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James Rennell, born in Chudleigh, Devon, England, in 1742, emerged as one of the most distinguished cartographers of his era. At the age of 14 he joined the British Navy as a midshipman, where he gained invaluable experience in marine surveying and hydrography during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). This expertise led to his appointment at 24 as the Surveyor General of the British East India Company's territories in Bengal. Beginning in 1765, Rennell undertook the monumental task of surveying India, a region where the British East India Company had established its presence over a century earlier. Rennell's work was pivotal in mapping the Indian subcontinent, combining data from British Army expeditions with historical sources like the Ain-e-Akbari, a 16th-century Islamic geographic treatise. His approach included subdividing the country based on the Mughal provinces, or 'subas,' which provided a more detailed and historically grounded understanding of the region's geography. Rennell's contributions significantly advanced European knowledge of India, bridging the gap between the early days of British involvement in the region and the later colonial period under Queen Victoria.