason which had, at times, goaded him 40 00:04:13,653 --> 00:04:17,589 to think of India as his final destination. 41 00:04:22,262 --> 00:04:26,824 Born to nobility, at 11 Babur inherited Fergana. 42 00:04:28,034 --> 00:04:32,061 Almost immediately other warlords tried to take it away from him. 43 00:04:33,873 --> 00:04:36,103 Not surprisingly for one so young, 44 00:04:36,242 --> 00:04:39,234 the fortunes of war started to turn against him. 45 00:04:41,748 --> 00:04:45,081 Before long, he had lost much of his kingdom and his men 46 00:04:45,218 --> 00:04:49,678 deserted in droves to hitch their fortunes to more promising leaders. 47 00:04:54,861 --> 00:04:58,922 All seven or eight hundred of my lords and warriors deserted me. 48 00:04:59,065 --> 00:05:01,363 It was a terrible blow. 49 00:05:02,168 --> 00:05:05,604 I remember, I couldn't help crying. 50 00:05:09,042 --> 00:05:11,067 He was only fifteen. 51 00:05:15,648 --> 00:05:19,584 It was a harsh education which made young Babur's heart ache. 52 00:05:25,825 --> 00:05:28,487 But his early failures toughened him. 53 00:05:29,162 --> 00:05:31,426 If you desire to rule and conquer, 54 00:05:31,564 --> 00:05:36,263 you don't just fold your hands when things go wrong you act. 55 00:05:40,573 --> 00:05:42,734 Action meant war. 56 00:05:44,577 --> 00:05:46,977 And with whichever followers he could muster, 57 00:05:47,113 --> 00:05:51,709 he started to wage guerrilla warfare against his more powerful neighbors. 58 00:05:53,519 --> 00:05:57,888 He and his men seesawed between victory and defeat. 59 00:05:58,424 --> 00:06:02,485 Allies deserted him; enemies became allies. 60 00:06:03,329 --> 00:06:06,856 One day in 1501, he laughed when he realized 61 00:06:06,999 --> 00:06:11,095 a sword he had given to an ally as a token of loyalty one year, 62 00:06:11,237 --> 00:06:15,571 was the same one that almost split his skull in battle the next. 63 00:06:17,043 --> 00:06:20,342 My own soul is my most faithful friend. 64 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,041 My own heart, my truest confidant. 65 00:06:30,022 --> 00:06:35,187 Always, Babur's ambition was to found a great dynasty like his ancestors. 66 00:06:36,596 --> 00:06:39,258 He needed children who would be his heirs. 67 00:06:44,771 --> 00:06:47,433 He admitted he was so shy as a young man, 68 00:06:47,573 --> 00:06:52,033 his mother and sisters had to bully him into sleeping with his first wife. 69 00:06:57,784 --> 00:07:02,380 But before long he had more wives, and a son, Humayun, 70 00:07:02,522 --> 00:07:05,889 on whom the weight of Babur's dreams would fall. 71 00:07:06,659 --> 00:07:08,456 With his succession assured, 72 00:07:08,594 --> 00:07:13,122 the question that now dogged him was: What would he leave his sons? 73 00:07:16,135 --> 00:07:20,663 He had lost his kingdom and was being shut out of Central Asia. 74 00:07:21,140 --> 00:07:25,543 So where was the land in which his dynasty could flourish? 75 00:07:30,616 --> 00:07:34,518 Slowly, Babur's reputation as a warlord was growing 76 00:07:34,654 --> 00:07:39,455 and with it the perception that he might be a future ruler after all. 77 00:07:41,661 --> 00:07:43,856 Lured by the promise of conquest and booty, 78 00:07:43,996 --> 00:07:47,261 warriors of other dynasties began to join him. 79 00:07:55,308 --> 00:08:00,336 In 1504, Babur's fortunes took a decisive turn for the better. 80 00:08:01,180 --> 00:08:05,549 He caught wind of tumult in the Afghan kingdom of abul to the south. 81 00:08:08,020 --> 00:08:10,648 Here, he thought, was a chance. 82 00:08:15,127 --> 00:08:18,392 At the age of 21, Babur rode out of the mountains 83 00:08:18,531 --> 00:08:22,831 with his small band of men and raced toward abul. 84 00:08:26,572 --> 00:08:30,565 Warriors joined him as he approached and they swept into the city. 85 00:08:39,819 --> 00:08:43,687 The battle for abul was short and Babur triumphed. 86 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,360 As he settled into his new home, 87 00:08:50,496 --> 00:08:54,193 Babur immediately fell in love with Afghanistan, 88 00:08:55,201 --> 00:09:01,140 its cool climate, and the beautiful rivers of its fresh upland plateaus. 89 00:09:06,345 --> 00:09:11,647 Abul signified a new beginning, an end to the years of wandering 90 00:09:14,487 --> 00:09:18,480 but not, of course, an end to his dreams of empire. 91 00:09:20,192 --> 00:09:26,256 Not far to the south lay the vast, teeming land of Hindustan, India. 92 00:09:29,135 --> 00:09:32,036 He had heard many stories of its wealth. 93 00:09:33,139 --> 00:09:36,768 He realized it was now within his grasp. 94 00:09:42,448 --> 00:09:48,182 From the time I took abul, I set my heart on Hindustan. 95 00:10:02,768 --> 00:10:05,669 In 1504, the Indian sub continent 96 00:10:05,805 --> 00:10:10,333 Was a disunited mass of independent kingdoms and ultanates 97 00:10:10,476 --> 00:10:14,344 Hindu in the south, largely Moslem in the north. 98 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,576 One of the largest and most powerful of these was Hindustan, 99 00:10:18,718 --> 00:10:21,482 controlled by the sultanate of Delhi. 100 00:10:22,455 --> 00:10:24,320 Babur knew he stood no chance 101 00:10:24,457 --> 00:10:27,085 of directly confronting the armies of Hindustan. 102 00:10:27,226 --> 00:10:31,754 But having taken abul, he lost no time in making an exploratory raid 103 00:10:31,897 --> 00:10:35,458 into the plains of northern India just to see. 104 00:10:41,173 --> 00:10:45,075 With a small army he moved south in 1505. 105 00:10:46,112 --> 00:10:48,876 He was amazed by what he found. 106 00:10:52,585 --> 00:10:58,387 I had never experienced such heat or anything like Hindustan before 107 00:10:59,792 --> 00:11:04,354 different plants, different trees, different animals and birds, 108 00:11:04,497 --> 00:11:09,059 different tribes and people, different manners and customs. 109 00:11:09,735 --> 00:11:13,637 It was astonishing, truly astonishing. 110 00:11:16,609 --> 00:11:20,443 India exceeded his wildest expectations. 111 00:11:21,180 --> 00:11:24,081 He discovered beautifully crafted textiles, 112 00:11:25,284 --> 00:11:29,152 refined sugar, perfumes and spices. 113 00:11:30,056 --> 00:11:32,820 Here indeed was a rich land. 114 00:11:44,170 --> 00:11:48,869 As he headed back to abul, his resolve to return was redoubled. 115 00:11:50,676 --> 00:11:53,406 But he would have to bide his time. 116 00:11:58,951 --> 00:12:02,250 For 20 years Babur made abul his home. 117 00:12:04,290 --> 00:12:08,818 20 years in which he finally had time to taste the pleasures of life. 118 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,130 Until now he had been a clean living and sober young Moslem. 119 00:12:20,439 --> 00:12:23,704 In abul all that started to change. 120 00:12:28,748 --> 00:12:33,776 At that time I had not committed the sin of drinking to drunkenness 121 00:12:34,386 --> 00:12:37,412 and did not know the delight and leasure of being drunk 122 00:12:37,556 --> 00:12:39,421 as it should be known. 123 00:12:41,694 --> 00:12:46,893 Here all the implements of pleasure and revelry were ready and present. 124 00:12:48,234 --> 00:12:51,397 If I didn't drink now, when would I? 125 00:12:53,072 --> 00:12:55,472 He discovered a taste for fine wines, 126 00:12:55,608 --> 00:12:59,408 and the sweetmeats laced with hashish called Ma'jun. 127 00:13:01,313 --> 00:13:03,645 In abul he drank often. 128 00:13:03,783 --> 00:13:05,683 His memoirs filled with parties, 129 00:13:05,818 --> 00:13:08,946 drunkenness and head splitting hangovers. 130 00:13:13,726 --> 00:13:16,695 We drank on the boat until late that night. 131 00:13:16,829 --> 00:13:20,424 We got on our horses, reeling from side to side, 132 00:13:20,566 --> 00:13:22,966 then let them gallop free reined. 133 00:13:23,736 --> 00:13:28,332 The next morning they told me I had galloped into camp holding a torch. 134 00:13:28,474 --> 00:13:30,840 I swear I didn't remember a thing, 135 00:13:30,976 --> 00:13:37,245 except that when I got back to my tent I was extremely sick. 136 00:13:41,620 --> 00:13:47,820 In abul, Babur learned how to let go, but he never forgot that 137 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:52,226 if he was ever to take Hindustan his troops had to stay disciplined. 138 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:58,334 He had no qualms about extreme punishments. 139 00:13:59,471 --> 00:14:03,840 I had one of the soldiers clubbed at the gate for stealing a pot of oil. 140 00:14:03,976 --> 00:14:05,170 He died. 141 00:14:05,311 --> 00:14:08,906 The others were successfully cowed by this punishment. 142 00:14:26,498 --> 00:14:28,295 As he explored Afghanistan, 143 00:14:28,434 --> 00:14:31,460 this ruthless nomad who was perfectly capable of 144 00:14:31,604 --> 00:14:37,839 putting entire cities to the sword, became a keen student of flowers. 145 00:14:40,512 --> 00:14:42,844 All sorts grow in these foothills; 146 00:14:42,982 --> 00:14:48,010 I once counted them and found 32 or 33 different kinds. 147 00:14:48,554 --> 00:14:52,149 We named one the rose scented tulip because it smelt 148 00:14:52,291 --> 00:14:54,020 rather like a rose; 149 00:14:54,159 --> 00:14:58,186 it grows all by itself on the Sheikh's plain. 150 00:15:03,369 --> 00:15:07,430 Joy was to sit peacefully in one of his beautiful highland gardens 151 00:15:07,573 --> 00:15:09,939 and write poetry. 152 00:15:11,277 --> 00:15:15,441 He built no fewer than ten gardens in abul. 153 00:15:21,053 --> 00:15:26,150 Before long, Babur's seven wives had produced him eighteen children. 154 00:15:26,692 --> 00:15:30,924 He was devoted to all of them but it was his first born son, 155 00:15:31,063 --> 00:15:35,727 Humayun, who he was determined would inherit a great kingdom. 156 00:15:41,740 --> 00:15:48,168 Babur bided his time, watching and waiting for his opportunity in India. 157 00:15:52,985 --> 00:15:56,716 Finally, in 1526, it arrived. 158 00:15:57,389 --> 00:16:01,450 The Sultanate of Delhi was overtaken by internal strife. 159 00:16:04,730 --> 00:16:07,563 Babur realized his moment had come. 160 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:10,260 It would be now or never. 161 00:16:11,670 --> 00:16:15,663 Babur marched into Northern India with 12,000 men. 162 00:16:17,576 --> 00:16:19,510 The sultan of Delhi marched to meet him 163 00:16:19,645 --> 00:16:24,241 with 100,000 men and 1,000 armored elephants. 164 00:16:26,051 --> 00:16:29,350 They met on the plain of Panipat north of Delhi. 165 00:16:31,056 --> 00:16:32,455 Babur's trump card was 166 00:16:32,591 --> 00:16:35,992 the discipline of his troops and his Turkish artillery. 167 00:16:37,463 --> 00:16:38,862 The Indian elephants charged 168 00:16:38,998 --> 00:16:42,195 but were met with explosions of canons and mortar. 169 00:16:43,168 --> 00:16:47,298 They panicked, spun, and stampeded. 170 00:16:50,442 --> 00:16:52,910 The whole army fell into disarray. 171 00:16:53,879 --> 00:16:58,179 Just a few hours after it began, the battle became a rout. 172 00:16:59,218 --> 00:17:03,314 The Indians, including their leader, were massacred as they ran. 173 00:17:06,592 --> 00:17:10,460 Babur had just pulled off an astonishing military feat. 174 00:17:10,596 --> 00:17:14,123 Finally, Hindustan was his. 175 00:17:22,041 --> 00:17:26,205 With Hindustan in his grasp, one of the first things Babur did was 176 00:17:26,345 --> 00:17:28,336 to send Hindustani dancing girls 177 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:32,314 to entertain his wives in their harem in abul. 178 00:17:36,255 --> 00:17:38,485 It was a gracious gesture. 179 00:17:41,527 --> 00:17:43,392 His wives, covered and restrained, 180 00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:47,158 their faces painted stiffly white in the central Asian style, 181 00:17:47,299 --> 00:17:49,358 must have been astonished. 182 00:17:52,905 --> 00:17:57,774 Out of meetings like this, of the stark world of central Asian Islam 183 00:17:57,910 --> 00:18:03,280 with the lush anarchy of India, would arise the glories of the Mughal style. 184 00:18:12,124 --> 00:18:14,615 As Babur took stock of his new possession, 185 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,459 even he well versed in plunder was stunned. 186 00:18:20,933 --> 00:18:22,992 The astonishing treasuries of Hindustan 187 00:18:23,135 --> 00:18:26,002 contained the ohinoor diamond. 188 00:18:27,239 --> 00:18:30,834 Its name, he learned meant "mountain of light." 189 00:18:30,976 --> 00:18:32,773 He was told it was worth enough 190 00:18:32,911 --> 00:18:37,678 to feed the entire world for two and half days. 191 00:18:38,217 --> 00:18:39,514 Offered it as a gift, 192 00:18:39,651 --> 00:18:43,781 Babur refused and left it with his son Humayun. 193 00:18:44,890 --> 00:18:47,688 Suddenly he was less interested in the riches 194 00:18:47,826 --> 00:18:51,318 than in how to govern this strange new land. 195 00:18:52,698 --> 00:18:58,466 But as he surveyed Hindustan, his enthusiasm for it started to melt away. 196 00:18:58,604 --> 00:19:03,268 There is no beauty in its people, no graceful social intercourse, 197 00:19:03,408 --> 00:19:09,972 no poetic talent or understanding, no etiquette, nobility or manliness. 198 00:19:10,549 --> 00:19:13,814 The arts and crafts have no harmony or symmetry. 199 00:19:13,952 --> 00:19:18,514 There is no ice, cold water, good food or bread in the markets. 200 00:19:18,657 --> 00:19:23,356 The peasantry and common people parade around stark naked. 201 00:19:24,429 --> 00:19:27,956 Hindustan is a place of little charm. 202 00:19:34,606 --> 00:19:35,971 But Babur was determined 203 00:19:36,108 --> 00:19:40,568 he would build Hindustan into something worthy of his dynasty. 204 00:19:44,483 --> 00:19:47,350 He would introduce Mughal order and symmetry 205 00:19:47,486 --> 00:19:51,217 into what seemed to him a chaotic and senseless land. 206 00:19:55,561 --> 00:19:58,860 He made the princes of Hindustan, the Rajputs, 207 00:19:58,997 --> 00:20:04,367 submit to him and laid foundations for the future empire. 208 00:20:07,139 --> 00:20:08,572 And it dawned on Babur that 209 00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:12,074 it was no longer enough to be a successful conqueror. 210 00:20:12,578 --> 00:20:17,709 To fulfill his dreams for his heirs, he had to become a wise ruler as well. 211 00:20:18,884 --> 00:20:21,944 A sacrifice to god was necessary. 212 00:20:24,790 --> 00:20:29,352 In an extravagant public ceremony, Babur swore off drink. 213 00:20:29,494 --> 00:20:31,758 He had his drinking vessels crushed 214 00:20:31,897 --> 00:20:35,458 and distributed the gold and silver to the poor. 215 00:20:38,003 --> 00:20:42,872 At the age of 43, Babur had achieved his dream of empire. 216 00:20:43,008 --> 00:20:47,502 He settled into Hindustan and continued work on his autobiography 217 00:20:47,646 --> 00:20:50,672 the first ever written in the Moslem world. 218 00:20:51,283 --> 00:20:53,615 I have simply set down what happened. 219 00:20:53,752 --> 00:20:58,018 I have reported every good and evil of father and brother, 220 00:20:58,156 --> 00:21:02,752 every fault and virtue of relative and stranger. 221 00:21:03,362 --> 00:21:06,092 May the reader excuse me. 222 00:21:07,899 --> 00:21:13,337 And everywhere Babur built the square, symmetrical gardens called 'charbagh' 223 00:21:13,472 --> 00:21:16,964 which were the perfect expression of Mughal beauty. 224 00:21:20,846 --> 00:21:26,250 The radiance of nature bound by the rigid geometrical order of Islam. 225 00:21:30,622 --> 00:21:32,021 And it was in his gardens 226 00:21:32,157 --> 00:21:36,423 that he reflected on his turbulent life and his successes in battles, 227 00:21:36,561 --> 00:21:39,428 both with enemies and himself. 228 00:21:41,199 --> 00:21:45,329 The temptations of alcohol had been almost overwhelming. 229 00:21:46,471 --> 00:21:49,372 Two years ago my craving for a wine party 230 00:21:49,508 --> 00:21:53,467 was such to bring me to the verge of tears. 231 00:21:54,346 --> 00:22:00,478 This year, praise God, that desire has completely left my mind. 232 00:22:02,621 --> 00:22:08,924 The one thing that never left his mind was his homeland, Fergana. 233 00:22:11,396 --> 00:22:15,765 One day as he ate a melon he found himself crying 234 00:22:15,901 --> 00:22:19,428 as its flavor brought back memories of the fresh uplands 235 00:22:19,571 --> 00:22:21,300 of his childhood. 236 00:22:24,609 --> 00:22:28,409 He confessed to his youngest daughter that he wanted to retire 237 00:22:28,547 --> 00:22:32,039 and turn the reins of power over to Humayun. 238 00:22:39,591 --> 00:22:43,618 But In 1530, four years after the conquest of Hindustan, 239 00:22:43,762 --> 00:22:46,026 Humayun fell sick. 240 00:22:48,967 --> 00:22:51,868 His doctors gave him up for dead. 241 00:22:54,306 --> 00:22:56,297 It was a catastrophe 242 00:22:56,808 --> 00:22:59,299 the death not only of a beloved son 243 00:22:59,444 --> 00:23:03,005 but the heir to Babur's dynasty and empire. 244 00:23:07,452 --> 00:23:10,944 Babur had learned the wisdom of sacrifice. 245 00:23:11,490 --> 00:23:16,723 But what on earth could he offer God to persuade him to spare his son? 246 00:23:17,629 --> 00:23:20,757 Priests and advisors came with suggestions: 247 00:23:20,899 --> 00:23:23,732 He could sacrifice the ohinoor. 248 00:23:24,403 --> 00:23:29,272 But Babur knew it was a worthless bauble compared to the life of his son. 249 00:23:31,009 --> 00:23:35,969 He decided only one sacrifice could possibly compare. 250 00:23:39,551 --> 00:23:42,782 For days, he prayed fervently to Allah 251 00:23:42,921 --> 00:23:46,687 to take his own life in exchange for Humayun's. 252 00:24:00,772 --> 00:24:07,007 Soon after, Humayun recovered and sure enough, Babur fell sick. 253 00:24:09,114 --> 00:24:13,881 He stayed true to his oath and refused all offers of treatment. 254 00:24:14,853 --> 00:24:18,550 He'd made a deal with Allah a life for a life. 255 00:24:18,690 --> 00:24:21,284 Who was he to renege? 256 00:24:22,027 --> 00:24:24,621 He turned his face to the wall. 257 00:24:32,871 --> 00:24:37,001 Three months later he died, aged 47. 258 00:25:02,067 --> 00:25:05,559 Babur had ruled India for only four years, 259 00:25:05,704 --> 00:25:10,607 but the dynasty he founded would rule it for almost 300. 260 00:25:14,646 --> 00:25:17,240 Akbar, Babur's grandson, 261 00:25:17,382 --> 00:25:21,182 would for the first time unite the subcontinent. 262 00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:27,383 Shah Jahan, Babur's great great grandson, would build the Taj Mahal. 263 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,260 The Mughals laid the foundations of the India we know today. 264 00:25:34,666 --> 00:25:37,829 They were able to create a large empire within India; 265 00:25:37,969 --> 00:25:42,668 they were able to establish the great institutions of empire 266 00:25:42,807 --> 00:25:46,709 through their army, their especially important domestic 267 00:25:46,845 --> 00:25:49,973 and other alliance policies with the Rajputs. 268 00:25:50,115 --> 00:25:52,709 It was a very creative fusion. 269 00:25:54,352 --> 00:25:57,287 Over the generations, Mughal India would become 270 00:25:57,422 --> 00:26:01,085 synonymous with opulence, refinement, and wealth. 271 00:26:01,793 --> 00:26:07,197 Before long it attracted the hungry gaze of yet other treasure seekers. 272 00:26:07,732 --> 00:26:10,895 This time they would come from further west. 273 00:26:17,709 --> 00:26:20,576 Just over three hundred years after Babur died, 274 00:26:20,712 --> 00:26:24,273 India was swallowed by the British empire. 275 00:26:25,417 --> 00:26:30,320 By the end of the 19th century, Britain dominated most of the world 276 00:26:30,789 --> 00:26:33,917 but India was its most valued possession. 277 00:26:35,894 --> 00:26:39,955 Queen Victoria called it the jewel in her crown. 278 00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:46,535 The man who gave all this to Britain was an unlikely conqueror 279 00:26:46,671 --> 00:26:50,004 a tormented soul who came from nowhere, 280 00:26:50,141 --> 00:26:53,042 driven only by an unwavering ambition. 281 00:26:53,178 --> 00:26:56,614 His name was Robert Clive. 282 00:27:00,518 --> 00:27:05,046 1772, The Houses of Parliament in London. 283 00:27:06,625 --> 00:27:09,788 Robert Clive is fighting for his survival. 284 00:27:10,362 --> 00:27:13,422 He has laid the foundations of the British empire in India 285 00:27:13,565 --> 00:27:16,966 and in the process made himself a vast fortune. 286 00:27:17,102 --> 00:27:21,835 Now he stands accused of criminal greed and exploitation. 287 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,274 In the House of Commons he rises to his defense. 288 00:27:27,345 --> 00:27:32,578 Gentlemen, a great prince was dependent on my pleasure, 289 00:27:33,051 --> 00:27:36,145 an opulent city lay at my mercy; 290 00:27:36,721 --> 00:27:41,055 its richest bankers bid against each other for my smiles; 291 00:27:41,192 --> 00:27:44,958 I walked through vaults which were thrown open to me alone, 292 00:27:45,096 --> 00:27:48,623 piled on either hand with gold and jewels! 293 00:27:49,100 --> 00:27:55,869 Mr. Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at my own moderation! 294 00:27:58,410 --> 00:28:01,379 Robert Clive will not be bowed. 295 00:28:01,513 --> 00:28:07,008 His life is ending as it began in a furious and lonely struggle. 296 00:28:15,260 --> 00:28:19,128 Born in 1725 in Shropshire in the West of England, 297 00:28:19,264 --> 00:28:24,395 he was given up by his mother as a child and raised by relatives. 298 00:28:26,404 --> 00:28:29,100 It happened at the insistence of his father 299 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,301 an ineffectual lawyer from the minor country gentry, 300 00:28:33,445 --> 00:28:37,245 who barely earned enough to keep the family afloat. 301 00:28:39,150 --> 00:28:42,642 Rejected by his family and naturally unruly, 302 00:28:42,787 --> 00:28:47,383 young Robert was soon running wild in the little town of Market Drayton. 303 00:28:49,294 --> 00:28:51,194 He pioneered the business methods, 304 00:28:51,329 --> 00:28:55,732 which would make him his later fortune as the head of a juvenile gang. 305 00:28:55,867 --> 00:29:00,361 It was a protection racket if merchants agreed to pay a small fee, 306 00:29:00,505 --> 00:29:04,236 the boys would agree NOT to break their windows. 307 00:29:05,677 --> 00:29:09,704 Robert was adventurous, brave and bad. 308 00:29:10,315 --> 00:29:11,782 He was an average student 309 00:29:11,916 --> 00:29:15,147 and much more interested in mischief than in school. 310 00:29:16,788 --> 00:29:19,382 He climbed the church tower of Market Drayton 311 00:29:19,524 --> 00:29:23,119 and hung over the side for the sheer thrill of it. 312 00:29:26,264 --> 00:29:29,290 Robert grew up craving excitement, 313 00:29:29,734 --> 00:29:33,568 but wanted acceptance by his family even more. 314 00:29:35,006 --> 00:29:36,530 When he was 17, 315 00:29:36,674 --> 00:29:40,872 a job as a clerk in the East India Company promised adventure, 316 00:29:41,012 --> 00:29:44,778 money and a chance to redeem his family. 317 00:29:45,316 --> 00:29:48,581 Clive set his sights on India. 318 00:29:55,727 --> 00:29:58,355 On the first of June 1744, 319 00:29:58,496 --> 00:30:03,661 a cutter deposited Robert in a rowboat just off the coast of Madras. 320 00:30:08,773 --> 00:30:13,142 Splashing ashore, he got his first sight of India. 321 00:30:18,283 --> 00:30:21,741 The Madras, Robert discovered, was an exotic melting pot 322 00:30:21,886 --> 00:30:26,448 of Indian, Southeast Asian and European influences. 323 00:30:31,629 --> 00:30:35,861 Here British, French and Dutch traders had established themselves 324 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,163 to take advantage of the astonishingly lucrative trade 325 00:30:39,304 --> 00:30:43,104 in cloth, spices and opium. 326 00:30:45,810 --> 00:30:49,712 In those days the young men who became clerks in the East India Company 327 00:30:49,848 --> 00:30:52,442 were a little bit like the Eurobond dealers of our day. 328 00:30:52,584 --> 00:30:54,552 If you wanted to make a pile... 329 00:30:54,686 --> 00:30:56,415 I mean there was a great risk attached to this 330 00:30:56,554 --> 00:30:59,785 because you could go out to India and promptly die of some dreadful disease. 331 00:30:59,924 --> 00:31:03,121 But there was a chance also, 50/50 really, 332 00:31:03,261 --> 00:31:05,855 that you might make a whole sort of pile of money. 333 00:31:06,664 --> 00:31:10,896 These early European colonialists merged with the Indian population 334 00:31:11,035 --> 00:31:14,436 much more completely than later ones would. 335 00:31:14,939 --> 00:31:20,138 Many traders went native, and began to behave like local potentates. 336 00:31:21,246 --> 00:31:25,876 So they lived as Indians, wore Indian clothes quite often, 337 00:31:26,017 --> 00:31:29,544 certainly adopted Indian manners and customs. 338 00:31:29,687 --> 00:31:31,848 Many of them had harems. 339 00:31:31,990 --> 00:31:34,117 As far as the Indian princes are concerned, 340 00:31:34,259 --> 00:31:37,695 they looked upon the company as another Indian presence, 341 00:31:37,829 --> 00:31:41,697 not as a foreigner necessarily invading. 342 00:31:43,167 --> 00:31:46,159 This was global capitalism in its infancy. 343 00:31:46,304 --> 00:31:49,171 Clive and his friends were pioneers of the system 344 00:31:49,307 --> 00:31:52,640 that would soon dominate the entire world. 345 00:31:55,446 --> 00:31:58,847 But in 1745 Robert was discovering that 346 00:31:58,983 --> 00:32:02,077 the life of a clerk in India was not easy. 347 00:32:02,220 --> 00:32:05,986 His salary was five pounds a year. 348 00:32:08,226 --> 00:32:13,289 He soon felt desperately lonely and more cut adrift from home than ever. 349 00:32:15,333 --> 00:32:20,600 His unhappiness came to a head when several ships appeared in the harbor. 350 00:32:21,306 --> 00:32:23,171 Every European in Madras received 351 00:32:23,308 --> 00:32:27,438 a letter or package from home except Clive. 352 00:32:30,682 --> 00:32:32,650 He was devastated. 353 00:32:32,784 --> 00:32:35,947 Clive had a mercurial temperament. 354 00:32:36,621 --> 00:32:39,556 This apparent humiliation at the hands of his family 355 00:32:39,691 --> 00:32:43,286 plunged him into the depths of depression. 356 00:32:47,131 --> 00:32:50,157 Feeling utterly alone and cast off, 357 00:32:50,301 --> 00:32:54,601 he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. 358 00:32:56,474 --> 00:32:58,999 Twice it failed to go off. 359 00:32:59,544 --> 00:33:03,776 "Fate it seems must be reserving me for some other purpose," 360 00:33:03,915 --> 00:33:06,349 he would later tell a friend. 361 00:33:06,884 --> 00:33:11,014 In fact, fate had extraordinary things in store for Clive 362 00:33:11,155 --> 00:33:16,889 wild swings of fortune, dizzying heights but also the darkest depths. 363 00:33:17,028 --> 00:33:19,428 Throughout his life periods of intense, 364 00:33:19,564 --> 00:33:24,126 feverish activity would alternate with bouts of deep despair. 365 00:33:24,268 --> 00:33:28,364 He would probably be diagnosed today as a manic depressive. 366 00:33:30,174 --> 00:33:34,076 Clive soon discovered that opium was the only cure 367 00:33:34,212 --> 00:33:37,511 and he would use it as a medicine for the rest of his life. 368 00:33:38,850 --> 00:33:41,614 Clive got used to loneliness. 369 00:33:54,966 --> 00:33:56,991 The British lived in Fort St. George. 370 00:33:57,135 --> 00:33:59,695 You had the fort and then you had Blacktown outside. 371 00:33:59,837 --> 00:34:03,273 They called it Blacktown, and that's where all the Indians lived. 372 00:34:08,146 --> 00:34:10,239 The British seldom ventured into Blacktown 373 00:34:10,381 --> 00:34:14,112 except when they wanted to go and pick up hookers, basically. 374 00:34:14,619 --> 00:34:16,052 And Clive, certainly it was known 375 00:34:16,187 --> 00:34:19,679 he had this sort of fondness for prostitutes. 376 00:34:23,394 --> 00:34:26,591 Perhaps the one consolation for Clive and his fellow 377 00:34:26,731 --> 00:34:28,096 colonialists was that, 378 00:34:28,232 --> 00:34:32,430 being so far from home, they could do almost whatever they liked. 379 00:34:34,072 --> 00:34:36,267 As a proverb of the time said: 380 00:34:36,407 --> 00:34:39,706 "There are no sins south of the equator." 381 00:34:47,452 --> 00:34:51,582 As Europeans woke up to the phenomenal profits to be made in India, 382 00:34:51,722 --> 00:34:54,987 the competition for trade intensified. 383 00:34:57,562 --> 00:34:59,325 Finally in 1746, 384 00:34:59,464 --> 00:35:03,662 open war broke out between the British and French in India 385 00:35:03,801 --> 00:35:07,897 each side supported by their local allies and clients. 386 00:35:09,107 --> 00:35:11,871 It was just the push Clive needed. 387 00:35:12,677 --> 00:35:16,078 He was galvanized by new energy and enthusiasm. 388 00:35:18,449 --> 00:35:21,850 For the next five years of Anglo French conflict in India, 389 00:35:21,986 --> 00:35:24,978 Clive fought in the militia of the East India Company 390 00:35:25,123 --> 00:35:28,024 where his raw aggression and boundless energy won him 391 00:35:28,159 --> 00:35:31,959 promotions and success at the same furious pace. 392 00:35:33,464 --> 00:35:35,898 In return for his victories against the French, 393 00:35:36,033 --> 00:35:38,228 culminating in the battle of Arcot, 394 00:35:38,369 --> 00:35:40,098 he was rewarded with an appointment 395 00:35:40,238 --> 00:35:44,072 as quartermaster of the company factory at Madras. 396 00:35:44,775 --> 00:35:49,303 He would find a way to make a profit out of the soldiers' provisions. 397 00:35:51,516 --> 00:35:53,245 Now, it doesn't sound very grand, 398 00:35:53,384 --> 00:35:55,181 but the great thing about quartermaster is 399 00:35:55,319 --> 00:35:57,150 You were given a great wad of money 400 00:35:57,288 --> 00:35:59,153 and told to go feed your troops. 401 00:35:59,290 --> 00:36:00,621 And if you could feed your troops 402 00:36:00,758 --> 00:36:03,022 on half the amount of money you'd been given, 403 00:36:03,161 --> 00:36:05,527 then you were allowed to keep the rest. 404 00:36:06,931 --> 00:36:09,092 By the time Clive was 27, 405 00:36:09,233 --> 00:36:13,897 he had made himself a small fortune 40,000 pounds 406 00:36:14,338 --> 00:36:16,806 Clive was also being credited with turning the tide 407 00:36:16,941 --> 00:36:18,533 against the French. 408 00:36:19,510 --> 00:36:23,674 News of his success astonished the family back in England. 409 00:36:24,315 --> 00:36:26,681 His father is said to have remarked: 410 00:36:26,817 --> 00:36:30,583 "Perhaps Robert is not such a booby after all". 411 00:36:32,957 --> 00:36:36,916 Finally Clive was getting the recognition he craved. 412 00:36:37,061 --> 00:36:40,428 Now he hungered for it on a wider stage. 413 00:36:44,035 --> 00:36:48,529 One event would set the seal not only on Clive's fortunes in India 414 00:36:48,673 --> 00:36:51,403 but that of the British as well. 415 00:36:54,612 --> 00:36:59,743 In 1756, the Mughal Nawab, or 'prince of Bengal' Siraj, 416 00:36:59,884 --> 00:37:03,843 seized the British East India Company's fort in Calcutta. 417 00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:09,853 The British in India were furious. 418 00:37:10,728 --> 00:37:13,424 Their outrage soared when stories circulated 419 00:37:13,564 --> 00:37:16,590 about the Mughals' treatment of European prisoners. 420 00:37:20,504 --> 00:37:22,028 When he seized the fort, 421 00:37:22,173 --> 00:37:26,667 Siraj had ordered the imprisonment of all company employees. 422 00:37:27,445 --> 00:37:30,414 The Indians locked their British captives in a cell 423 00:37:30,548 --> 00:37:33,813 designed by the British for Indian captives. 424 00:37:33,951 --> 00:37:37,352 It was tiny 18 by 14 feet 425 00:37:37,488 --> 00:37:41,083 with only a couple of minuscule, barred windows. 426 00:37:43,027 --> 00:37:48,329 The night of June 20th, 1756 was suffocatingly hot. 427 00:37:48,466 --> 00:37:53,733 When the door opened the next morning, at least 40 British were dead. 428 00:37:55,573 --> 00:37:58,201 "The Black Hole of Calcutta" they called it, 429 00:37:58,342 --> 00:38:01,277 and the incident sparked uproar. 430 00:38:04,081 --> 00:38:07,141 It was just what Clive had been waiting for. 431 00:38:07,918 --> 00:38:10,785 Here was a chance to really take control of India 432 00:38:10,921 --> 00:38:13,412 and make a name for himself. 433 00:38:14,959 --> 00:38:18,224 He received command of a small British army. 434 00:38:19,730 --> 00:38:23,461 Clive and his troops hit Bengal like a monsoon. 435 00:38:25,636 --> 00:38:32,098 In 1757, he swept into Calcutta and forced the Nawab's troops to withdraw. 436 00:38:34,745 --> 00:38:36,872 With promises of lucrative deals, 437 00:38:37,014 --> 00:38:39,448 Clive then strong armed an Indian prince 438 00:38:39,583 --> 00:38:43,383 into joining him in a military alliance against Siraj. 439 00:38:46,457 --> 00:38:48,015 With typical guile, 440 00:38:48,159 --> 00:38:53,119 Clive secured the allegiance of his Indian allies with fraudulent treaties. 441 00:38:56,734 --> 00:38:58,964 Finally, he marched into Bengal 442 00:38:59,103 --> 00:39:04,234 with 800 European troops and over 2,000 Indian sepoys. 443 00:39:06,043 --> 00:39:07,510 It was an impressive force 444 00:39:07,645 --> 00:39:11,604 but nothing compared to what Siraj mustered against him. 445 00:39:14,018 --> 00:39:17,454 50,000 well armed men backed up by the French 446 00:39:17,588 --> 00:39:21,285 and 50 pieces of state of the art heavy artillery. 447 00:39:23,928 --> 00:39:27,125 The two armies met near a town called Plassey. 448 00:39:33,838 --> 00:39:37,706 The Nawab's superiority may have seemed overwhelming 449 00:39:38,175 --> 00:39:42,134 but Clive knew that discipline, not numbers, was the key. 450 00:39:44,815 --> 00:39:47,181 The Europeans had already gone through something 451 00:39:47,318 --> 00:39:50,344 like a bureaucratic military revolution 452 00:39:50,921 --> 00:39:52,946 in the organization of their armies. 453 00:39:53,624 --> 00:40:00,052 Everyone is trained to act in unison and it is not heroic battle action 454 00:40:00,197 --> 00:40:04,429 which matters but the discipline of formation 455 00:40:04,568 --> 00:40:09,062 and quick succession to anybody who falls in the field of battle, 456 00:40:09,206 --> 00:40:12,505 exactly as one faceless bureaucrat is replaced by another. 457 00:40:13,577 --> 00:40:16,137 Clive was outnumbered enormously, 458 00:40:16,914 --> 00:40:21,510 but he could use his resources much more effectively. 459 00:40:26,090 --> 00:40:29,685 Faced by the disciplined phalanxes of the British trained troops, 460 00:40:29,827 --> 00:40:32,159 the Mughal army fell apart. 461 00:40:38,836 --> 00:40:43,398 Clive's triumph at Plassey effectively gave India to the British. 462 00:40:44,141 --> 00:40:45,768 Although the British empire in India 463 00:40:45,910 --> 00:40:49,107 would not be formally declared for another 100 years, 464 00:40:49,246 --> 00:40:53,444 India now belonged to the British East India Company. 465 00:40:55,019 --> 00:40:59,581 Clive became known as the Master of Bengal and lost no time 466 00:40:59,723 --> 00:41:04,057 in turning his position into an astonishingly lucrative business. 467 00:41:04,995 --> 00:41:09,329 He had learned the technique years ago as a quartermaster in Madras. 468 00:41:13,103 --> 00:41:15,401 Indian merchants were prepared to do anything 469 00:41:15,539 --> 00:41:20,033 to ensure their continued good relations with the East India Company. 470 00:41:20,811 --> 00:41:22,210 On the same principle, 471 00:41:22,346 --> 00:41:27,875 the Prince of Bengal now paid Clive huge sums to ensure his favor. 472 00:41:28,686 --> 00:41:32,679 On top of this Clive was collecting trade and land revenues. 473 00:41:33,691 --> 00:41:38,253 Within the space of two years he had amassed a huge fortune. 474 00:41:44,268 --> 00:41:45,963 But with the action over, 475 00:41:46,103 --> 00:41:50,972 it was not long before Clive slumped into another cycle of depression, 476 00:41:51,775 --> 00:41:57,577 accompanied now by agonizing pains in his stomach, gout and prostration. 477 00:41:59,783 --> 00:42:02,479 In 1760 he returned to England 478 00:42:02,620 --> 00:42:10,152 as Clive of India a very rich, very famous and very sick man. 479 00:42:17,701 --> 00:42:19,601 When Clive returned to London, 480 00:42:19,737 --> 00:42:22,763 one of the only things that could drag him from his gloom 481 00:42:22,907 --> 00:42:25,842 was the prospect of a spending spree. 482 00:42:27,745 --> 00:42:31,545 He now had wealth, recognition, fame in India 483 00:42:31,682 --> 00:42:35,812 the only thing he didn't have was social position in England. 484 00:42:37,755 --> 00:42:41,521 He decided he would buy his way into the English upper classes. 485 00:42:42,059 --> 00:42:47,053 He hungrily set out to amass property and social status in equal measure. 486 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:54,227 He remodeled the family home at S0tyche, and bought four more 487 00:42:54,805 --> 00:42:57,603 a luxurious town house in London's Berkeley Square, 488 00:42:57,741 --> 00:43:01,575 two more estates in England and one in Ireland too. 489 00:43:04,014 --> 00:43:08,883 He engineered himself a seat in Parliament and one for his father also. 490 00:43:09,386 --> 00:43:12,947 The power and reach of Clive's money was huge 491 00:43:13,457 --> 00:43:15,550 but not limitless. 492 00:43:15,693 --> 00:43:18,685 The one thing Robert Clive wanted more than anything else was 493 00:43:18,829 --> 00:43:21,389 to be accepted by the establishment and the aristocracy 494 00:43:21,532 --> 00:43:24,228 and for people to consider him a gentleman. 495 00:43:25,469 --> 00:43:27,403 He did flash his money around. 496 00:43:27,538 --> 00:43:32,066 And sadly, people considered him to be rather vulgar. 497 00:43:32,977 --> 00:43:35,741 They didn't like this chap coming back from India out of nowhere 498 00:43:35,879 --> 00:43:38,541 and buying all these estates and big houses and, 499 00:43:38,682 --> 00:43:42,015 you know, sort of buying his own furniture if you like. 500 00:43:44,288 --> 00:43:45,949 Clive soon found himself mired 501 00:43:46,090 --> 00:43:49,218 in the intricacies of the English class system. 502 00:43:50,127 --> 00:43:52,493 Try as he might, spend as he might, 503 00:43:52,630 --> 00:43:56,657 the inner circles of the aristocracy would not let him in. 504 00:43:58,102 --> 00:44:01,799 His rough manners only made things worse for him. 505 00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:04,432 They called him a 'nabob', 506 00:44:04,575 --> 00:44:09,239 English slang based on the Hindi word 'Nawab' or ruler. 507 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:12,080 The nabob is a pejorative expression for an Englishman 508 00:44:12,216 --> 00:44:16,380 who has given up to bad stomach, bad digestion, 509 00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:20,479 bad temper as a result of overindulgence in India. 510 00:44:20,624 --> 00:44:23,354 And usually plundered India and made a lot of money. 511 00:44:23,494 --> 00:44:25,962 They're something like robber barons in fact. 512 00:44:26,096 --> 00:44:29,031 And their idea was to make a fortune here and then 513 00:44:29,166 --> 00:44:32,226 establish themselves in England as respectable notables. 514 00:44:32,369 --> 00:44:35,532 And try to make a political career there. 515 00:44:35,673 --> 00:44:40,440 Now in England they were looked upon as adventurers who were slightly seedy, 516 00:44:40,577 --> 00:44:43,478 and Clive was a classic example of that. 517 00:44:44,682 --> 00:44:48,914 The English aristocracy closed its doors in Clive's face. 518 00:44:49,486 --> 00:44:51,920 But Clive was not to be put off. 519 00:44:52,423 --> 00:44:57,383 Still intent on his social climb, Clive decided to try a different tack. 520 00:44:59,930 --> 00:45:05,232 To enhance his reputation, he agreed to return to India in a different role. 521 00:45:05,736 --> 00:45:09,695 No longer just the businessman, but now statesman as well. 522 00:45:10,641 --> 00:45:14,441 In 1765, only five years after leaving, 523 00:45:14,578 --> 00:45:16,842 the 40 year old Clive returned to India 524 00:45:16,980 --> 00:45:20,245 as governor of the British East India Company. 525 00:45:20,951 --> 00:45:25,650 He now cast himself as a high minded champion of British interests. 526 00:45:27,124 --> 00:45:31,254 Clive's mission was to clean up the practices of the British in India. 527 00:45:31,895 --> 00:45:33,726 They certainly needed it. 528 00:45:37,167 --> 00:45:40,068 In the eight years since Clive's victory at Plassey, 529 00:45:40,204 --> 00:45:43,469 profiteering had run wild in Bengal. 530 00:45:44,708 --> 00:45:48,610 The British had achieved an effective trade monopoly. 531 00:45:49,446 --> 00:45:51,471 British merchants and soldiers strong armed 532 00:45:51,615 --> 00:45:54,175 and extorted money from Bengali traders 533 00:45:54,318 --> 00:45:57,515 just as Clive himself had once done. 534 00:46:00,157 --> 00:46:02,591 Resentment was seething. 535 00:46:06,363 --> 00:46:11,027 Clive countered the growing unrest with a tone of patrician contempt 536 00:46:11,168 --> 00:46:14,501 for all the practices that had made him rich. 537 00:46:15,105 --> 00:46:19,201 The confusion we behold, what does it arise from? 538 00:46:19,843 --> 00:46:22,334 Rapacity and luxury; 539 00:46:22,780 --> 00:46:27,274 the unreasonable desire of many to acquire in an instant, 540 00:46:27,417 --> 00:46:30,978 what only a few can or ought to possess. 541 00:46:33,157 --> 00:46:34,818 With almost biblical fervor, 542 00:46:34,958 --> 00:46:39,657 Clive launched reforms outlawing the abuses he had instituted. 543 00:46:41,999 --> 00:46:43,557 In a whirlwind 20 months 544 00:46:43,700 --> 00:46:47,363 Clive totally revamped the British East India Company. 545 00:46:48,438 --> 00:46:50,998 By the end of it he was drained. 546 00:46:52,476 --> 00:46:55,377 And it was now that disaster struck. 547 00:47:01,852 --> 00:47:06,448 In 1769 the monsoon rains failed in Bengal. 548 00:47:07,524 --> 00:47:11,187 And in 1770 famine set in. 549 00:47:11,929 --> 00:47:17,162 Hundreds of thousands died as much as one third of the population. 550 00:47:19,970 --> 00:47:24,066 Share prices for the East India Company's stock plummeted. 551 00:47:24,942 --> 00:47:29,606 By 1772 the Company's credit had failed. 552 00:47:30,447 --> 00:47:32,540 Meanwhile stories were circulating that 553 00:47:32,683 --> 00:47:36,983 English merchants were hoarding rice as Indians starved. 554 00:47:37,888 --> 00:47:40,789 There was a public outcry against the company. 555 00:47:40,924 --> 00:47:43,154 People looked for a scapegoat. 556 00:47:43,927 --> 00:47:46,521 Fingers pointed at Clive. 557 00:47:48,765 --> 00:47:50,892 It was a bitter irony. 558 00:47:51,735 --> 00:47:55,000 Only as Clive was at last making a noble hearted effort 559 00:47:55,138 --> 00:47:57,868 to clear up the morass of greed in India, 560 00:47:58,008 --> 00:48:01,535 was he finally accused of being its cause. 561 00:48:02,746 --> 00:48:05,977 A parliamentary committee was formed to investigate the company 562 00:48:06,116 --> 00:48:08,380 and Clive's role in it. 563 00:48:09,119 --> 00:48:10,108 The accusation? 564 00:48:10,254 --> 00:48:13,712 Extortion and profiteering in India. 565 00:48:14,691 --> 00:48:17,956 As usual, energized by the prospect of a fight, 566 00:48:18,095 --> 00:48:22,156 Clive rose magnificently to his own defense in the house of commons. 567 00:48:22,733 --> 00:48:25,327 And it was now he made his famous speech saying that 568 00:48:25,469 --> 00:48:28,233 given the opportunities for self enrichment in India 569 00:48:28,372 --> 00:48:31,637 he was astonished at his moderation. 570 00:48:33,810 --> 00:48:38,008 Clive was cleared but there was no joy in it for him. 571 00:48:38,615 --> 00:48:41,641 He had been stung by the accusations. 572 00:48:42,185 --> 00:48:44,983 He had effectively given India to Britain. 573 00:48:45,122 --> 00:48:49,923 Now he was furiously bitter at what he felt was his country's ingratitude. 574 00:48:50,060 --> 00:48:53,120 He was once again being rejected. 575 00:48:54,231 --> 00:48:57,496 Predictably, he plunged back into depression. 576 00:48:58,001 --> 00:49:03,439 His agonizing stomach pains returned, this time complicated by gallstones. 577 00:49:04,675 --> 00:49:07,940 Even opium did little to relieve the pain. 578 00:49:08,478 --> 00:49:13,177 I have a disease which makes life insupportable, but 579 00:49:13,317 --> 00:49:17,344 which the doctors tell me won't shorten it an hour. 580 00:49:18,889 --> 00:49:21,790 He drifted from one mansion to another, 581 00:49:21,925 --> 00:49:25,793 barely unpacking before setting off for the next. 582 00:49:27,264 --> 00:49:30,859 Little did he know, many in the British government had in fact 583 00:49:31,001 --> 00:49:35,199 been deeply impressed with his reforms of the East India Company. 584 00:49:35,339 --> 00:49:38,775 They were on the verge of giving him control of yet another colony 585 00:49:38,909 --> 00:49:44,176 that was in chaos and on the verge of revolt North America. 586 00:49:45,716 --> 00:49:48,048 Unaware of the honor that was pending, 587 00:49:48,185 --> 00:49:52,246 Clive was consumed by humiliation and despair. 588 00:49:58,462 --> 00:50:01,920 On the 22nd of November, 1774, 589 00:50:02,065 --> 00:50:04,795 as his family prepared to leave the London house 590 00:50:04,935 --> 00:50:09,998 at Berkeley square for Bath they heard a crash in Clive's room. 591 00:50:11,508 --> 00:50:15,376 When they rushed in, they found him dead. 592 00:50:15,946 --> 00:50:22,044 Robert Clive, still only 49 years old, had cut his own throat. 593 00:50:24,621 --> 00:50:27,454 Clive's death created a huge scandal, 594 00:50:27,591 --> 00:50:28,649 there was a sort of big hush up 595 00:50:28,792 --> 00:50:32,819 and a lot of sort of muted whispering going on in the corridors of power 596 00:50:32,963 --> 00:50:34,328 as to whether he had killed himself. 597 00:50:34,464 --> 00:50:37,900 It sounds like he slit his throat with a penknife. 598 00:50:40,270 --> 00:50:42,363 Suicide was a sin. 599 00:50:43,473 --> 00:50:48,069 In grief and shame, Clive's family removed his body by night 600 00:50:48,211 --> 00:50:52,307 and buried him without a headstone in the little church of Moreton say, 601 00:50:52,449 --> 00:50:58,183 outside Market Drayton, the town where he had run wild as a child. 602 00:51:11,468 --> 00:51:13,095 After Clive's death, 603 00:51:13,236 --> 00:51:18,799 the British grip on America loosened and tightened on India. 604 00:51:20,143 --> 00:51:23,738 The profits to be earned there resumed their flow. 605 00:51:27,751 --> 00:51:30,948 A hundred years later, the ohinoor, 606 00:51:31,088 --> 00:51:34,285 the fabulous diamond Babur had dismissed as worthless 607 00:51:34,424 --> 00:51:39,726 compared to the life of his son, was in the British crown jewels. 608 00:51:48,638 --> 00:51:52,870 Rishna's gift had been a test of mankind's greed. 609 00:51:54,111 --> 00:51:57,274 What would they do with all that wealth? 610 00:51:58,281 --> 00:52:04,151 Would they behave like beasts or think and achieve Wisdom?