The Strange Case of Lord Pigot

The Strange Case of Lord Pigot recounts some interesting and true stories from English settlements in India in the 17th and 18th centuries. It traces several instances of grave insubordination and rebellion at those settlements, and culminates in the public furore over the arrest, imprisonment, and death in confinement, of one of the greatest English governors of Madras. It also recounts the remarkable tale of the rise of the Nawab of Arcot, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, to power; his contracting of huge debts to private European creditors, and the public attention and parliamentary discussion his liabilities drew for over 40 years.

Drawing mainly on contemporary publications, this narrative travels from the time of Francis Day through that of Dupleix, De Bussy, De Lally, Clive, Calcutta, the siege of Madras, and the fall of Pondicherry, to Pigot’s second governorship, and the events that followed.