As such, its construction was overseen by a military engineer, John Blakiston, who served in the East India Company military from 1802 to 1814. In the early 1800s, he was ordered to Bengaluru to prepare the establishment of a cantonment on a “large scale”. Blakiston also gave us early insight into the culture of the cantonment, at least from a British point of view. Also Read | Know Your City: When a sleepy cantonment town hosted future prime minister of BritainGambling cultureHowever, it was not all a paradise. He also noted that British officers, “carried themselves too high with the native officers, and did not encourage their visits”.