India's Stolen Wealth Funded Yale's Construction. Why aren't we talking about it more?
Elihu Yale used Indian jewels, textiles, and even mango chutney to his advantage in becoming the reluctant namesake of the esteemed institution.
When Francis Day, an officer of the East India Company, negotiated a treaty with the Nayaka monarch of the area, the head of the then-declining Vijayanagara Empire, Madras became a British colony. He purchased a plot of property about three square kilometers with views of the Bay of Bengal and bordered on the south by the Adyar River and the southeast by the Buckingham Canal. Given that there was no established port, this was an intriguing location for a trade station. Small boats were required by traders to transport cargo from bigger ships to shore. However, the East India Company officer chose the area so he could regularly visit his Tamil lover since he was so much in love with her.