The emergence of British rule in India could be roughed out to the region of Calcutta which was once a mere conglomeration of three villages- Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindapur. Kalikata is mentioned in the rent-roll of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556–1605) and also in Manasa-mangal written by the Bengali poet Bipradas (1495) (Britannica, 2011).
The dates of the British settlement may be traced to the trading post formed by Job Charnock in 1690 that was under the English East India Company. While in dispute with the Mughals of Murshidabad, Charnock had to retreat, after which he attempted unsuccessfully to establish himself at other places down the river Hooghly. The Mughal officials did not wish to lose what they had gained from the company’s commerce and thus permitted Charnock to return once again. He on the other hand was fascinated by the geographical location of the village of Sutanuti and chose the area of modern-day Calcutta as the seat of his operations. The Dutch, French, and other European settlements were higher up the river on the west bank. The river then was also wide and deep; the only disadvantage was that the marshes to the east and swamps within the area made the spot unhealthy. Before the British settled, the three villages that formed into Calcutta had been chosen as places to settle by Indian merchants who had migrated from the silted-up port of Satgaon. The presence of these merchants may have been to some extent responsible for Charnock’s choice of the site (Britannica, 2011).
By 1696, the Mughal provincial administration started becoming friendly towards the growing British settlement and granted them permission to fortify their trading post, which then came to be known as Fort William. They were also granted permission to collect revenue from the three villages- Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindapur, i.e., they were granted the zamindari rights in 1698. In 1717 the Mughal emperor Farrukh-Siyar granted the English trading company their freedom to trade but in 1756, the nawab’s successor, Siraj-ud-Daulah, captured Fort William and sacked the town, this led to the popular tragedy known as the Black Hole of Calcutta where countless number of Europeans died, although few sources claim this incident to be either a myth or an exaggerated report (Britannica, 2011).
The site of the old Fort William occupies the present General Post Office of Kolkata in BBD Bagh, the Eastern Railway Office, the Custom House and the other Government Office complexes on the banks of River Hooghly. Its construction commenced at Sutanuti in 1698 and was completed by 1706. It was named in honour of King William III of England (History of Fort William).
Initially, the complex had no moat around the premises, even though it was initially built for defence, the main purpose of the fortification was to serve the English East India Company’s best interests for trading in Bengal.
Calcutta was recaptured in 1757 by Robert Clive and the British admiral Charles Watson. The Nawab was defeated shortly after in the battle of Plassey and the new complex of Fort William was built on the present site that overlooks river Hooghly at Calcutta, where it was established as the symbol of British supremacy for the next two centuries. The construction was completed by 1770 at an approximate cost of 2 million sterling pounds (History of Fort William). The area is presently known as Maidan, a large urban park within the city limits that consists of some other iconic colonial monuments like the Victoria Memorial and the St. Paul’s Cathedral (Mitra, 2020).
The fort occupies an area of 177.42 acres and has a regular octagonal shape with three sides facing the river and five sides facing the land. It also housed a garrison strength of a thousand soldiers and rations consisting of 71 thousand maunds (1 maund = 37 kgs) of food grains for use during critical economic or political situations. Henceforth, not a single gun had been fired from the ramparts and the fort has a reputation of being the only fort to not have been besieged till date within India. While Calcutta didn’t become the capital of the British till 1772, in 1773 Bombay (Mumbai) and Madras (Chennai) became subordinate to the government at Fort William (History of Fort William).
The whole compound is divided into six sections having its own individual significance and functions, being added over the centuries and much of it remains unchanged- the four-storey high Dalhousie Barrack could accommodate a thousand soldiers and still leave enough storage space for their rations, weapons and equipment (History of Fort William). Even Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was kept here as a prisoner for three days (Mitra, 2020). The old Government house used to house the Governor Generals of India of colonial India. The Granary Barracks constructed under the orders of Hastings was used to store surplus rations that could be used during the famine, but it was later turned into a prison. The Kitchener’s House was one of the residences of the British Commander-in-Chief. Its magnificent colonnades could be seen across the treasury gates. The Bell Tower was used for communicating messages to the ships sailing on Hooghly through Semaphore. St. Peter’s Anglican Church was turned into the present-day Command Library, which was built in 1784 in the Gothic Architectural style. The fort has six gates; the East gate was formerly known as the Plassey gate (History of Fort William). The Vijay Smarak on the East Gate was built in 1996 to commemorate India’s victory in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. It also housed a 1941 vintage car belonging to AAA Niazi, the last governor of the East Pakistan Army, which was captured in 1971 along with a tank and a high calibre gun (Mitra, 2020).
Fort William is presently the hub of all military activity in the East and the NE, i.e., the headquarters of the Eastern Command and civilians aren’t allowed to enter the gates due to security reasons (Mitra, 2020).
Bibliography
- Britannica, T. E. (2011, June 5). Fort William. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fort-William-fort-Kolkata-India
- History of Fort William. (n.d.). Retrieved from Indian Army: https://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTempSimple.aspx?MnId=B2pD0MqM0JJ10PDUT0tHaA==&ParentID=L3Pi/J7Xl7APRMacGw5eIw==
- Mitra, B. (2020, December 6). Ahead of Vijay Diwas, take a Virtual tour of Fort William. Retrieved from Times of India: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/ahead-of-vijay-diwas-take-a-virtual-tour-of-fort-william/articleshow/79592973.cms
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Hiya, I’m Manjari Sharma…
Hiya, I’m Manjari Sharma…I am an Archaeology Graduate with keen interest in heritage and material culture. As I currently pursue my Master’s in Archeology I see myself expanding my horizon and focussing my attention towards our ailing Indian heritage.
