The East India Company had its military training HQ in Addiscombe, just east of Croydon. It was an amusing story that, despite all their conquests in Asia, the trainees would not enter Croydon as they were regarded as posh boys and would get beaten up or worse. The company has long gone but Croydon hasn't changed much 😂.

"but there is an echo of the old trade in the changing trains here will drive you bananas"....🤣🤣🤣

Despite the horrors, it's worth mentioning that Britain was a leading force in the abolition movement. Slavery had been the norm for centuries, all around the World. After being involved in it for some time, the British decided it was indecent, and pushed for its abolition. In time, we gained the support of Portugal and a few other countries: Portugal, initially a major player in the transatlantic slave trade, as well as Spain, signed treaties with Britain in the early 19th century to abolish the slave trade. Other countries were soon pressured into following suit. Good video, though.

“Your man Christopher Columbus…” Jago the Journalist is always with the times 😂

You can also "cross Europe" on London Overground from Turkey Street to Denmark Hill

Nothing can beat Mudchute for glamour

Not a station but Russia Dock Woodland is a hidden gem of a park where you could be walking a long a muddy path unaware you were in London until you see Canary Wharf through the trees.

This is officially my favourite episode because British Raj discourse that’s not just “Ok so that just happened…”

In 1989 I was doing the Aussie working holiday thing in London and DLR had just opened - but it only ran Mon-Fri so it was replaced by bus on weekends. Best London experience was to explore Docklands on the bus and listen to two old dears behind me reminiscing about the Blitz - 'There was a German pilot bailed out, and the place just got bombed the day before. 'e was lucky the police came and got 'im - they'd've lynched 'im if they could!' BTW Elon Musk does have a private army - of bots, crypto bros and incel fanboys.

As a boy, I was taken on a Sunday visit around the docks by my father. What a site for a lad to see all those ships in one place. Your man Hazzard, is my man.

It's not exactly exotic, but I've always thought Surrey Quays and Surrey Docks were unusual names because it's nowhere near Surrey, but of course, back in the 1800s, Surrey did actually extend as far as the Surrey Docks. What you might not know (and I only just found out via Wikipedia) is that there was a "Grand Surrey Canal" that was supposed to be built all the way from Surrey Docks to Kingston, and would tie in with the Surrey Iron Railway (which you've covered before). Apparently it only got as far as Peckham, and the canal was closed in the 1970s and most of it built over, turned into a road or parkland. Apparently there is a "bridge to nowhere" in Burgess Park that used to go over it. I reckon it would make for a fascinating video, because it looks like there's tons of history to it.

Some DLR Trivia: The large station now called Canary Wharf was originally designed and built as a tiny two-platform station called Canary Quay, CAQ as it was shown on the original DLR control displays at the DLR's Operations and Maintenance Centre (OMC) at Poplar. That station never opened for passengers, as the Canary Wharf development, building huge buildings, started shortly after DLR opened in 1987. Since the trains are driverless, though, and the design had a station there, trains stopped there for a while until their software was updated to skip the station without stopping.

No media piece could make East India Company look more like a caricatured villain than it already was.

If you are doing a DLR tour of the World, you must note that it is in East London, which of course was named after the South African city in the Cape Province. 😇

"London is its history" - Very true, Jago.

Watching this on the dlr heading to west india quays is good fun. Also as someone of both indian and jamaican ancestry its fun i can travel to two places named after my ancestral homelands on one line.

The DLR station nomenclature is really something.

Canary Wharf being named after the Canary Islands, brings up a lovely fact - the Canary birds, synonymous with the islands, aren't the origin of the name. The birds Canaries are named after the islands. The Canary islands are actually named after the dog breed Presa Canario, Gran Canaria was originally called Dogo Canario.

The last of these chartered trading companies granted wide-ranging powers as the EIC is the Hudson Bay Company. It's still in operation, though it no longer rules over Hudson Bay, only a few brick-and-mortar locations.

Not only did the East India Company have its own army: it had its own NAVY as well.

There used to be a pub on Amesbury avenue where I used to live in Streatham Hill called The John Company. It was demolished and replaced with flats.

Bring you in line with Geoff Marshall and John Rogers

I've always liked Bill Bryson's pithy assessment of Columbus: "It would be hard to name any figure in history who has achieved more lasting fame with less competence. He spent large parts of eight years bouncing around Caribbean islands and coastal South America convinced that he was in the heart of the Orient and that Japan and China were at the edge of every sunset. He never worked out that Cuba is an island and never once set foot on, or even suspected the existence of, the landmass to the north that everyone thinks he discovered: the United States."

There's a station on the Paris Metro called Stalingrad! 😎

I like the peppering of trivia in this video. Can’t wait for the Cyprus video.

The Canary Islands means 'the Islands of Dogs", so seems appropriate that Canary Wharf is named that way

There is a California between Wokingham and Finchampstead, which is actually a country park and some surrounding houses. It had a grocery which was open on Sundays, so if we ever ran out of milk or bread, we would talk of " popping out to California" to get some.

I imagine it's the history of Liverpool and Bristol as much as London, there's certainly plenty mentions of the East India Company in the architecture 🫤

And there ws I thinking Armitage Shanks was the john company x

There are plenty of streets/roads in and around the docklands that are named after places around the world. Jamaica road near London bridge station is just one example.

another spectacular video from the greatest informant on earth

My great great grandfather abandoned life and family in the UK and joined the Eat India Company Army. Fought in the mutiny and ended up settling in Victoria, Australia.

Early. At first i thought you meant on the DLR to the cities/ countries, then i remembered the docks with their various company names.

Theses videos are becoming or already have become the definitive DLR videos

A day out on the DLR investigating these exotic place names is far cheaper than visiting the real thing 😜

The DLR can't match the Paris Metro for exotic names. The stations are often named after the boulevarde above and these in turn are named after cities, countries and geographic features around the world. Where else could you travel from the Kremlin to Argentina in just a few stops?

Elon Musk's private army are the nerds on Twitter who defend everything he does

Sundays with JAGO 😊

Excellent and informative, as ever. I'm looking forward to your video on Cyprus, the town. I'm a lifelong Londoner, but I hadn't even heard of it. I assumed the station name was to do with trade docks, like the others.

You should go to New York and make a video about Jamaica :)

Earlier this year, I went with my wife to the Docklands Museum. a short walk from West India Quay DLR. One of the displays there is a real eye-opener, showing the history of Sugar and its relation to the Slave Trade. You often get idiots circulating memes on social media, about how British History should be taught in schools (as if it isn't), accompanied by pictures depicting pageantry, royalty and patriotism. I doubt if they really want the true British History taught in schools, just their expurgated version.

I live in Cyprus. The real one, the island in the Med. No trains now - there used to be but all long gone.

It’s hard for an American like me to see the name Canada Water and not think of it as a drink rather than a station, probably because of the Canada Dry brand of drink mixers and soft drinks. Or perhaps most Americans don’t think that way and I’m not quite normal…

Little known fact: Jago has 50 Bentley's in the West Indies . . . .

There's very little to see in *Egypt* - a small village on the outskirts of Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, just south of J2 of the M40.

I wouldn't call it exotic, but I've always been fascinated by the name "Mudchute" on the same DLR line.

One of the best channels on YT!🎉

thank you for the video. I just needed it.

I had forgotten over the years, the origins of the term "Indians" when referring to Native Americans. The point about Columbus had reminded me of such history. I've been binging your videos for three days now. Thank you kindly for the education!!

I was just wondering about the whole Indies thing recently: There’s West Indies, British East Indies and Dutch East Indies.

Excellent video which includes a good slice of British imperial, social and economic history.

Brilliant - your best video ever.

How fitting that Canary Wharf is on the Isle of Dogs

Great work as always, thank you.

Great history lesson, thanks

brilliant as always and that dlr transport is just as good,

Just viewed this video of our empire much sadly lost and as a residents on Shooters Hill SE London you must visit Severdroog Castle their with 1st class views across the docklands and a history connected to that excellent area..

I lived in Westferry for a while so this really informative video was of great interest - thanks Jago

I'm similarly always fascinated by the neighbourhood names which emerge when you zoom in on google maps, like Little Portugal in Stockwell or Little Russia in North Tottenham.

Always good to mix geography with history & recall the times, good & bad, when Britain was "shopkeeper to the world"

Loved this one. I had no idea about the history of Canary Wharf - thank you!

You may not change anything, Jago, but at least you've recorded it for posterity. If your body of work does anything, then education of future generations may achieve something.

The interesting thing (to me, at least) about the Clockwork Railway is whether we'd still build it if we knew what was going to happen. If memory serves (usual caveat), the DLR was built as it is because money was short and usage was expected to be limited. A 'proper' railway (eg an extension of the Underground) would have been way too expensive, and unjustifiable, considering the limited traffic expected. But, of course, that's not how things turned out, and the Docklands soon found itself with a railway that was slow, had very limited capacity, and didn't go where people wanted to go. And the result is that we now have a patchwork 'solution', with the greatly extended tramway serving locals and people who need to get to less popular places, and/or aren't worried about how quickly they get there, and 'proper' high capacity/speed railways, filling the gaping holes in the original plan. Were we to start now, or had we known how travel requirements would expand then, I imagine we would have built the new and extended high capacity/speed lines we now have much earlier. But would we still have also built the DLR to 'fill in the gaps'? I suspect not. After all, with the main lines in place, would there have been the justification to add a complex glorified tramway as well? So is the DLR actually effectively an 'accidental railway' - one that we only got because of an accident of town planning and lack of foresight? It's nice that it is there, especially for us rail nerds, but should it actually exist - is there really a point to it that couldn't have been served (as more usually) by an inadequate bus service, driving and walking?

It’s also a bit of a shock to rock up to Stalingrad on the Paris Metro!

I believe it was an East Indies ship that was involved in the Boston Tea Party

Wow, a very valuable history explained! Nice video!

I'm British by birth but I live in Calgary, AB, Canada. The Canadian locals always refer to the local (mainly Sikh) population as 'East Indians'. Always reminds me of how colonial us being in the Western Canadian foothills really is... The local (white) Canadians often look at me with horror when I refer to many of our contractors as 'Indian' - which amuses me as many are from India! They have not yet got round to the current term First Nations for our local indigenous population.

Thank you very much for that. When we got to Cyprus, and that it was a new town to service The Biggest Dock In The World (I'm sure it must have been) my thoughts, I regret, went, "Cyprus. Home of Venus. Docks. What is a big trade near docks? Ah, I see."

Always enjoy a video about the DLR - and DLR station names always have great stories behind them!

Brilliant video sir.

Canada Water always has me harking back to the old "Drink Canada Dry" slogan. But then, I'm old!🙃

Superb

Re. Canada Water: the timber barges that brought wood from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick stopped at London and Belfast. The ones returning westward from Belfast carried Irish immigrants, who could travel for free as long as they brought their own provisions. These immigrants were overwhelmingly Protestant and quite possibly the most pro-Empire group in human history; their descendants held such a stranglehold over politics in the Atlantic Provinces and eventually southern Ontario that it wasn't until after *World War II* that it was possible to be elected mayor of many cities - including Toronto - without the express support of the Orange Order. Incidentally, the Order was both more powerful and more popular in Canada than it ever dreamed of being in Northern Ireland. At one point there were more members of the Order in Canada than there were people living in Northern Ireland.

Good one jago 👍

excellent. BTW i thought wooden escallators were allgone but apparently there is one at Alperton? 😲

Hello Jago - 1) I didn't know that in London that there were areas called East India & Cyprus for which I have been to the Real Island of Cyprus (also known as the Party Island!!!) many moons ago!!! & 2) @ 4:39 - Your videos aren't silly - Just interesting & enjoyable to watch!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂

I was frightened to ride it initially. I’d rather be above ground than below any day, man

I love the DLR. it’s wonderful system and should be extended. I’m currently upwards the end of the Cs on my AtoW of oyster stations so I’ll be “travelling “ to Cyprus, I can’t wait, for that and your next video too.

Great video jago and interesting information behind the station names. I've often wondered how the DLR stations got their exotic names. Really enjoying your DLR videos as I've never really known much about the system until now.

I learnt a lot.

Been to Cyprus and East India on the DLR as well to Beckton and Beckton Park. I still do think that the DLR extension to Thamesmead will still get the go ahead.

Thank you for another interesting video. All the best from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

Rule Britannia! I always think it’s amazing that this tiny island ruled the world!! But an almost magic coincidence of events led to this… the temperate climate, cold winters, glass, the humble cow and undoubtedly the Industrial Revolution gave us the muscle we needed to go big!

Keen to hear more about the town of cyprus

I do find the name of places fascinating, particularly if they seem exotic and out of place, and I'd love to know the history. This business of private armies puts the Atholl Highlanders into a new worrying perspective were they to get ideas. The distillery at Dalwhinnie would be annexed and all fathers of heavily built maidens from Perth to Aberfeldy would be shaking in their shoes. However, the East India Company and society at the time quite rightly causes a lot of serious questioning.

spot on JH

Your "silly little videos "......? Seriously???!!!! I learm more and better history watching your videos than I did in school! Well done Sir. Cheers.

In Toronto there is an area called The Canary District, a former industrial area and named after a long-gone restaurant there called "The Canary." It may be re-opened someday. It's surrounded by condos now and the industry is also long-gone.

Regarding East India Co "evil mega-corporation" army, a handful of similar outfits with corporate-run legislature and control spring to mind... Post Office has enjoyed doing its own criminal prosecutions without adhering to, PACE guidelines, the Criminal Procedure Rules, including legal disclosure, for some time. By its electoral process, the City of London is run almost entirely for and by corporate interest. Disney, until very recently. enjoyed a corporate government autocracy over Reedy Creek and similar districts in Florida, including their own police department and planning. There is still ongoing litigation over Disney's refusal to implement certain state laws.

skilfully put.

Excellent. Thanks. (Not trivial, thought-provoking)

I do love this part of London - SS Robin is docked opposite ExCel Centre so I'm a little biased. The Thames water looks so much cleaner here. Phenomenal how developed the area is these days.

I believe that there should be a "West Los Angeles" in East London.

Do a video (if you haven't already) on Edmonton, for which Edmonton, Alberta where I used to live, is named.

It’s funny how I was on the DLR yesterday

In the North of the Netherlands, the marshlands were cultivated and paupers from the capital were sent here on resocialization programmes. Because it was so far from society, many exotic place names (Egypt, Denmark, America, Moscow, The Crimea ...) were created here. The latter two no doubt showed communism was popular here.

If memory serves East Ham United used to play in Cyprus

It annoys me when statues are removed. The reason for their existence, may no longer be something to praise, but removing them only denies the history. Instead, use it as a learning opportunity. Put up signage that explains who the person really was, the good, AND the bad. Removing the statue doesn't remove that persons role in history, it only hides it. With that said, another great video, very informative!

1:18 Bolivian Army has joined the chat

Sorry- I will not keep an eye out for that , I keep an eye on every subject you propose…😂