From 1671 until the fall of the Raj and the independence of India, many thousands of English women would make a long and often dangerous journey to the Raj to find a husband. The voyage was known as “The Fishing Fleet” and those women who failed in their quest went back to England on a voyage called “The Empties.”  Most of the women were away from home for the first time and as the running of the Raj was a male endeavor, the women who landed at Madras, Calcutta and Bombay were outnumbered by English males who substituted sports for sex while they paid their dues in an attempt to create a successful career. Thrown into a whirlwind of parties, balls, and sightseeing, they were the center of attraction and could receive numerous proposals after speaking to a man for only a few minutes.

The process started while the English presence in India was the domain of the East India Company who would pay for the passage and a stipend for eligible women to make the long voyage. After the Mutiny, this type of arrangement fell off, but given that there was a surplus of eligible women in the U.K. (approximately 750,000 a year), well, what was a girl to do?