In the month of October, 1589, a body of English merchants addressed a
memorial to her majesty, Queen Elizabeth, requesting licence to equip
three ships for the purpose of trading to the East Indies: this request
appears to have been favourably received, and in 1591 the first English
commercial voyage was commenced in three vessels. It proved a disastrous
one; but considerable experience was obtained, and the ardour of the
English merchants was but little damped by the result.
In 1599 an association of merchant adventurers was formed in London,
with a capital of 30,000_l._, for the purpose of trading “_to the East
Indies and countries thereabout_;” and the royal assent was applied for
and obtained to this project, “_intended for the honour of their native
country, and the advancement of trade and merchandise within the realm
of England_.” The Charter was dated, 31st December, 1600. This
association, which may be looked upon as the foundation of the present
East India Company, led to a succession of voyages more or less
fortunate, which, before long, resulted in the Company obtaining
establishments at various places on the coast of the Peninsula, as well
as among the eastern islands. The Presidencies of Madras and Bombay were
first established; but that of Bengal, although the latest, was soon
rendered by circumstances the most important of the three, and is now
the seat of the supreme government of India.
On the 20th December, 1687, Mr. Job Charnock, the agent for the
Kossimbazār factory on the Hoogly, finding it no longer safe to remain
at that place, moved down to the village of Chuttanuttee, on the present
site of Calcutta, with all the ships, troops, and property, where they
commenced to intrench themselves. They were afterwards forced to move
down the river to Ingellee, in which pestilential climate the whole
force would have been carried off, had not the Emperor Aurungzebe made
overtures to Mr. Charnock and allowed him to return to Chuttanuttee. In
1691 they were allowed to form a settlement there: it increased rapidly,
and was permanently fixed upon as the head-quarters of the Company’s
establishments in Bengal.
Chuttanuttee occupied the site of the present native portion of the
city; Govindpoor stood where the new Fort William is erected; and the
European part of the city, including the site of the old Fort, is built
within the precincts of Kalleeghatta, hence originated the modern
appellation of Calcutta; and as the founder of that city, Mr. Job
Charnock’s name will probably be remembered as long as the British
Empire in India shall exist. He died in 1692, and was buried in the old
Cemetery, where his tomb is yet to be seen in the old burying-ground of
St. John’s Cathedral, being one of the few allowed to remain when that
building was erected.
In 1695, a rebellion having broken out in Bengal, the local government
applied to the Nawāb for permission to put their factories in a state of
defence, and on the request not being positively refused, they hastened
to erect walls of masonry, with bastions or flanking towers at the
angles, round their several factories, and thus originated the
fortifications of Calcutta. In 1699, Sir Charles Eyre was re-appointed
to the charge of Bengal, which was then for the first time raised to the
rank of a Presidency. Orders were issued that the fortifications should
be strengthened and rendered regular, so as to afford a safe retreat for
all their servants and property; and it was recommended to give the
outline of the buildings the form of a pentagon, if possible, that being
at the time considered the strongest figure of defence. In 1701–2, the
court issued orders that the Fort should be made a regular pentagon with
bastions, and the works be made extensive enough to accommodate all the
establishments of the out-factories. In the year 1707–8, the rival
interests of the “Old London” and the new “English Company” were merged
into “The United Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies.”
In 1742, the Mahrattas devastated the whole province, and sacked the
town of Hoogly. On this occasion, the English applied for and obtained
permission to dig a ditch and throw up an intrenchment round their
settlement, which, if completed, would have extended more than seven
miles. When little more than three miles of the ditch were completed,
finding that the Mahrattas did not advance, the work was discontinued:
it was, however, always known afterwards as the Mahratta Ditch; some
traces of which still remain—hence the people of Calcutta are sometimes
called the Ditchers.
The Nawāb Sooraj-oo-Dowlah succeeded to the government of Bengal in
1756. He entertained the greatest dislike to the English, and
determined, if possible, to expel them from the country. In June, 1756,
he appeared before the factory at Kossimbazār, and the place not being
tenable, it surrendered. The Nawāb advanced with expedition and attacked
Calcutta, which surrendered on the 20th. Mr. Holwell, with a party
amounting to 146 persons, were thrown into the Black Hole—the history of
which is too well known to need repetition. The Nawāb having ransacked
Calcutta, changed its name to Alīnuggur, and flattering himself he had
for ever extirpated the English power, thought it unnecessary to follow
up the small party of refugees assembled at Fultah. In December, 1756,
an armament, under the command of Colonel Robert Clive, arrived at
Fultah, and recaptured Calcutta, where they found the greater part of
the merchandise that had been left there, it having been reserved for
the use of the Nawāb.