6. Catherine Bengal, 1746

The East India Company set up its first trading post in Bengal in 1633. Many British men and their wives went out to India hoping to make their fortune, and brought Indian girls with them on their return, often as ‘ayahs’ to look after the children. Catherine was 9 when she arrived in London. Now she is 14 and telling her story to the magistrate.

Catherine Bengal, 1746