Skip to main content

Full text of "A brief history of the Hughli district"

See other formats 


486 

HsCi 


A    BRIEF  HISTORY 


OF   THE 


HUGHLI  DISTRICT. 


HY 


LiF.uT.-CoL.  D.  G.  CUAWFUltiJ,  m.b., 

INDIAN    MEDICAL   SERVICK,   CIVIL   SUROEON,    HFOin.I. 


Pul)li5lTci)  \\)  5wt!]orit^. 


QTxUut  t  A  : 
BENGAL  SECRETARIAT  PRESS. 
1903. 
Pn'r^— Indian,  Es.  i;  ;  English,  Is    lO'f] 


'vj> 


.k\ 


u 


GIFT  OF 


U"^ 


r«t^i/c/» 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/briefhistoryofhuOOcrawrich 


A    BRIEF  HISTORY 


OF   THE 


HUGHLI  DISTRICT. 


BY 


LiEUT.-CoL.  D.  G.  >CRAWFORD,  m.b., 

INDIAN    MEDICAL    SERVICK,    CIVIL   SURGEON    IIUOIILT. 


Jublisfefb  bn  gut^oritg. 


d  a  I  r  n  1 1  rt  : 
BENGAL  SECRETARIAT  PRESS. 
1902. 


CARPENTIER 


PablitlMd  «i  the  Bbitoal  Bbcbbtariat  Book  Dsp/tr, 
\Vrit«n'  Buildings,  Calcutta. 


!n  India— 

Mbbsra.  Tbackbr,  Bpixe   ft  Co.,  Caloutta   nnd 

Simta. 
Mbsbiu.  Nbwuah  k  Co.,  Calcutta. 

MBB8R8.  HlOOI!fB0THAM    ft   Oo.,   MndntS. 

MRB8B8.  TUACKBK  ft  Co.,  I^.,  Bombay. 
MKS8I18.  .\.  J.  CoMBRiDaB  ft  Co.,  BumhaT. 

Tub     SrPBRINTBSUBXT,       AMBRICAV     HAPriST 

Mli4>-liiK  I'RKSS,  Ranicoon. 
BfRs.  RAniiAB.a  Atmarah  Saoooh,  Bomtmv. 
Mk8.si!8.  S.  K.  Laiiiri  ft  Co.,  Printenand  Hook- 

8i'ller»,  ColWe  Street,  Calcutta. 
Ra]  Sahib  U.  Gii^b  Sihoii  ft  Sovo.  I'roprio- 

tors  of  thf  Mufld-i-amPivRi,  I^hore,  I'unjuh. 
MBsaitH.  V.  Kai.tanara.ma  Itbb  ft  Co.,  Book- 

Ki'lWrs,  ftr.,  JIadrafl. 

MB8.«B8.    D.    B.    TABAPOBETA.LA,    SOXB    ft    Co., 

Book-aellen.  Bombay. 
Mbbbbs.  G.  a.  Natbsov  ft  Co.,  Madru. 

In  England^ 

Mb.   K.  a.  Arhold,  37  Bedford  Street,  Strand, 

London. 
Mebsbs.  Cobbtablb  ft  Co.,  8  Whit<*hall  GardcDx. 

London. 
Messrs.     Sampso.t    Low,    Marstoh    ft      Co., 

St.  Dunatan'i  HouHe,  Pftter  Lane,  London. 
Mbssbs.  Lczac  ft  Co..  46  Great  RumcU  Street, 

London. 

MB88R8.  KBSAK  PaCL,  TRBHCR,  Tb'cBHKR 
ft  Co.,  Ch«rinK  Crnu  Road,  London. 

Mb.  B.  Alfbbd  Qcaritch,  is  Piccadilly, 
London. 

HBaeBfl.  P.  8.  Kiii«  ft  Soir,  2  ft  4  Great  Smith 
Street,  'Westminster,  London. 

MBS8R8.  H.  S.  Kino  ft  Co.,  6-%  Cornliill,  London. 

MB88R8.  W1LI.IAM8  A>'0  NOKOATB,  Oxford. 

Mbbsbs.  Dbiohtob  Ubll  ft  Co.,  Cambridge. 

On  the  Continent— 

Uesbbb.    R.  FbibdlaSDBB  ft    S0H5,    Berlii., 

N.  W.  CitrlsliiiaHr,  11. 
Mb.  Otso  Uabrabsowitz.  Leipzig. 
Mr.  Kaoi.  Hibrsbmahn,  Leipzig. 
Mr.  Krhi;8T  Lbrocx,  28  Rue  Bonaparte^  Paris. 
Mb.  Martiscs  Nijuoft,  Tlie  Hague. 


^^^ 


[NTRODUCTION. 


As  the  Medical  Gazetteer  of  the  Hughli  district  is  the  first  of  a 
series  of  such  histories  in  Bengal  which  it  is  proposed  to  publish,  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  are  being  compiled  may  be  described. 
I  prepared  a  medico-topographical  account  of  Jeypore,  in  Rajputana, 
in  1894,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Government  of  India  and  of 
tho  Director-General  of  the  Indian  Medical  Service,  Medical  Officers  in 
that  Province  were  invited  (in  the  case,  however,  of  Native  States,  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  Chiefs,  who  would  probably  publish  the  works)  to 
prepare  similar  histories  of  their  own  charges,  and  I  was  appointed 
to  edit  the  series.  A  number  of  such  accounts  has  now  been  published, 
including  a  general  gazetteer  of  Rajputana  by  myself,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Bengal  agreed  to  tho  voluntary  compilation  of  similar 
histories  for  Bengal  districts,  the  most  meritorious  of  which  were  to  be 
published^under  my  editorship.  A  circular  letter  to  Civil  Surgeons  indi- 
cating the  objects,  scope,  and  general  order  in  wliich  it  was  suggested 
that  the  different  subjects  should  be  treated,  was  issued  in  September  1899. 
The  Hughli  Gazetteer,  which  shows  considerable  research  on  the  part 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cmwford,  is  highly  creditable  to  him,  because 
he  has  been  little  more  than  a  year  in  the  district  and  has  had  a  very 
large  amount  of  professional  work  to  perform.  Dr.  Crawford  wrote 
for  this  gazetteer  such  a  voluminous  and  valuable  chapter  on  the 
history  of  the  district  that  it  has  been  decided  by  Government 
that  it  should  be  published  separately,  on  the  further  ground,  moreover, 
that  it  was  beyond  the  scope  of  a  medical  account  of  Hughli.  It  may, 
however,  be  usefully  read  in  connection  with  most  of  the  special 
accounts  of  districts  in  Lower  Bengal. 

In  some  •other  chapters  the  author  has  written  on  subjects  at 
greater  length  than  was  contemplated,  but  as  he  is  peculiarly 
qualified  to  do  so  and  his  observations  are  always  of  value,  they  have 
been  retained. 

A  complete  gazetteer  of  this  kind  should  be  of  great  use  in 
enabling  all  who  are  interested  in  municipal,  and  especially  in 
sanitary  matters,  to  read  in  a  few  pages  what  has  been  done  in  the 


M708658 


ii  INTRODUCTION. 

past,  so  that  they  may  avoid  a  repitition'of  costly  experiments  which 
have  failed.  If  this  alone  should  provcjitobe  the  result  of  the  publica- 
tion of  t  he  Gazetteers,  it  will  save  far  more  than  their  cost  by  preventing 
much  waste  of  time  and  money.  Moreover,  it  will  always  be  an 
advantage  to  have  information  of  this  kind[^in  an  accessible  form,  and 
it  is  besides  desirable,  as  His  Honour  the  Lieutenant-Governor  [has 
observed,  in  papers  relating  to  the  project,  to  take  stock,  as 
it  were,  of  past  work  from  time,  to  [time.  ^  A  perusal  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Crawford's  summary  of  the  very  varied  opinions  held  by 
men  of  distinction  in  their  own  day,  on  the  causation,  for  example, 
of  the  Burd  wan  fever,  and  of  the  views  of  others  on  sanitary  measures 
in  the  Hughli  town  and  district,  will  show  how  cautiously  our  theories 
should  be  formed,  and,  further,  how  much  more  deliberate  we  ought 
to  be  in  giving  practical  and,  perhaps,  expensive,  and,  even  dangerous, 
as  well  as  troublesome,  eflPect  to  our  deductions  from  them. 

If  about  1840,  the  instructions  of  Government  on  the  suggestions 
of  the  late  Sir  J.  Ranald  Martin  that  medical  histories  of  all  important 
military  charges  should  be  prepared,  had  been  carried  out  more 
extensively  also  in  Civil  Stations,  and  if  such  accounts  had  been 
amplified  and  kept  up  to  date  by  succeeding  officers  we  should  have 
had  an  immense  amount  of  information  at  ourl  disposal;  many 
disappointments  and  failures,  would  have  been  avoided ;  and,  I  may 
venture  to  add,  much  more  progress  would  have  been  effected,  for 
example,  in  sanitation,  in  the  diminution  of  mortality  in  jails,  and 
in  the  popularization  and  systematization  of  all  forms  of  medical 
and  charitable  relief. 

T.  H.  Hendley,  Col.,  i.m.s., 
Inspector- General  of  CM  Hospitals^  Bengal, 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Early  Hiatory            2 

The  Portugoese  and  Bandel            8 

The  English,  early  settlement            11 

The  Dutch  and  Chinsura 26 

The  French  and  Chandamagar 40 

The  Danes  and  Serampore 60 

The  other  European  Companies 64 

Hughli  district,  subsequent  to  1760 66 

Ethnology 63 

Musalmans  in  Hughli   ............  63 

Folklore            68. 

Index    


A  BRIEF  HISTORY 


or  TBI 


HUGHLI  DISTRICT 


HuGHLi  is  not  an  ancient  historic  district  whose  story  runs  back  to  time 
immemorial,  as  does  that  of  many  places  in  India.  Its  early  history  is 
practically  comprised  in  a  few  references  to  Satgaon,  which  was  for  many 
centuries  the  capital,  as  far  as  any  place  can  be  called  the  capital  of  Bengal. 
Alike  in  the  pre-historic  times  of  Hindu  dominion  and  in  the  palmy  days  of 
the  dynasty  of  Timur,  Hughli  hardly  appears  in  history,  and  yet  it  may  be 
said  to  be  historically  one  of  the  most  interesting  districts  in  the  province  of 
Bengal,  indeed  in  the  whole  of  India.  But  this  interest  is  entirely  a  matter 
of  the  last  four  centuries,  and  is  almost  wholly  European.  Here,  within  the 
space  of  a  few  miles  of  river  bank,  Portuguese,  English,  Dutch,  French, 
Danes,  and  Flemings  all  formed  settlements,  and  struggled  with  each  other, 
first  for  supremacy  in  trade,  and  then  for  empire;  and  it  is  only  owing  to  the 
European  settlements  that  the  native  Governments  come  into  the  history  of 
Hughli  at  all.  The  energy  of  the  European  traders,  which  converted  an  out- 
of-the-way,  swampy,  little-known  corner  of  the  country,  first  into  a  great  centre 
of  trade,  then  into  the  capital,  first  of  the  province,  afterwards  of  the  whole 
country,  forced  upon  the  native  rulers  the  importance,  first  of  Hughli, 
afterwards  of  Calcutta.  From  the  first  settlement  of  the  Portuguese  the 
intruders  from  the  West  were  as  thorns  in  the  side  of  the  Musalman 
administration,  which  was  kept  busy  in  trjdng  to  maintain  the  peace  between 
the  different  nations  settled  on  the  Hughli,  and  before  long  had  to  struggle, 
without  BUoeeBS,  for  its  very  existence,  with  the  strangers  from  over  the  sea. 
Portugal  was  a  decaying  power  when  the  capture  of  the  Portuguese  fort  at 
Hughli  forever  destroyed  her  influence  in  Bengal.  But  the  Dutch,  French* 
and  English,  who  stepped  into  the  places  of  the  Portuguese,  were  men  of  a 
very  different  character  and  different  physical  force.  For  long  it  remained 
doubtful  whether  the  Empire  of  India  would  fall  to  the  English  or  to  the 
French.  Owing  partly  to  want  of  support  from  Europe,  partly  to  the  genius 
of  Clive,  and  to  the  superiority  of  the  subordinate  English  oflBcers  to  those 
of  France,  the  magnificent  schemes  of  Dupleix,  who  was  the  first  European 
to  conceive  the  possibility  of  the  empire  of  the  East  falling  to  a  Wastem 
power,  came  to    naught,  and  the    sceptre    of   the  Great    Mogul  fell  into  the 

A 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 


hands  of  the  English  Sovereign.  But,  had  the  English  succumbed  to  the 
French,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  would  have  subdued  the  whole  country, 
as  the  English  have  done ;  the  sovereignty  would  not  have  remained  with  the 
native  powers. 

I  propose  to  consider  the  history  of  the  district  under  the  following 
heads,  most  of   which,   however,   must  necessarily  overlap   each   other: — 

1.  Early  history,  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

2.  The  Portuguese,  and  Bandel. 

3.  The  EngHsh,  up  to   1760. 

4.  The  Dutch,  and  Ohinsura. 

6.     The  French,   and  Chandarnagax. 

6.  The  Danes,  and  Serampur. 

7.  History  of  the  district,   since   1760. 

1.  Early  History . — But  little  is  known  of  the  early  history  of  HughH 
district,  and  that  little  is  chiefly  comprised  in  the  one  word,  Satgaon.  This 
portion  of  Bengal  was  known  as  Rarh  in  early  times;  the  boundaries 'of  Rarh 
are  not  known,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  included  a  large  tract  round  the 
mouth  of  the  Hughli  river,  comprising  the  present  districts  of  Bardwan, 
Midnapur,  Hughli,  Howrah,  the  24-Pargana8,  and  Nadiya.  Satgaon  is 
supposed  to  be  the  "Ganges  Regia,"  described  by  the  geographer  Ptolemy, 
the  capital  of  the  Gangaridce,  a  nation  who  lived  in  the  country  round  the 
mouths  of  the  Ganges.  Satgaon  was  the  ancient  royal  port  of  Bengal. 
Sarkar  Satgaon  was  one  of  the  administrative  divisions  of  the  Mogul  Empire, 
and  included  the  24-Pargana8  and  Nadiya,  as  well  as  the  present  Hughli 
district.  When  the  Portuguese  first  began  to  frequent  Bengal,  about  1530, 
Satgaon  was  still  a  great  and  flourishing  city.  They  called  it  Porto  Piqueno, 
the  Little  Haven.  But  the  silting  up  of  the  Saraswati  appears  to  have  begun 
about  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
century  Satgaon  was  getting  difficult  of  access;  though  in  1565  it  was  still 
"a  reasonable  fair  citie,"  abounding  in  all  things,  and  in  it  "the  merchants 
gather  together  for  their  trade,"  according  to  CsBsar  Frederick  (Hakluyt 
I,  230,  quoted  by  Wilson).  The  Revd.  J.  Long,  in  an  article  on  the  Banks 
of  the  Bhagirathi,  in  the  Calcutta  Review  for  1846,  makes  some  further 
quotations  from  Frederick,  whom  he  quotes  as  describing  a  place  called 
Buttor:— 

"A  good  tide's  rowing  before  yoa  come  to  Satgaw,  from  hence  upwards  the  ships  do  not 
go,  because  that  upwards  the  river  is  very  shallow  and  little  water,  the  email  ships  go  to 
Satgaw   and  there   they   lade." 

Also — 

"  Buttor  has  an  infinite  number  of  ships  and  bazars,  while  the  ships  stay  in  the  season,  they 
erect  a  village  of  straw  houses,  which  they  bum  when  the  ships  leave,  and  build  again  the 
next   season ;  in  the  port  of  Satgaw  every  year    they    lade  SO  or  35  ships  great  and  small  with 


A    BRIKF   HISTORY   OF   THE    HVOHLI    DISTRICT. 


rio«,  oloth  of  bombaat  of  divert  Mrto,  Iacc»,  f^rekt  »bond«nc«  of  ngve,  paper,  oil  of  tertelina, 
and  other  aorta  of   merchandise." 

Buttor  ifl  tRe  modem  Sibpiir:  the  name  Bhatore  is  still  g^ven  to  a  locality 
between  the  Botanical  Gardens  and  the  Engineering  College,  slightly  north  of 
these  places  and  back  from  the  river.  It  must  have  taken  very  good  rowing 
to  go  from  Buttor  to  Satgaon  on  one  tide;  the  distance  up  the  Ilughli  is  fully 
35  miles,  besides  some  four  miles  down  the  Saraswati  to  Satgaon.  Mr.  Long 
also  quotes  from  Di  Barros : — *'  Satgaw  is  a  great  and  noble  city,  though 
less  frequented  than  Chittagoug,  on  account  of  the  port  not  being  so 
convenient  for  the  entrance  and  departure  of  ships;"  and  from  Purchas,  who 
calls  it  "a  fair  citie  for  a  citie  of  the  Moores,  and  very  plentiful,  but  some- 
times subject  to  Patnaw." 

After  the  capture  of  the  Portuguese  fort  of  Hughli  in  1632,  Hughli 
became  the  royal  port,  and  all  public  offices  were  transferred  to  that  place  from 
Satgaon,  which  gradually  fell  into  decay.  But  Warwick,  %  Dutch  Admiral, 
quoted  by  Long,  states  that  in  1667  Satgaon  was  still  a  great  place  of  trade 
for  the  Portuguese. 

The  river  Saraswati  was  once  the  boundary  between  the  kingdom  of 
Orissa  and  that  of  Bengal,  but  this  was  almost  in  pre-historic  times.  In  1589 
Raja  Man  Sinh,  Governor  of  Bengal  under  Akbar,  in  an  expedition  against 
the  Afghans,  who  then  held  the  kingdom  of  Orissa,  halted  for  the  rainy 
season  at  Jahanabad.  And  in  1592  the  Afghans  from  Orissa  plundered 
Satgaon.  The  boundary  of  the  kingdom  of  Orissa  was  then  somewhere  about 
Midnapur.  In  Akbar's  time  Satgaon  was  known  &a  Balg/iak-Kham,  the  "house 
of  revolt." 

Pandua  also  appears  in  more  or  less  legendary  history,  when  it  was 
captured  by  Shah  Safi,  from  the  Hindu  Raja  who  formerly  held  sway  there. 
The  date  is  by  no  means  certain,  but  it  would  appear  to  be  about  the  middle 
of  the  fourteenth  century  that  the  Hughli  district  passed  from  Hindu  to 
Musalman  dominion.  More  about  both  Satgaon  and  Pandua  will  be  foimd  in 
the  description  of  these  places  in  Chapter  VII  of  the  Hughli  Medical  Gazetteer. 
2.  The  Portuguese^  and  Bandel. — The  Portuguese,  as  is  well  known,  were 
the  first  European  nation  to  visit  and  settle  in  India.  On  8th  January  1454 
Pope  Nicholas  V  granted  to  Affonso  V  of  Portugal  an  exclusive  right  to  all 
countries  which  might  be  discovered  in  Africa  and  eastwards,  including  India. 
Bartholomeo  Diaz  doubled  the  Cape  for  the  first  time  early  in  1487.  The 
first  explorer  to  reach  India  was  Vasco  da  Gtima,  who  arrived  at  Calicut  on 
26th  August  1498.  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral  discovered  Brazil  on  2l8t  April 
1500,  having  been  driven  far  out  of  his  course,  to  the  west,  when  on  the 
way  to  India,  vid.  the  Cape.  Much  about  the  same  time  the  Spaniards  began 
to  push  their  discoveries  westwards.  Columbus  sailed  on  his  voyage  of 
discovery  on  3rd  August   1492,  and  discovered  Hispaniola,  now  Haiti,  before 


A   BRIEF    HISTOKY   OF   THE    HXJG^LI    DISTRICT. 


the  end  of  the  year.  On  4th  May  1493  Pope  Alexander  YI  issued  a  bull 
granting  to  Spain  all  countries  discovered  more  than  100  leagues  west  of 
the  Cape  Yerde  Islands ;  in  1494  the  line  between  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  claims  was  altered  to  one  drawn  370  leagues  west  of  those 
islands.  The  Spaniards  exploring  to  the  west,  and  the  Portuguese  going  east, 
before  very  long,  in  1527,  came  into  collision,  the  actual  meeting  taking 
place  in  the  Moluccas.  Each  claimed  that  their  side  was  within  its  rights, 
and  certainly  the  case  appears  to  be  one  of  those  in  which  a  good  deal 
could  be  said  in  favour  of  each  side.  Q-oa  was  captured  by  the  Portuguese  in 
1510. 

The  first  Portuguese  explorer  to  visit  Bengal  was  Joao    da   Silveira,   in 

the  year  1518.  Portuguese  traders  began  to  frequent  Bengal  about  1530. 
In  1534  the  Viceroy  of  Q-oa  sent  a  fleet  of  nine  ships  to  aid  the  reigning 
Nawab  of  Bengal  against  an  invader,  Sher  Khan.  In  1538  a  number  of 
Portuguese  entered  the  service  of  the  King  of  Gaur  as  military  adventurers. 
Babu  S.  C.  Dey,  the  author  of  a  series  of  articles  on  "Hughli,  Past  and 
Present,"  in  the  Calcutta  Review  for  1892-93,  states  that  a  Portuguese 
Captain,  named  Sampayo,  built  the  old  Fort  of  Hughli  in  1537  or  1538. 
It  was  not,  however,  till  the  reign  of  Akbar  (1556-1605)  that  the  Portuguese 
regularly  settled  at  Hughli,  which  they  are  supposed  to  have  done  with  that 
Emperor's  permission,  about  1575.  Previous  to  that  date  their  ships  had  only 
come  for  trade,  loaded  their  cargoes,  and  left  again.  Akbar  is  said  to  have 
expressed  a  desire  to  see  some  of  these  new  strangers  from  the  West,  in 
compliance  with  which  a  Portuguese  Captain,  named  Tavarez,  went  up  to 
Agra,  was  favourably  received  by  Akbar,  and  granted  permission  to  choose 
any  spot  he  liked  near  Hughli,  to  erect  a  town,  with  full  liberty  to  build  a 
church,  and  to  preach  to  Gospel.  It  seems  most  probable  that  the  old 
Portuguese  fort  of  Hughli  was  built  in  accordance  with  this  permission.  In 
return  the  Portuguese  promised  to  clear  the  coast  of  pirates,  but  never  did  so. 
Portuguese  pirates  at  this  time  infested  the  rivers  of  the  Sundarbans, 
plundered  the  river-side  villagos,  captured  trading  boats  whenever  they  could, 
and  generally  made  themselves  dreaded  by  peaceful  traders  and  inhabitants. 
From  them  the  branch  of  the  Hughli  now  known  as  Channel  Creek  got  the 
name  of  Eogue's  Eiver.  The  Portuguese  were  seen  settled  at  Hughli,  by 
Fitch,  in  1586.  In  1603,  Toynbee  writes,  Hughli  is  described  as  Golin,  a 
Portuguese  colony,  where  an  officer  of  that  nation  had  captured  a  fort 
belonging  to  the  Musalmans,  killing  all  the  garrison,  of  400  men,  with  one 
exception.  Hughli  is  often  described  as  an  island  in  the  river,  owing  to  the 
deep  and  broad  moat  which  surrounded  the  Portuguese  fort,  one  side  of 
which,  or  very  possibly  two  sides,  had  its  walls  washed  by  the  river. 

In  the  year  1721   Prince  Khurara,   afterwards  the  Emperor  Shah  Jahan, 
"Was  in  rebellion  against  his   father  Jahangir,  and  applied  for  help  to  Michael 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF  THE   HUOHLl    DISTRICT. 


Rodriguez,  the  Portuguese  Governor  of  Hughli,  who  refused  to  aid  him,  and 
it  is  said  added  insult  to  injury  by  taunting  him  with  his  misconduct.  Shah 
Jahan  came  to  the  throne  on  Ist  February  1628,  and  nominated  Kasim  Khan 
as  Governor  of  Bengal.  Kasim  Khan  complained  to  the  Emperor  that  the 
Portuguese  had  drawn  away  all  trade  from  Satgaon,  that  they  were  in  league 
with  pirates,  and  that  they  kidnapped  children  and  other  residents,  forcibly 
made  them  Clu-istians,  and  sent  them  as  slaves  to  other  Portuguese  settlements 
in  India.  Shah  Jahan  ordered  Kaaim  Khan  to  seize  Hughli,  which  he  did  in 
1032.  Stewai't,  from  whom  the  above  account  is  sunmiarized,  says  that  the 
siege  lasted  for  three  and-a-half  months,  from  June  to  October  1632.  At 
least  1,000  Portuguese  were  killed  in  the  siege,  and  4,400  were  taken 
prisoners.  Out  of  67  large  vessels,  67  grabs^  and  200  sloops,  on  the  river, 
only  one  grab  and  two  sloops  escaped  to  Goa.  The  largest  vessel,  with  2,000 
men,  women,  and  children,  who  had  taken  refuge  on  board,  was  blown  up  by 
its  Captain.  Probably  Shah  Jahan,  when  he  ordered  the  attack  on  Hughli, 
bore  in  mind  the  refusal  of  the  Portuguese  to  help  him  when  he  was  in  need 
of  aid.  The  numbers  of  the  Portuguese  in  Hughli,  as  given  by  the  native 
historians,  must  be  greatly  exaggerated,  unless  they  include  Native  Christians. 
Even  so,  the  numbers  seem  incredibly  large.  Their  geography  also  is  very 
incorrect. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  give  an  account  of  the  capture  of  Hughli  from 
the  Musalman  point  of  view.  Elliot,  in  the  "  History  of  India  told  by  its  own 
Historians,"  gives  two  such  accounts,  both  in  Volume  VII.  The  first  of  these 
(pp.  31 — 35)  is  from  the  Badshahtiama  of  Abdul  Hamid  Lahori,  a  writer  of 
whom  little  is  known,  except  that  he  was  appointed  by  Shah  Jahan  to  write 
an  account  of  the  events  of  his  reign,  which  he  did,  for  the  first  20  years  very 
fuUy.     He  died  in  1654  A.  D.:  — 

"Under  the  role  of  the  Bengalis  (dar  ahd-i-Bengaliyan),  a  party  of  Frank  merchants,  who 
are  inhabitants  of  Sondip,  came  trading  to  Satgaun.  One  hot  abQve  that  place,  they  occupied 
some  ground  on  the  bank  of  the  estuary.  Under  the  pretence  that  a  building  was  necessary 
for  their  transactions  in  buying  and  selling,  they  erected  several  houses  in  the  Bengali  style. 
In  course  of  time,  throi^h  the  ignorance  or  negligence  of  the  rulers  of  Bengal,  these 
Europeans  increased  in  number,  and  erected  large  substantial  buildings,  which  they  fortified 
with  cannons,  muskets,  and  other  implements  of  war.  In  due  course  a  considerable  place  grew 
np,  which  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  port  of  Hughli.  On  one  side  of  it  was  the 
river,  and  on  the  other  three  sides  was  a  ditch  filled  from  the  river.  European  ships  used 
to  go  up  to  the  port,  and  a  trade  was  established  there.  The  markets  of  Satgaun  declined 
and  lost  their  prosperity.  The  villages  and  districts  of  Hughli  were  on  b<jth  sides  of  the  river, 
and  these  the  Europeans  got  possession  of  at  a  low  rent.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  by  force, 
•ad  more  by  hope  of  gain,  they  infected  with  the  Nazarene  teaching,  and  sent  them  off  in 
ships  to  Europe.  In  the  hope  of  an  everlasting  reward,  but  in  reality  of  exquisite  torture,  they 
consoled  themselves  with  the  profits  of  their  trade  for  the  loss  of  rent  which  arose  from  the 
removal  of  the  cultivators.  These  hateful  practices  were  not  confined  to  the  lands  they 
occupied,  but  they  seized  and  carried  off  every  one  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon  along  tha 
sides  of   the  river. 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF    THE    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 


"These  proceedings  had  come  to  the  notice  of  the  Emperor  before  his  accession,  .  .  and 
he  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  them  if  ever  he  ascended  the  throne,  that  the  coinage  might 
always  have  the  stamp  of  the  glorious  dynasty,  and  the  pulpit  might  be  graced  with  its  hhatha. 
After  his  accession,  he  appointed  Kasim  Khan  to  the  Government  of  Bengal,  and  .  .  impressed 
upon  him  the  duty  of  overthrowing  these  mischievous  people.  He  was  ordered,  as  soon  as 
he  attended  to  the  necessary  duties  of  his  extensive  province,  to  set  about  the  extermination 
of  the  pernicious  intruders.  Troops  were  to  be  sent  both  by  water  and  by  land,  bo  that  the 
difficult  enterprise  might  be  quickly  and  easily  accomplished. 

"Kasim  Khan  set  about  making  his  preparations,  and  at  the  close  of  the  cold  season  in 
Shaban,  1240A.H.,  he  sent  his  son  Inayath-uUa  with  Allah  Yar  Khan,  who  was  to  be  the  real 
commander  of  the  army,  and  several  other  nobles,  to  effect  the  conquest  of  Hugli.  He  also 
sent  Bahadur  Kambu,  an  active,  intelligent  servant  of  his,  with  the  force  under  his  command, 
under  the  pretence  of  taking  possession  of  the  khalisa  lands  at  Makhsnsabad,  but  really,  to 
join  Allah  Yar  Khan  at  the  proper  time.  Under  the  apprehension  that  the  infidels,  upon  getting 
intelligence  of  the  march  of  the  army,  would  put  their  families  on  board  ships,  and  so  escape 
from  destruction,  to  the  disappointment  of  the  warriors  of  Islam,  it  was  given  out  that  the  forces 
were  marching  to  attack  Hijli.  Accordingly  it  was  arranged  that  Allah  Yar  Khan  should  halt 
at  Burdwan,  which  lies  in  the  direction  of  Hijli,  until  he  received  intelligence  of  Khwaja 
Shor  and  others,  who  had  been  ordered  to  proceed  in  boats  from  Sripur  (')  to  cut  off  the  retreat 
of  the  Firingis.  When  the  fleet  arrived  at  Mohana,  which  is  a  dahna  O  of  the  Hugli,  Allah 
Yar  Khan  was  to  march  with  all  expedition  from  Burdwan  to  Hugli,  and  fall  upon  the  infidels. 
Upon  being  informed  that  Khwaja  Sher  and  his  companions  had  arrived  at  the  dahna,  Allah 
Yar  Khan  made  a  forced  march  from  Burdwan,  and  in  a  night  and  a  day  reached  the  village  of 
Huldipur  (^)  between  Satgaim  and  Hugli.  At  the  same  time  be  was  joined  by  Bahadur  Kambu, 
who  arrived  from  Makhsusabad,  with  600  horse  and  a  large  force  of  infantry.  Then  he 
hastened  to  the  place  where  Khwaja  Sher  had  brought  the  boats,  and  between  Hugli  and  the 
sea,  in  a  narrow  part  of  the  river,  he  formed  a  bridge  of  boats,  so  that  ships  could  not  get 
down  to  the  sea;  thus  the  flight  of  the  enemy  was  prevented. 

"On  the  2nd  Zi-l-hijja,  1241,  the  attack  was  made  on  the  Firingis  by  the  boatmen  on  the 
river,  and  by  the  forces  on  land.  An  inhabited  place  outside  of  the  ditch  was  taken  and 
plundered,  and  the  occupants  were  slain.  Detachments  were  then  ordered  to  the  villages  and 
places  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  so  that  all  the  Christians  found  there  might  be  sent  to  hell. 
Having  killed  or  captured  all  the  infidels,  the  warriors  carried  off  the  families  of  their  boatmen 
who  were  all  Bengalis.  Four  thousand  boatmen,  whom  the  Bengalis  called  ghrahi,  then  left  the 
Firingis    and    joined    the    victorious  army.    This    was  a  great  discooragement  to  the   Christians. 

"  The  Royal  army  was  engaged  for  three  months  and  a  half  in  the  siege  of  this  strong  place. 
Sometimes  the  infidels  fought,  sometimes  they  made  overtures  of  peace,  protracting  the  time  in 
hopes  of  succour  from  their  countrymen.  With  base  treachery  they  pretended  to  make  proposals  of 
peace,  and  sent  nearly  a  {oe  of  rapees  as  tribute,  while  at  the  same  time  they  ordered  7,000 
musketeers  who  were  in  their  service  to  open  fire.  So  heavy  was  it  that  many  of  the  trees  of  a 
grove  in  which  a  large  force  of  the  besiegers  was  posted  were  stripped  of  their  branches  and 
leaves. 

"  At  length  the  besiegers  sent  their  pioneers  to  work  upon  the  ditch,  just  by  the  church, 
where  it  was  not  so  broad  and  deep  as  elsewhere.  There  they  dug  channels  and  drew  off  the  water. 
Mines    were    then    driven  on  from  the  trenches,  but  two  of  these  were  discovered  by  the  enemy 


(1)  Serampor  (Elliot). 

{')  (Query :  Bengali  dahra,  a  lake  ?  (Elliot).]    Dahana  Is  a  Persian  word  meaning  "  tho  mouth  of  a  river." 
(')  No  cnch  village  as  Ualdipur  now    appears  in  the  village  directory  of   either  Hugbli  or  the  Zi-Parganas 
district.    MohatM,  in  Bengali,  meant  great  flood. 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE  HUOHLl    DISTRICT. 


»nd  coanteimeted.  Tho  centra  mine  wm  carried  under  an  edifice  which  ww  loftier  and  itronger 
than  all  tho  other  boildingi.  and  whoro  a  larjfo  number  of  Piringia  were  aUtioned.  Thia  waa 
charjred  and  t^iniiwd.  On  the  14th  Rabi-ml-awwal  the  beaiejfera'  forcea  were  drawn  up  in  front 
of  thi«  buiUling,  in  order  to  allure  the  enemy  to  that  part  When  a  large  number  were  aaaemblad, 
a  heavy  fire  waa  opened,  and  the  mine  waa  fired.  The  building  waa  blown  up,  and  tho  many 
infidels  who  had  collected  around  it  were  aent  flying  into  the  air.  The  warriors  of  Islam  rushed 
to  tho  assault.  Some  of  tho  iufldols  found  their  way  to  hell  by  the  water,  but  some  thousanda 
■uooeeded  in  makin)^  thoir  way  to  the  ships.  At  this  juncture  Khwaja  Sher  came  up  with  tha 
boata,  and  killed  many  of  the  fugitives. 

"  These  foes  of  the  faith  were  afraid  lest  one  large  ship,  which  had  nearly  2,000  men  and 
women,  and  much  pro^)erty  on  board,  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Muhammadans,  ao  they  fired 
the  magaiine  and  blew  hor  up.  Many  others  who  were  on  board  the  ghrab$  set  fire  to  their 
vessels,  and  turned  their  faces  towards  hell.  Out  of  the  64  large  ditigtu,  67  ghrab$,  and  200 
jaliyat,  one  ghrab  and  two  jaliyaa  oscajted,  in  consequence  of  some  fire  from  the  burning  ships 
having  fallen  upon  some  boats  laden  with  oil,  which  burnt  a  way  though  [the  bridge  of  boats]. 
Whoever  escaped  from  the  water  and  fire  became  a  prisoner.  From  the  beginning  of  the  siege 
to  the  conclusion,  men  and  women,  old  and  young,  altogether  nearly  10,000  of  the  enemy 
were  killed,  being  either  blown  up  with  powder,  drownod  by  water,  or  burnt  by  fire.  Nearly 
1,000  brave  warriors  of  the  Imperial  army  obtained  the  glory  of  martyrdom;  4,400  Christiana 
of  both  sexes  were  taken  prisoners,  and  nearly  10,000  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  country 
who  had  been  kept  in  confinement  by  these  tyrants  were  set  at  liberty." 

A  second  account  is  given  in  the  "  Muntakhahul  luhar "  of  Khafi  Khan, 
generally  known  as  the  "  Tc/rtM-j-Khafi  Khan,"  or  Khafi  Khan's  annals. 
The  author,  Muhammad  Hashim,  or  Hashim  All  Khan,  better  known  as  Khafi 
Khan,  was  a'  man  of  good  family,  residing  at  Delhi,  who  privately  compiled 
a  minute  register  of  all  the  events  of  Shah  Jahan's  reign,  which  he  published 
some  years  after  the  monarch's  death  (Shah  Jahan  died  in  1665,  having 
been  deposed  in  1658  by  his  son,  Aurangzeb). 

Khafi  Khan's  account  appears  to  be  more  or  less  copied  from  Abdul 
Hamid.     It  runs  as  follows: — 

"  The  Feringis  had  formed  a  commercial  settlement  at  Hugli,  20  hog  from  Rajmahal  in  Bengal . 
In  former  times  they  had  obtained  the  grant  of  a  parcel  of  land  for  the  storing  of  their 
merchandize  and  for  their  abode.  There  they  built  a  strong  fort,  with  towers  and  walls,  and 
furnished  it  with  artillery.  They  also  built  a  place  of  worship  which  they  call  church  {kaliia). 
In  course  of  time  they  overstepped  the  sufferance  they  had  obtained.  They  vexed  the  Musalman 
of  the  neighbourhood,  and  they  harassed  travellers,  and  they  exerted  themselves  continually  to 
atrengthen  their  settlement.  Of  all  their  odious  practices  this  was  the  worst :  — In  the  ports  which 
they  occupied  on  the  sea-coast  they  offered  no  injury  either  to  the  property  or  person  of  either 
Muhammadans  or  Hindus  who  dwelt  under  their  rule;  but  if  one  of  these  inhabitants  died 
leaving  children  of  tender  age,  they  took  both  the  children  and  the  property  under  their  charge 
and,  whether  these  young  children  were  Saiyidt,  or  whether  they  were  Brahmans,  they  made 
them  Christaius  and  slaves  (mamluk).  In  the  parts  of  the  Eokan,  in  the  Dakhin,  and  on  the  sea- 
coast,  wherever  they  had  forts  and  exercised  authority,  this  was  the  custom  of  that  insolent  people. 
But  notwithstanding  the  notoriety  of  this  tyrannical  practice,  Musalmans  and  Hindus  of  all  tribes 
went  into  their  settlements  in  pursuit  of  a  livelihood,  and  took  up  their  abode  there.  They  allowed 
no  religious  mendicant  (fakir)  to  come  into  their  bounds.  When  one  found  his  way  in  imawares,  if 
he  were  a  Hindu  he  was  subjected  to  such  tortures  as  made  his  escape  with  life  very  doubtful, 
and    if    he  were    a  Musalman  he  was    imprisoned    and  worried  for  some    days  and    then    set  at 


A    BRIEF   HLSTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 


liberty.  When  travellers  passed  in,  and  their  baggage  was  examined,  no  leniency  was  shown  if  any 
tobacco  was  found,  becanse  there  are  regular  licensed  sellers  of  tobacco,  and  a  traveller  must 
not  carry  more  than  enough  for  his  own  use.  Unlike  a  Hindu  temple,  their  place  of  worship  was 
very  conspicuous,  for  tapers  of  camphor  were  kept  burning  there  in  the  daytime.  In  accordance 
with  their  vain  tenets,  they  had  set  up  figures  of  our  Lord  Jesus  and  Mary  (on  our  Prophet  and  on 
them  be  peace !),  and  other  figures  in  wood,  paint,  and  wax,  with  great  gaudiness.  But  in  the 
churches  of  the  English,  who  are  also  Christians,  there  are  no  figures  set  up  as  idols.  The  writer 
of  these  pages  has  frequently  gone  into  that  2)lace,  and  has  conversed  with  their  leamej 
men,  and  records  what  he  haa  observed. 

"  Reports  of  the  unseemly  practices  of  these  people  reached  the  Emperor,  and  when  Kasim  Khan 
was  sent  to  Bengal  as  Governor,  he  received  secret  orders  to  suppress  them,  and  to  take  their  fortress. 
Kasim  Khan  accordingly  proceeded  to  Hughli  and  laid  siege  to  it.  The  detail  of  his  skilful  arrange* 
ments  and  strenuous  exertions  would  bo  of  great  length ;  suffice  it  to  say  that,  by  the  aid  of  boats,  and 
by  the  advance  of  his  forces  both  by  land  and  water,  he  brought  down  the  pride  of  these  people,  and 
subdued  their  fortress  after  a  siege  of  three  months.  Nearly  50,000  raiyalt  of  that  place  came  out  and 
took  refuge  with  Kasim  Khan.  Ten  thousand  persons,  Firingit  and  raiyatt,  perished  in  the  course 
of  the  siege.  Fourteen  hundred  Firingit,  and  a  number  of  persons  who  had  been  made  Christians  by 
force,  were  taken  prisoners.  Nearly  10,000  people,  innocent  raiyatt  and  captives  of  these  people,  were 
set  free.     More  than  a  thousand  Musalmans  of  the  Imperial  army  fell  in  the  course  of  the  siege." 

The  name  Bandel  is  Bixnply  a  corruption  of  the  word  bandar^  meaning 
wharf.  The  Portuguese  had  settled  here  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  Their  church,  the  first  Christian  church  in  Bengal,  was  built  in  the 
year  1599.  This  church  was  destroyed  in  the  siege  of  1632.  The 
Angus  tinians,  who  occupied  the  monastery  attached,  were  from  Goa,  and  were 
subject,  not  to  the  Vicar  Apostolic,  but  to  the  Bishop  of  Meliapur;  the 
Portuguese  having  always  resisted  the  transfer  of  their  ecclesiastical  patronage  to 
the  hands  of  the  Pope.  To  this  day  Bandel  Church  and  its  Prior,  though 
there  is  no  longer  a  monastery,  are  subject  to  the  Bishop  of  Meliapur.  Such 
of  the  Augustinians  as  survived  the  siege  of  1632  were  among  the  prisoners 
sent  to  Agra,  where  one  of  them,  Father  DeCruz,  found  favour  with  the 
Emperor,  who  offered  to  grant  him  any  request  he  might  make.  The 
Father  asked  for  his  own  liberty,  and  permission  to  return  to  Bengal,  taking  the 
surviving  prisoners  with  him.  Shah  Jahan  not  only  granted  him  this  permis- 
sion, but  allowed  him  to  rebuild  the  church,  and  even  gave  it  an  endowment 
of  777  bigJms  of  rent-free  lands.  The  original  grant,  Toynbee  says,  appears 
to  have  comprised  all  the  foreshore  from  the  present  jail  to  the  northern  end 
of  the  compound  of  Bandel  House.  The  church  still  holds  about  380  highas  of 
rent-free  land,  yielding  a  rental  of  about  Rs.  1,240.  In  1797,  the  then 
Prior,  on  the  strength  of  this  grant  of  Shah  Jahan's,  claimed  independent 
civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  over  all  the  raiyats  of  the  Bandel  lands,  except 
in  cases  of  murder.  The  claim,  however,  was  not  allowed  by  the  British 
Government.  The  present  church  was  erected  by  Mr.  Soto  in  1660.  Near  it 
used  to  stand  a  second  church,  the  Church  of  Misericordia,  with  an  orphanage 
attached.  There  was  also  a  nunnery,  and  in  1723  mention  is  made  of  a 
College  of  Jesuits  at  Keota. 


A   BRIKP   H18T0RT   OF   THE    UUOIILI   DISTRICT. 


The  fort,  captured  by  Kasim  Khan  in- 1632,  stood  much  where  the  jail 
now  stands.  The  foundations  of  two  walls  may  still  be  seen  at  low  tide, 
when  the  river  ifl  not  high,  jutting  out  from  the  bank,  immediately  in  front 
of  the  jail,  from  ground  which  now  forms  part  of  the  jail  garden.  These 
are  supposed  to  be  remains  of  the  old  Portuguese  fort.  This  fort  was 
surrounded  by  a  moat,  so  deep  and  broad  that  Bruton,  an  English  traveller, 
who  visited  the  place  in  1632,  calls  Ilughli  an  island.  The  fort  is  said  to 
have  been  betrayed  by  a  Portuguese  half-caste  named  DeMello.  {Calcutta 
Remw,  Volume  V,  1846.  "The  Portuguese  in  North  India.")  The 
Musalman  accounts  do  not  mention  any  betrayal. 

Since  1632  the  Portuguese  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  a  history  in 
IIughlL  They  never  subsequently  asserted  any  claim  to  independence,  and 
their  descendants  seem  to  have  quietly  sunk  into  the  position  of  subjects,  first 
of  the  Nawab  of  Bengal,  afterwards  of  the  English,  difEering  little,  if  at  all, 
from  ordinary  natives.  So  early  as  1676  we  find  Mr.  Clavell,  in  his  account 
of  the  trade  of  Hughli,  quoted  in  Chapter  II  of  the  Ilughli  Medical  Gazet- 
teer, saying  that  the  Portuguese  have  no  trade,  and,  though  numerous,  make 
a  living  chiefly  as  sepoys  in  the  service  of  the  Mogul  Governor.  Later  we 
find  them  serving  as  sepoys  under  the  English. 

The  Portuguese  never  had  any  regular  settlement  further  inland  than 
Hughli,  but  they  had  numerous  small  posts,  which  were  practically  little  better 
than  nests  of  pirates,  all  over  the  Sundarbans.  The  remains  of  one  very 
fine  station,  with  a  large  church,  two-story  masonry  houses,  and  masonry 
bridges,  may  still  be  seen  at  Sibpur,  in  Bakirganj  district,  some  seven  miles 
south  of  Bakirganj  police-station,  and  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Barisal. 
Tarda,  where  Tolly's  mila  joins  the  Bidhiadhari  river,  some  fifteen  miles 
south-east  of  Alipur,  was  occupied  by  the  Portuguese  at  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  remained  a  flourishing  centre  of  trade  for  over  a 
century  before  Calcutta  existed. 

Captain  Alexander  Hamilton,  whose  book  was  published  in  1744,  but 
describes  Bengal  in  the  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  time  when 
the  author  lived  there,  thus  mentions  Bandel: — 

"  The  Bandel,  at  present,  deals  in  no  sort  of  Commodities,  but  what  are  in  request  at  the  Court  of 
Ydnoi,  and  they  have  a  Church,  where  the  Owners  of  such  Goods  and  Merchandize  are  to  be  met  with, 
and  the  Buyer  may  be  conducted  to  proper  Shops,  where  the  Commodities  may  be  seen  and  felt,  and  a 
Priest  to  bo  Security  for  the  Soundness  of  the  Goods." 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  Bengal  had  settled  down 
peacefully  under  the  rule  of  the  English,  the  settlements  along  the  banks  of  the 
Hughli,  from  Eishra  up  to  Bandel,  were  favourite  holiday  resorts  of  the  Calcutta 
residents,  both  oflBcial  and  non-official.  In  those  days,  before  the  introduction  of 
railways,  it  was  impossible  to  go  far  on  a  short  holiday,  and  the  river-side  towns, 
most  of  which  could  be  reached  in  one  tide  by  boat,  took  the  place  now  occupied 

B 


10  A    BRIEF   HISTORY  OF   THE   HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

by  the  hill  Btations.  Among  these  holiday  resorts  Bandel  was  one  of  the  most 
popular.  In  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  6th  August  1784  an  anonymous  -writer 
published  the  following  rhyming  rhapsody  in  praise  of  Bandel: — 

Come  listen  to  me,  whilst  I  tell,  The  charms  I  found  at  fair  Bandel 

In  pleasing  lines  the  objects  fell,  In  propect  viewed  from  high  Bandel 

There's  Hughli  mounted  on  a  swell  To  improve  the  scenery  round  Bandel 

Here  the  bank  rises,  there's  a  dell,  A  change  peculiar  to  Bandel 

Water  you'll  find  in  many  a  well  That's  clear  and  sweet  about  Bandel 

No  dirty  roads  or  stinking  smell  Will  e'er  offend  you  at  Bandel 

All  bilious  gloom  you'll  soon  diB})eI  By  a  short  sejour  at  Bandel, 

And  nowhere  meet  with  the  pareil  Of  healthy  air  that's  at  Bandel. 

'  Tis  fine  to  hear  the  Padre's  bell  Summon  to  vespers  at  Bandel. 

Would  you  be  known  to  many  a  belle  Whose  beauty  charms  you  at  Bandel, 

Ask who  loves  to  dwell  And  scribble  verses  at  Bandel ; 

Lives  like  a  hermit  in  bis  cell  Scarce  ever  seen  bat  at  Bandel. 

I   thought  to  have   found  there  Madam*  But  the,  alu,  has  left  Bandel. 

PeUe 

Each  other  place  is  hot  aa  bell  When  breexe*  fan  you  at  Bandel. 

I'm  sure  no  argument  can  quell  My  furious  penchant  for  Bandel 

I'll  kick  the  rogue  and  make  him  yell  Who  dares  to  censure  dear  Bandel 

Had  I  ten  houses,  all  I'd  sell  And  live  entirely  at  Bandel. 

Come  lot's  away  there ;  haste  pelmel  Kach  hour's  a  month  at  sweet  Bandel 

Bandel  is  now  a  notoriously  unhealthy  part  of  Hughli,  a  town  which  is  by  no 
means  either  pleasant  or  salubrious  in  the  present  day.  There  are  now  no 
European  residents  at  Bandel. 

The  same  authority,  the  Calcutta  Gazette^  mentions  on  3rd  September 
1799,  that  Sir  Eobert  Chambers,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  had  gone  "to 
spend  the  vacation  at  the  pleasant  and  healthy  settlement  of  Bandel. "  The 
services  of  Bandel  Church  seem  to  have  attracted  the.Calcutta  sight-seer  at  an  early 
date,  and  the  following  advertisement,  in  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  15th  November 
1804,  shows  that,  even  in  those  days, '  Arry  was  abroad : — 

"Caution Bandel,  10th  November  1804.     Every  person  present  at  Bandel  Church   while  divine 

service  is  performing  from  the  15th  to  the  24th  current,  are  requested  to  behave  with  every  due 
respect  as  in  their  own  churches;  on  the  contrary,  they  shall  be  compelled  to  quit  the  temple 
immediately,  without  attending  the  quality  of  person." 

Bandel  Church  stands  between  the  river  Hughli  and  the  Hughli- Tribeni  road, 
which  at  this  place  coincides  with  the  Grand  Trunk  road  for  a  distance  of  about 
half  a  mile.  The  church  is  about  one  mile  north  of  the  Hughli  bazar,  it  stands 
immediately  on  the  east  of  the  road,  and  on  the  north  bank  of  Bandel  khal, 
with  the  buildings  of  the  monastery  between  it  and  the  river.  To  reach  the 
church,  one  has  to  go  along  the  southern  and  eastern  sides  of  the  buildings,  and 
enter  through  the  gate  of  the  monastery  on  the  river  side  of  the  block.  Over  this 
gate  is  a  stone,  with  the  date  1599,  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  original 
church,  which  was  destroyed  during  the  siege  of  Huglili  in  1632.     The   stone 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THF.    HUOHL1    DIRTRIOT.  ll 


with  tho  date  was  Bubsequently  found,  and  was  ntilized  when  the  now  chnrcli 
and  monastery  were  oreotod  by  Gomoz  de  Soto,  in  1G60.  Thin  gontleman  is 
said  to  bo  buried  in  the  precincts.  The  church  stands  north  and  south,  tho 
altar,  liko  that  of  the  Dutch  church,  being  at  the  north  end.  At  the  western 
comer  of  the  southern  end  is  a  low  tower,  south  of  which  is  a  pointed  arch, 
in  a  niche  under  this  arch  is  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  "  Our 
Lady  of  Happy  Voyage."    Above  the  statue  is  the  following  inscription : — 

"The  old  tower  was  deatroyod  by  earthqaako  on  12th  June  1897.  Tho  new  tower  wm 
built  by  Rev.  P.  M.  <la  Sllva,  Prior  of  the  Bandel  Church,  by  subscriptionB  raisod  by  him, 
Novomber  1897." 

Beneath  the  statue  is  a  model  of  a  full-rigged  ship.  In  the  small 
enclosure,  south  of  the  church,  stands  the  mast  of  an  old  Portuguese  ship, 
said  to  have  been  set  up  in  1655,  as  a  thank-ofEering  for  escape  from 
a  storm,  by  the  captain  of  a  ship,  the  name  of  which  has  not  been 
preserved. 

The  monastery  used  to  be  occupied  by  Augustinian  friars,  the  last  of 
whom  died  in  18G9.  There  is  now  in  chai'ge  only  a  Parish  Priest,  who, 
however,  still  retains  the  title  of  Prior.  The  church  is  under  the  Bishop  of 
Meliapur,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Goa. 

Inside  the  Church  there  are  several  old  tombstones  and  memorial  tablets, 
three  of  which  are  worthy  of  quotation.  In  the  oldest,  the  Portuguese  name 
da  Silva  is  curiously  translated  into  Latin  as  "ex  Sylva": — 

(t)  "Hie  jacet  Elizabeth  ex  Sylva,  in  Mailapuretui  Civilate  Divi  Thomata  orta,  et  ex 
honettis  Lutitanisque  patrihua  oriunda,  qtiee  lahore  et  infirmitate  oppresaa,  ex  bello 
Anglia  amauria*  illato,  ohiit  loco  Chinaura  die  21  Novemhrit  anno  Chriatiano  1756 
atoHa  a%4B  22  anmim  pertingena — Sequieacat  in  pace. " 

(it)     "The  laat  Prior  of  the  monaetery.  Father  Joseph  Gomez.     " Eujaa  conventua  prior  et 

BomantB   Catholicce  in  Bengala  miaaionia  circiter  24  annoa  avperior. " 
{Hi)     "Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bourrillon,  died  2  Mar^h  1887,  aged  100  years." 

In  November  of  each  year  the  Novena  festival  of  our  Lady  of  Happy 
Voyage  is  celebrated  at  this  church,  many  people  coming  from  Calcutta  to 
attend  it. 

Bandel  is  now  known  chiefly  for  its  cream  cheese. 

3.  The  English,  early  settleinent,  and  hiatory  of  Eughli,  up  to  l760,~T\ie 
first  dawn  of  the  East  India  Company  appears  in  a  memorial  presented  by  certain 
Englidh  merchants  to  the  Lords  in  Council  in  October  1589,  asking  for  the 
Uueen's  license  for  three  ships  to  trade  with  the  East  Indies.     The  desired  license 


•./w*?*^*'  ^"^'^"'*  *''•-«**«  0'  7th  December  1797  states  that  Mrs.  Louisa  Souris  died  recently  at  Bandel  In  her 


12  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF    THE    HUGHLI    DISITITCT. 

was  granted,  and  in  1591  Captain  Raymond  sailed  for  India  with  three  ships,  tke 
Boyal  Merchant f  the  Susan,  and  the  Edward.  The  "Association  of  Merchant 
Adventurers"  was  formed  in  1599,  and  elected  Directors  on  23rd  September 
1600.  Queen  Elizabeth  gave  a  charter  to  this  Association,  under  the  name  of  the 
"London  East  India  Company,"  on  Slst  December  1600.  Only  four  years  later 
we  hear  of  the  first  "  Interloper,"  Sir  Edward  Michelborne,  who  sailed  under  a 
license  from  James  I,  in  1604.  On  Slst  May  1609,  King  James  granted  a 
charter  to  the  Company.  The  first  port  at  which  the  English  began  to  trade  in 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth,  and  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  Surat. 
It  was  from  Surat  that  Sir  Thomas  Roe,  who  sailed  in  March  1615  as  Ambassador 
from  James  I  to  Jahangir,  started  on  his  journey  up-country.  He  got  back  to 
England  in  1619. 

On  12th  December  1635  a  license  to  trade  with  the  East  was  granted  to 
Sir  William  Courten,  and  a  second  grant  was  issued  to  "  Courten's  Association  " 
in  June  1637.  Their  fleet  was  commanded  by  Captain  "Weddel,  In  1649 
Courten's  Association  became  the  "Assada  Merchants,"  trading  to  Africa  and 
India,  though  Courten's  license  had  been  revoked  in  1639.  In  1654  the  Assada 
Merchants  partly  united  with  the  East  India  Company  as  the  "Merchant 
Adventurers,"  and  in  1657-58  the  amalgamation  became  complete.  The  United 
Company  got  a  fresh  license  from  Charles  II  on  3rd  April  1661.  This  Company 
remained  unopposed  till  1698.  On  the  3rd  September  of  that  year  a  license  was 
granted  to  a  new  Company,  under  the  name  of  "  The  English  Company  trading  to 
the  East  Indies,"  the  old  Company  being  called  "  The  London  Company,"  and 
receiving  notice  that  their  charter  would  come  to  an  end  on  29th  September 
1701.  The  new  Company  ordered  the  establishment  of  factories  at  Hughli, 
Kasimbazar,  Balasore,  Dakka,  and  Malda,  in  Bengal;  Hughli  being  their 
head-quarters  in  that  province.  The  Presidents  of  their  settlements  were  also 
appointed  King's  Consuls  for  their  various  stations.  Subsequently,  by  a  charter 
of  11th  April  1700,  the  old  Company's  permission  to  trade  was  extended  until  the 
Government  should  have  paid  off  a  sum  of  £2,000,000,  which  the  Company  had 
advanced.  And  finally,  on  27th  April  1702,  the  two  Companies  amalgamated 
under  the  name  of  "  The  United  Company  of  Merchants  of  England  trading  to 
the  East  Indies." 

In  giving  the  above  short  summary  of  the  history  of  the  East  India  Company, 
which  is  chiefly  taken  from  Bruce's  "  Annals  of  the  East  India  Company,"  we 
have  far  overshot  the  original  settlement  at  Hughli.  For  the  early  history  of  this 
settlement  I  am  indebted  chiefly  to  Wilson's  "  Early  Annals  of  the  English 
in  Bengal ;  "  partly  to  "  Hedges*  Diary,"  as  edited  for  the  Hakluyt  Society  by 
Colonel  Yule,  and  to  Stewart's  "History  of  Bengal." 

After  the  capture  of  the  Portuguese  Fort  at  Hughli  by  the  Musalman 
Governor,  Kasim  Khan,  in  1632,  Hughli  was  made  the  Royal  Port  of  Bengal. 
AU  public  offices  and  officers  were  removed  to    Hughli  from  Satgaon,  which 


A    HR1EP    HISl'ORT  OF   THE    HVOULI    DISTRICT.  13 

rapidly  fell  into  decay.  It  was  abont  this  time  that  tbd  English  first  visited 
Bengal.  In  March  1633  John  Norris,  the  East  India  Company's  Agent  at 
Masulipatam,  sent  a  party  of  eight,  of  whom  Ralph  Cartwright  was  Chief,  to 
Orissa,  wlioro  they  landed  at  Harishpur  and  travelled  to  Cuttack.  One  of  the 
party  was  William  Bruton,  quarter-master  of  the  Hopctcell  East  Indiaman, 
wlio  -vsTote  an  account  of  their  journey.  The  Nawab  or  Viceroy  of  Orissa,  Agha 
Muhamad  Zaman,  gave  permission  to  the  EngUsh  to  trade  in  his  province. 
Under  this  permission  factories  were  established  in  1633  at  Balasore  and 
Hariharapur. 

In  1638  the  Englifih  received  d^farman^  permitting  them  to  trade  in  Bengal, 
from  the  Emperor  Shah  Jahan.  It  is  this  fartmn  which  is  usually  associated  with 
the  name  of  Surgeon  Gabriel  Boughton.  Boughton,  however,  was  sent  from 
Siirat  to  Agra  in  1645.  He  could  not  have  had  anything  to  do  with  the  grant 
of  the  Emperor's  farrnan  seven  years  before.  From  Agfa  Boughton  went  to 
Rajmahol,  with  the  Emperor's  son,  Shah  Shuja,  Viceroy  of  Bengal.  He  was  in 
high  favour  at  the  Court  of  Rajmahal  for  his  professional  skill.  Whether  he  ever 
i-eally  did  anything  for  the  Company  is  doubtful.  Certainly  they  had  high 
hopes  of  Court  favour,  through  Boughton's  influence.  The  last  mention  of 
Boughton  as  a  living  person  is  in  a  letter  from  the  Council  at  Masulipatam, 
dated  25th  February  1650  (old  style,  i.e.,  1651  new  style)^  to  Mr.  James 
Biidgman,  Chief  at  Balasore,  in  which  they  direct  that  some  presents  should  be 
sent  to  him  at  Rajmahal.  In  1657  he  was  dead,  and  his  widow  had  married 
AVilliam  Pitts,  a  servant  of  the  Company,  stationed  at  Hughli.  She  was  then 
making  claims  on  the  Company  on  account  of  Boughton's  services.  (Hedges* 
Diary,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  188.)  Bruce  states  (Annals  of  the  East  India  Company, 
Vol.  I,  p.  463)  that  Shah  Jahan  gave  the  English  a.  farrnan  (nishan)  in  1651-52. 
The  original  document  was  lost  by  Mr.  Waldeg^ave  in  a  journey  overland 
from  Bengal  to  Madias.  This  was  known  in  England  by  31st  December 
1757.  A  copy  of  the  nishan  is  dated  1656,  but  if  it  was  only  granted  in  1656, 
the  loss,  and  knowledge  of  the  loss  in  England,  seems  very  quick.  On  the 
whole  it  seems  probable  that  this  farrnan  was  granted  through  Boughton's 
influence.  The  legend  of  the  grant  to  Boughton  was  current  within  twenty 
years    of  his  death.     (Hedges'  Diary,  Vol.  HI,   p.  183.) 

Fort  St.  George  was  founded  in  1640,  at  Madraspatam,  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Day,  factor  of  Masulipatam.  The  same  Mr.  Day  went  from  Masulipatam  to 
Balasore  in  1642,  and  recommended  that  a  permanent  factory  should  be  set  up 
there.  In  1650  Captain  John  Brookhaven,  of  the  Lyoness,  was  sent  to  Bengal 
to  establish  a  factory  at  Hughli.  From  Balasore  James  Bridgman  was  sent  to 
Hughli  as  Chief,  with  a  Mr.  Stephens  as  second,  and  two  assistants,  WiUiam  Blake 
and  Taylor ;  the  two  latter  received  £5  a  year  each.  Their  orders  were  to  trade 
especially  in  Peter  (saltpetre),  sugar,  and  silk.  Bridgman  left  the  Company's 
service  in  1653,  Stephens  died  at  Kasimbazar  in  1654,  Blake  deserted. 


14  A    BRIEF    HISTORY    OF    THE    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 

Oolonel  Tule,  in  Hedges*  Diary,  Vol.  m,  pp.  194-95,   gives  the  dates  of 
the  establishment  of  the  Company's  factories  in  Bengal  as  follows: — 

Balasore,  January  1651  (occasionally  occupied  since  1642). 

Hughli,  January  1651. 

Kasimbazar,  1659  (occasionally  occupied  since  1653). 

Patna,  1659  (an  attempt  made  via  Agra,  in  1620). 

Dakka,   1668. 

Malda,  1676. 
In  1657  the  Madras  Council  determined  to  withdraw  altogether  from 
Bengal.  This  resolution,  fortunately,  was  never  carried  out.  In  1658  the 
Hughli  Council  consisted  of  George  Gawton,  Chief,  on  £100  a  year;  the 
second  place,  at  first  left  vacant,  was  subsequently  fiUed  by  Jonathan  Trevisa, 
the  other  members  were  Mathias  Haktead,  William  Ragdale,  and  Thomas 
Davies.  Agents  wore  also  appointed  for  Balasore  (Hopkins) ;  Kasimbay^ar 
(Kenn);  and  Patna  (Chamberlain);  each  with  three  assistants,  among  whom 
was  Job   Charnock,  who  was  appointed  fourth  at  Kasimbazar. 

In  1658  Aurangzeb  deposed  and  succeeded  his  father.  Shah  Jahan.  Shah 
Shuja,  Viceroy  of  Bengal,  made  a  bid  for  the  throne,  was  defeated,  fled  to 
Arakan,  and  was  there  murdered.  This  Prince  has  left  his  name  here  and 
there  in  Bengal.  Shah  Shuja's  htind^  an  embankment  or  fortification  running 
from  the  Monghyr  hills  to  the  Ganges,  may  still  be  seen,  where  the  East 
Indian  Eailway  Loop  line  crosses  it,  three  or  four  miles  west  of  Kajra  station. 
And  the  remains  of  a  mud  fort,  Shujabad,  which  he  constructed  and  occupied 
for  some  time  during  his  flight,  may  still  be  traced,  some  seven  or  eight  miles 
west  of  Barisal.  After  Shah  Shuja's  defeat  and  flight,  Mir  Jumla  was 
appointed  by  Aurangzeb  as  Viceroy  of  Bengal.  In  1658,  the  Governor  of 
Hughli,  for  the  Viceroy,  insisted  on  the  English  making  an  annual  peahkmh,  or 
payment,  of  Rs.  3,000,  in  lieu  of  customs.  The  English  disputed  their 
liability.  So  the  Viceroy,  Mir  Jumla,  seized  at  Hajmahal  all  the  English 
boats,  coming  down  from  Patna,  laden  with  saltpetre.  Jonathan  Trevisa,  who 
had  succeeded  Gawton  as  Chief  at  Hughli  in  September  1658,  retaliated  by 
seizing  a  native  vessel,  in  1661.  Mir  Jumla  threatened  to  destroy  the 
out-agencies,  to  seize  the  English  settlement  at  Hughli,  and  to  expel  them 
from  the  country.  Under  orders  from  Madras,  Trevisa  apologized,  and 
restored  the  boat  he  had  taken.  He  was  forgiven,  but  the  payment  of 
Rs.  3,000  a  year  was  enforced.  Mir  Jumla  died  at  Dakka  on  30th  March 
1663,  and  was  succeeded  by  Shaista  Khan.  In  the  same  year,  Trevisa  was 
superseded  by  "William  Blake,  his  former  assistant,  who  was  directed  to  call  to 
account  all  the  Company's  servants  in  Bengal,  "for  aU  actions  which  hath 
passed  since  their  being  in  the  Bay." 

The  new  charter,  given  by  Charles  II  in  1661,   granted  to  the  Company 
the    whole    trade  with  the  East  Indies  for  ever,  and  ordered  that  no  person 


A    BRIEF   HISTORY  OP  TKR    IIUGHLl    DISTRICT.  l^> 


should  trado  thither  without  their  license.  They  were  empowered  to  seire 
unlicensed  persons,  to  erect  fortifications,  to  raise  troops,  and  to  make  war 
upon  non-Christians.  Tho  King  also  granted  to  the  Governors  and  Councils 
of  the  eeveral  settlemeuta  authority  "to  judge  all  persons  helonging  to  the  said 
(Govern or  or  Company,  or  that  should  live  under  them,  in  all  causes,  whetlier 
civil  or  criminal,  according  Jo  tlie  laws  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  execute 
jadgment  accordingly."  In  effect,  this  charter  for  the  first  time  introduced 
British  law  into  India. 

Between  1GC2  and  1GG7  the  Company  proposed  that  Balasore  should  be 
abandoned,  and  that  all  English  vessels  should  go  direct  to  Huglili.  In  16G2 
Captain  Elliot  had  offered  to  take  his  ship  up  to  Ilughli,  but  was  forbidden  to 
do  so  by  Agent  Trevisa,  who  considered  the  risk  too  great.  For  many  years 
subsequently  no  Captain  was  willing  to  take  the  risk  of  sailing  his  vessel  up 
an  uusurveyed  river;  but  all  ships  from  England  terminated  their  voyage  at 
Balasore,  where  their  cargoes  were  transhipped  into  smaller  vessels,  loading  for 
Europe  again  in  the  same  way.  In  1667  the  Court  built  a  small  vessel, 
called  the  Diligence,  for  survey  purposes.  In  1668  they  ordered  all  Commanders 
to  take  soundings  and  make  surveys;  and  sent  out  six  apprentices  to  learn  to 
pilot  ships  up  the  river.  From  these  beginnings  sprang  the  Hughli  pilot 
service.  The  first  of  these  apprentices,  George  Herron,  drew  up  the  first 
printed  instructions  for  piloting  ships  up  the  river,  and  also  the  earliest  chart 
of  any  accuracy.  The  first  ship  which  actually  sailed  up  to  Hughli  was  the 
Fakoti,  Captain  Stafford,  in  1679. 

Streynsham  Master  was  sent  out  from  England  to  reorganize  the  Bengal 
settlements.  This  officer  was  born  on  28th  October  1640,  proceeded  to  India  in 
April  1656,  and  joined  the  Surat  Factory.  In  1675  he  was  appointed  Governor 
of  Madras,  and  reached  Fort  St.  George  on  7th  July  1676,  and  immediately 
went  on  to  Bengal,  reaching  Balasore  at  the  end  of  August,  Hughli  on  13th 
September,  and  Murshidabad  on  25th  September  1676.  There  were  then  three 
chief  factories  in  Bengal — at  Balasore,  Hughli,  and  Kasimbazar,  with  smaller 
ones  at  Patna,  Singhia  in  Saran,  and  Dakka.  Master  decided  that  Hughli 
should  be  the  chief  factory  in  Bengal.  His  letter  to  the  Court  of  Directors, 
conveying  this  decision,  is  dated  1st  November  1675  (old  style,  i.e.,  really 
1676),  and  runs  as  follows : — 

"The  Coancell  having  taken  into  Consideration  and  debate  which  of  tho  places,  Huohlt  or 
Ballasobb,  might  be  most  proper  and  convenient  for  the  residence  of  the  Chiefe  and  Councvll 
in  the  Bat,  Did  resolve  and  conclude  that  Hugly  was  the  most  fitting  i>lace,  notwithstanding 
the  Europe  ships  doe  nnloade  and  take  in  their  ladeing  in  Ballasobe  roade,  HuoLT  being  the 
Key  or  Scale  of  Bexoala,  where  all  goods  pass  in  and  out  to  and  from  all  parts,  and  being  near 
lilt  cunter  of  the  Company's  business  is  more  commodious  for  receiveing  of  advices  from  and 
issueing   of   orders  to,   all  subordinate   ffactoryes. 

"  Wherefore  it  is  thought  convenient  that  the  Chiefe  and  Conncell  of  tho  Bai  doo  reside  at 
UcoLY,  and  upon  t^  dispatch  of  the  Europe  ships,  the  Chiefe  and  the  CouncelJ,  or  sonic  of  th«ui 


16  A   BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

(as  ihall  be  thought  Convenient)  doe  yearly  goe  downe  to  Balabobe  soe  well  to  expedite  the  dispatch 
of  the  ships  as  to  make  inspection  into  the  affaires  of  Ballasobe  ffactory.  And  the  Councill  did 
likewise  Conclude  thut  it  was  requisite  a  like  inspection  should  be  yearly  made  into  the  affaires  in 
the  ffactory  at  Cassambazae  the  Hon'''*  Company's  principall  concernes  of  sales  and  investments 
in  the  Bay  lyeing  in  these  two  places,  and  the  expence  of  such  visitation  will  be  very  small,  by 
reason  of  conveniency  of  travelling  in  these  countreys  by  land  or  water.  "  (Hedges'  Diary,  Vol.  II, 
p.  236). 

Clavell  was  then  Chief  of  Bengal,  but  died  ill  1677,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Matthias  Vincent.  Master  was  superseded  by  Griff ord  at  Madras  on  3rd  July 
1681.  He  was  knighted  by  King  William  III  on  14th  December  1698,  and 
died  on  28th  April  1724.  There  were  then  no  decorations  or  orders  for  Indian 
officials,  but  the  honour  of  knighthood  seems  to  have  been  pretty  freely 
bestowed  on  the  Company's  servants. 

About  this  time  the  town  of  Hughli  extended  for  about  two  miles  along 
the  west  bank  of  the  Hughli  river,  between  Chinsura  on  the  south,  and 
Bandel  on  the  north.  The  Mogul  Fort  stood  on  the  river  bank,  and  occupied 
the  space  from  about  where  the  Jubilee  Bridge  now  crosses  the  river,  to  the 
kJml  north  of  the  old  courts,  which  formed  ita  northern  moat.  A  little  south 
of  the  Mogul  Fort,  for  the  space  of  300  yards,  a  small  indentation  in  the  river 
bank  gave  rise  to  an  eddy,  or  whirlpool,  whence  the  Bengalis  called  the  place 
Oolg/kitj  or  the  whiilpooL  On  this  indentation  the  English  factory  stood. 
In  1076  Master  gave  orders  for  the  erection  of  a  better  factory.  (It  was 
probably  through  confusion  between  the  two  names,  Golghat  and  Kalikata, 
that  the  theory  arose  that  the  name  Calcutta  is  a  corruption  of  Golgotha,  or 
the  place  of  a  skull,  and  that  this  name  was  given  to  the  English  capital  on 
account  of  its  great  mortality.  Early  French  writers  sometimes  use  the  name 
Golgothe  for  Calcutta.) 

At  this  time  the  Governing  body  at  Hughli  consisted  of  four  members 

(1)  the  Agent,  who  was  Chief  of  all  the  factories  in  the  Bay  ;  (2)  the  Accountant ; 
(3)  the  Store-keeper  ;  and  (4)  the  Purser  Marine.  Next  in  order  of  rank  came 
the  Secretary.  The  Chaplain,  when  there  was  one,  ranked  third,  next  after 
the  Accountant,  and  the  Surgeon  sixth,  after  the  Purser  Marine.  Eighth  in 
order  was  the  Steward.  Then  came  the  general  body  of  merchants,  factors, 
writers,  and  apprentices.  The  Agent  originally  got  £100  a  year,  subsequently 
raised  to  £200,  plus  £100  gratuity.  The  Chaplain  got  £100,  the  Surgeon 
£36,   factors  £20   to   £40,  "Writers  only  £10  yearly. 

In  1677  the  Company  for  the  first  time  appointed  a  Chaplain  for  the 
settlements  in  the  Bay.  The  Revd.  John  Evans,  Curate  of  Thistleworth,  now 
Isleworth,  was  chosen  for  the  post,  and  arrived  at  Hughli  in  1678.  At  this 
time  there  appears  to  have  been  a  chapel  at  Hughli.  Mi-.  Evans  remained 
at  Hughli  till  1689,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Madras.  In  1692  he  was 
dismissed,  having  attended  more  to  his  private  trading  concerns  than  to  his 
spiritual  duties.     He  aftei-wards  became  a    D.D.,  and    in   1701   was  appointed 


A   BRIBF   HISTORY  OF  THR   HtJOHLl    DWTRICT.  17 


Lord  Bishop  of  Bangor.  The  only  other  chaplain  stationed  at  Hughli  in  the 
seventeenth  century  was  Mr.  Thomas  Clark,  who  was  sent  out  by  the  new 
Company  in  1C98,  when  they  occupied  Hughli,  but  died  within  two  months 
of  his  arrival. 

In  1G82  the  Company  made  the  Bengal  settlements  independent  of  MadraSt 
and  appointed  as  the  first  independent  Governor  William  Hedges,  a  membsr 
of  the  Court  of  Directors  at  home,  lie  sailed  on  28th  January  1682,  and 
reached  Hughli  on  24th  July.  He  only  held  office  for  two  years,  being 
superseded  on  30th  August  1G84  by  George  Gilford,  the  Governor  of  Madras, 
Bengal  being  again  made  subordinate  to  Madras,  and  John  Beard,  the  third 
in  Council,  succeeding  Hedges  as  Governor  of  Bengal.  Hedges  was  born 
at  Coole,  in  County  Cork,  on  2l8t  October  1(332.  Ho  was  a  feeble  Governor, 
weak  and  suspicious,  and  seems  to  have  spent  most  of  his  time  in  quarrelling 
with  Job  Chamock,  who  was  not  only  a  man  of  much  more  force  of  character 
than  himself,  but  also  appears  to  have  been  the  only  servant  of  the  Company 
in  India  who  was  ever  trusted  by  the  Coui-t  of  Directors  at  home  in  this 
century.  Hedges  suggested  building  a  fort  on  Sagar  Island.  Ho  also  did 
one  great  service  to  the  Company,  in  convincing  them  that  they  "  must 
trust  to  their  hands  to  keep  their  heads,"  i.e.y  that  they  must  fortify  their 
settlements,  and  not  rely  on  the  friendship  or  support  of  the  Mogul  Govern- 
ment. He  remained  at  Hughli  until  Christmas  1684,  when  he  sailed  in  the 
Recovery  for  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  came  home  overland.  His  first  wife 
died  in  child-birth  at  Hughli  on  6th  July  1683.  After  his  return  home,  he 
was  knighted  by  James  11  on  6th  March  1688.  He  died  in  1701.  He  left 
a  most  interesting  diary,  which  came  to  light  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  was  edited  for  the  Hakluyt  Society  by  Colonel  Yule  in 
1887—89. 

Job  Charnock,  the  greatest  of  the  Company's  servants  in  the  seventeenth 
century  in  Bengal,  came  out  to  India  in  1655  or  1656,  and  never  saw  his 
native  country  again.  In  1658  he  was  appointed  fourth  in  Council  at  Kasim- 
bazar.  In  1664  he  became  Chief  at  Patna,  and  remained  there  tUl  1680,  when 
he  was  made  Chief  at  Kasimbazar,  and  second  in  Council  in  the  Bay,  with  the 
right  of  succession  to  Vincent,  the  Chief.  He  was,  however,  twice  superseded — 
first  by  Hedges,  and  secondly  by  Beard.  In  1685  he  was  almost  at  opon 
war  with  the  Nawab  at  Kasimbazar,  the  factory  being  watched  to  prevent 
his  escape.  He  did,  however,  escape  in  April  1686,  and  reached  Huglili 
safely.  There  he  took  over  the  command.  Beard  having  in  the  meantime 
died  . 

In  1686  occurred  the  first  serious  quarrel  between  the  English  settlers  in 
Bengal  and  the  Mogul  Government,  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  which  was 
finally  ended,  seventy-one  years  later,  at  Palasi  (Plassey).  In  that  year,  1686, 
the  Company  sent  out  a  fleet  of  six  ships,  each  with  one  company  of  soldiers 


18  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE   HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 

on  board ;  but  only  three  reached  India — the  Beaufort^  Captain  John  Nicholson, 
70  guns,  300  men ;  the  Nathaniel^  Captain  John  Mason,  50  guns,  150  men ; 
and  the  Rochester ,  65  gims.  Nicholson  commanded  the  whole.  Chamock  was 
appointed  Colonel  of  the  troops.  The  ships  reached  Bengal  late  in  1686.  The 
total  number  of  the  Company's  troops  at  Hughli  and  Chandarnagar,  including 
these  reinforcements,  was  under  400,  English  and  Portuguese.  The  Nawab  of 
Bengal  sent  3,000  foot  and  300  horse  to  Hughli.  When  they  arrived,  the 
Governor  of  Hughli,  Abdul  Gani,  set  up  a  battery  of  eleven  gims  to  command 
th,e  English  shipping  in  the  "hole"  or  harbour,  and  forbade  the  English  sol- 
diers to  buy  victuals  in  the  market.  On  28th  October  1686,  three  English 
soldiers,  going  into  the  market  to  buy  food,  in  contravention  of  the  above 
order,  were  not  only  refused  food,  but  were  set  upon,  beaten,  and  taken 
prisoners  to  the  Governor's  house.  A  company  of  soldiers,  under  Captain 
Leslie,  was  sent  out  to  rescue  them,  but  failed,  the  enemy,  when  beaten  back, 
setting  fire  to  the  thatched  huts  round  the  English  factory,  and  firing  on  the 
English  ships  in  the  harbour.  The  detachment  from  Chandarnagar  then  came 
up,  under  Captain  Arbuthnot,  took  the  battery,  and  also  the  house  of  the 
Governor,  who  fled  in  a  boat.  The  total  English  loss  was  two  killed,  and 
several  woimdod;  the  enemy  lost  60  killed  and  many  wounded.  The  Governor 
then,  through  the  Dutch,  asked  for  an  armistice,  to  which  Charnock  agreed.  On 
20th  December  1686  Chamock  withdrew  from  Hughli,  taking  with  him  all  the 
effects  of  the  English,  and  their  saltpetre,  to  Sutanuti.  On  11th  February  1687 
the  English  took  the  Nawab's  forts  at  Thana,  where  the  Botanical  Gardens  now 
are,  and  demolished  them,  after  fruitless  negotiations  with  Shaista  Khan,  the 
Governor  of  Bengal.  They  then  withdrew  to  Balasore,  and  seized  Hijli,  which 
the  Commandant,  Malik  Kasim,  deserted  without  resistance.  In  May,  Abdul 
Samad,  the  Nawab's  General,  arrived  at  Hijli,  and  attacked  the  English,  at  first 
with  much  success,  the  place  being  very  malarious,  and  scarcely  100  of  the 
English  being  alive  and  fit  for  duty.  On  Ist  June  1687  a  reinforcement  of 
70  men,  \mder  Captain  Denham,  arrived  from  Europe.  Abdul  Samad  offorod 
to  treat,  and  on  10th  June  the  English  evacuated  Hijli,  taking  away  all  their 
stores  and  property,  and  went  to  Ulubaria.  In  September  1687  the  Nawab, 
Shaista  Khan,  offered  to  let  the  English  return  to  Hughli,  and  they  went 
to  Sutanuti  for  the  second  time.  Meanwhile  the  Directors  sent  out  Captain 
Heath  of  the  Defence^  with  a  fleet  of  10  or  11  ships,  to  conduct  the 
operations  against  the  Nawab.  Charnock  and  the  EngUsh  remained  at 
Sutanuti  for  over  twelve  months,  tiU  orders  were  received  from  the  Nawab, 
prohibiting  them  from  building  at  Sutanuti,  demanding  compensation  for  the 
native  losses  in  the  fighting,  and  ordering  them  to  return  to  Hughli.  Captain 
Heath  arrived  on  20th  September  1688.  By  this  time  Shaista  Khan  had  left 
Bengal,  and  had  been  succeeded  by  Bahadur  Khan.  On  8th  November  1688 
Heath  withdrew  all  the  English  from  Sutanuti  to  Balasore,  where  he  attacked 


A    HRIKK    HISTORY  OF  THB    HUOHLl    DISTRICT.  19 

and  saokod  tlio  nativo  town.  Hoath  thenco  wont  to  Chatgam  (Ohittagong), 
but,  fiudiug  tho  plaoo  too  strong,  did  not  attack  it,  and  finally,  on  17th 
February  1G89,  withdrew  all  tho  Euglisli  with  him  from  Bengal  to  Madras, 
the  English  in  tho  factories  up-oouutry  being  left  to  their  fate.  Thoy  wore, 
however,  merely  taken  prisoners,  not  killed.  In  1689  Baliadur  Khan  wag 
BUocooded  by  Ibrahim  Khan,  an  old  Patna  friend  of  Chamock's,  who  released 
all  his  prisoners,  and,  under  orders  from  Aurangzeb,  invited  Chamock  and 
the  English  to  return  to  Bengal.  This  they  did,  reaching  Sutanuti  for  the 
third  time  on  Sunday,  24th  August  1G90,  at  noon.  This  date  may  bo  taken 
as  that  of  the  foundation  of  Calcutta.  Two  men,  Stanley  and  Mackrith,  were 
sent  forward  to  reoocupy  Hughli,  but  were  again  withdrawn  to  Calcutta  a 
few  days  later.  On  10th  February  1G91  an  imperial  order  vms  issued,  under 
tho  seal  of  Asad  Khan,  allowing  tho  English  to  "  contentedly  continue  their 
trade"  in  Bengal,  on  payment  of  Es.  3,000  yearly  in  lieu  of  all  duos. 

Chamock's  selection  of  Calcutta,  in  preference  to  Hughli,  as  tho  chief 
English  settlement,  was  due  to  no  mere  chance,  but  was  deliberately  made,  for 
good  reasons.  The  site  chosen  was  defended  from  Mahratta  incursions  from  the 
west  by  the  Hughli  river.  On  the  east  the  Salt  Lakes,  which  then  reached  to 
where  the  Circular  Road  now  runs,  formed  an  efficient  protection  against  any 
invasion  on  that  side.  South  lay  the  Sundarbans.  It  was  practically  only 
accessible  by  land  from  the  north,  in  which  direction  a  road,  or  rather  path, 
ran  to  Kasimbazar.  It  was  at  a  fair  distance  from  Hughli,  the  chief  Mogul 
settlement  in  Southern  Bengal,  25  miles  by  river;  not  too  far  for  easy  access 
and  intercourse,  not  near  enough  for  a  sudden  sm-prise.  Lastly,  Calcutta  was 
25  miles  nearer  the  mouth  of  the  river  than  Hughli,  and  so  was  easier  of 
access  to  the  Indiamen  which  carried  the  English  trade. 

In  July  1698  Azimash-Shan,  grandson  of  Aurangzeb,  and  Governor  of 
Bengal,  for  the  sum  of  Rs.  16,000,  granted  to  the  English  letters  patent  allow- 
ing them  to  purchase  from  the  existing  holders  the  right  of  renting  the  three 
villages,  Kalikata,  Sutanuti,  and  Gobindpm:.  Both  the  purchase  of  the  zamindari 
of  Calcutta,  and  the  building  of  old  Fort  William,  were  carried  out  by 
Charles  Eyre,  who  completed  five  years'  tenure  of  office  on  1st  February  1699, 
handed  over  charge  to  John  Beard  II,  and  left  for  England.  Ejnre  was 
knighted  on  reaching  England,  Bengal  was  again  made  a  separate  Presidency 
in  1700,  and  Eyre  was  appointed  as  Governor  for  a  second  time,  and  arrived 
on  26th  May  1700.  Considering  the  length  of  the  voyage  in  those  days,  he 
must  have  been  a  very  short  time  in  England.  He  only  remained  in  India 
in  this  second  term  as  Governor,  for  a  few  months,  and  left  for  home  again 
on  7th  January  1701,  again  handing  over  charge  to  John  Beard  the  younger. 

The  three  villages  which  went  to  make  up  the  English  settlement  of 
Calcutta  were  situated  as  follows :  Sutanuti  Rat  (the  Cotton-bale  market)  where 
the  north-western  part  of  the  native  town  of  Calcutta  now  stands,   north  of 


20  A   BRIEF    HISTORY  OF  THE    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 

the  Mint ;  Kalikata  extended  from  the  present  Mint  to  the  Post  OflBce ;  Gobind- 
pur  lay  where  modem  Foi-t  William  now  stands.  Old  Fort  William  was 
built  in  Kalikata,  where  the  Custom  House  now  stands. 

Job  Chamock,  the  founder  of  the  city,  died  in  Calcutta  on  10th  January 
1693.  His  tomb  may  still  be  seen  in  the  north-western  comer  of  the 
grounds  of  St.  John's  Church.  It  is  a  small  hexagonal  building.  His  epitaph 
runs  as  follows: — 

"  D.  O.  M.  Jobua  Charnock  Armig^.  Anglut  et  nuper  in  hoc  Regno  Bengalensi  Dignittim 
Angloru  Agent.  Mortalitatia  sua  exuviat  sub  hoc  marmore  depotuit  ut  in  tpe  beata  returrectionit 
Chriati  Judicis  advenium  obdormirent.  Qui  pottquam  in  solo  non  tuo  peregrinatus  esset  diu 
reveriu*  est  domum  sua  aternitatia  deeimo  die  Januarii  1692." 

The  date  on  the  tomb  is  given  according  to  the  old  style,  which  would 
make  it  1693,  by  our  modem  method  of  computation.  In  the  same  building 
are  stones  with  the  epitaphs  of  Chamock's  two  daughters,  and  of  a  third  lady, 
Mrs.  Cumley;  also  that  of  the  famous  Surgeon  William  Hamilton.  Chamock 
was  succeeded  as  Governor  by  IVancis  Ellis,  but  on  12th  August  1693  Sir 
John  Goldsborough  arrived  at  Calcutta,  from  Madras,  as  Chief  Govemor,  and 
superseded  Ellis  by  Charles  Eyre.     Goldsborough  died  in  November  1693. 

In  carrying  on  the  history  of  Calcutta  for  a  few  years  from  its  foundation 
in  1690,  we  have  rather  got  ahead  of  that  of  Hughli.  After  the  removal  of 
the  Company's  head-quarters  from  Hughli  to  Calcutta  in  1690,  the  former 
station  appears  to  have  been  occupied  by  a  colony  of  interlopers,  the  best 
known  of  whom  was  Thomas  Pitt.  He  is  mentioned  as  interloping  at  Hughli 
in  1675,  1682,  and  again  in  1693.  He  left  Bengal  for  good  in  1693,  but 
returned  to  India  in  1697  as  Govemor  of  Madras,  having  in  the  meantime 
sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  member  for  Old  Sarum.  He  held  this 
Governorship  till  September  1709,  when  he  was  removed,  and  left  for  England 
in  October  of  the  same  year.  Thomas  Pitt  was  bom  in  1653,  and  died  on 
28th  April  1726.  He  imported  from  Madras  to  Europe  the  famous  stone 
known  first  as  the  "Pitt  diamond,"  and  afterwards  as  the  "Regent  diamond." 
His  eldest  son  Robert  became  the  father  of  William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham, 
(1708—1766),  who  was  the  father  of  WiUiam  Pitt,  the  "Great  Commoner" 
(1759 — 1806).  Thomas  Pitt's  second  son,  Colonel  Thomas  Pitt,  became  Baron 
Londonderry  in  1719,  Earl  in  1726;  and  his  daughter  Lucy  married  General 
James  Stanhope,  created  Earl  Stanhope  in  1718. 

In  1696  occurred  Subha  Sinh's  rebellion.  This  leader,  a  samindar  of 
Burdwan,  rebelled,  and  joined  forces  with  Rahim  Khan,  an  Afghan  chief  from 
Orissa.  The  two  advanced  on  Bardwan,  slew  the  Raja,  Krishna  Ram,  in 
action,  and  captured  his  property  and  aU  his  family,  except  one  son,  Jagat 
Rai.  who  escaped  to  Dakka,  and  asked  for  help  from  the  Viceroy  of  Bengal, 
Nawab  Ibrahim  Khan,  who,  however,  did  not  move.  The  rebels  then  took 
the  Mogul  Foi-t  at  Hughli.     The  European  settlements,  eeeing  that  they  must 


A   BRIEF   UI8TURY  OP  TUB    HUQHLI    DISTRICT.  21 

depend  on  tlieniselvee,  raised  bodies  of  troops,  and  asked  permission  to  fortify 
their  factorios.  The  Nawab  in  general  terms  ordered  them  to  defend  them- 
adves.  Under  the  permission  thus  given  were  erected  old  Fort  William  in 
Calcutta,  Fort  Qiistavus  at  Chingura,  and  Fort  Orleans  at  Chandamagar.  Not 
a  vestige  now  remains  of  these  three  forts,  though  little  more  than  200  years 
has  elapeed  since  they  were  built.  Krishna  Ram's  daughter  killed  Subha 
Sinh,  leaving  Hahim  Khan  sole  commander  of  the  rebels.  He  took  successively 
Murshidabad,  Kajmahal,  Malda,  and  the  Thana  forts,  and  by  March  1697  had 
made  himself  master  of  all  Bengal  west  of  the  Qnnges,  except  the  European 
forts.  On  hearing  of  this,  Aurangzeb  recalled  Ibrahim  Khan,  appointing  as 
Viceroy  of  Bengal  Aamash-Shan,  his  grandson,  second  son  of  his  eldest  son, 
Shah  Alam.  Ibrahim  Khan's  son,  Zabardast  Elhan,  was  ordered  to  attack  the 
rebels,  and  in  May  1697  completely  defeated  Rahim  Khan  near  Rajmahal. 
Shortly  after,  Azimash-Shan  came  to  Bardwan,  where  he  remained  for  some 
months,  and  whilo  there  caused  the  northern  suburb  of  Hughli,  north  of 
Bandel,  called  after  him  Shahganj,  to  be  built,  though  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  himself  visited  Hughli. 

In  1698,  as  stated  above,  the  "New  Company"  was  formed  in  opposition 
to  the  Old,  or  "London  Company."  The  New  Company  at  once  sent  Sir 
William  Norris  as  Ambassador  to  Aurangzeb;  he  was  not,  however,  successful 
in  getting  any  special  advantages  for  his  employers.  They  fixed  upon  Hughli, 
abandoned  twelve  years  before  by  the  Old  Company,  as  the  head-quarters  of 
their  settlements  in  Bengal,  and  sent  out,  as  their  first  President  in  Bengal, 
and  Agent  in  the  Bay,  Sir  Edward  Littleton.  The  new  Oovemor  had  been  a 
factor  in  the  service  of  the  Old  Company  fron:  1671  to  25th  January  1682, 
when  he  was  dismissed.  The  New  and  the  Old  Company  amalgamated  in  1702, 
but  the  factory  of  the  former  at  Hughli  was  not  finally  abandoned  till  1704, 
when  the  officers  were  all  withdrawn  to  Calcutta.  The  English  factory  at 
Hughli  appears  to  have  been  more  or  less  kept  up  as  a  place  of  occasional 
resort  from  Calcutta,  but  from  this  date  u^til  they  had  made  themselves 
masters  of  Bengal,  the  English  had  no  permanent  settlement  at  Hughli. 
In  this  year,  1704,  an  officer  named  Mir  Ibrahim  was  the  Fai{idai\  or  Mogul 
Governor,  of  Hughli. 

Aurangzeb  died  on  4th  March  1707,  and  Upper  India  was  at  once 
plimged  into  a  welter  of  bloodshed  by  the  rival  claimants  of  the  crown.  His 
son  Azam  seized  the  throne,  but  his  elder  brother,  Shah  Alam,  coming  down 
from  Kabid,  of  which  province  he  was  Governor,  defeated  and  killed  Azam  at 
the  battle  of  Jaju  on  10th  June  1707.  In  1708  Shah  Alam  defeated  and 
killed  his  other  brother,  Kam  Baksh.  Azimash-Shan,  Governor  of  Bengal, 
who  was  the  second  son  of  Shah  Alam,  went  to  help  his  father,  leaving 
Murshid  Kuli  Khan  as  his  deputy  in  Bengal.  In  1710  Farakh-Siyar,  son  of 
Azimash-Shan,  was  acting  as  Deputy  Governor    of    Bengal. 


22  A    BRIEF    HISTORY    OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

In  1710  2iainudin  Khan,  Lord  High  Steward  of  the  Emperor's  household, 
a  friend  of  the  English,  received  the  appointments  of  Governor  of  Hughli  and 
Admiral  of  the  Bay,  his  Governorship  being  independent  of  that  of  Bengal. 
He  is  usually  called  Zoodee  Elan  in  the  records.  He  reached  Hughli  in 
May  1710,  and  exchanged  visits  with  the  President  and  Council  in  Calcutta. 
In  1711  Murshid  Kuli  Khan  again  appears  as  Deputy  Governor  of  Bengal, 
for  Azimash-Shan,  who  was  still  in  Upper  India,  and  in  fact  never  returned 
to  Bengal,  Murshid  Kuli  Elan  retaining  the  appointment,  first  of  Deputy 
Governor,  then  of  Governor  and  Viceroy,  of  Bengal,  until  his  death  in  1725. 
In  September  1711  Zainudin  Khan  was  superseded  as  Governor  of  Hughli  by 
Wali  Beg,  and  the  Fuujdari  of  Hughli  again  became  subordinate  to  the  Bengal 
Vicoroyalty.  Zainudin,  however,  decKned  to  accept  his  dismissal,  but  remained 
at  or  near  Hughli.  He  raised  a  large  force,  avowed  himself  a  partizan  of 
Azimash-Shan  and  Farakh-Siyar,  and  in  July  1712  was  ready  to  attack  his 
Bucoessor,  Wali  Beg,  who  asked  for  help  from  the  English.  Russell,  the 
Governor  of  Calcutta,  twice  attempted  to  mediate  between  the  parties.  There 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  actual  fighting,  but  the  quarrel  remained 
unsettled  till  April  1713,  when  Zainudin  Khan  informed  the  English  that  he 
had  been  appointed  by  the  now  Emperor,  Farakh-Siyar,  Treasurer  of  the 
Coromandel  Coast,  and  asked  them  to  help  Hirn  to  join  his  new  appointment. 
They  gave  him  Rs.  1,200,  and  lent  him  two  small  barges,  with  which  ho 
departed  for  Patna,  not  the  most  direct  way  from  Hughli  to  the  Coromandel 
Coast. 

Shah  Alam,  alias  Bahadur  Shah,  (Jied  on  17th  February  1712,  and  the 
bloody  contest  for  the  throne  began  over  again.  His  eldest  son,  Jahandar 
Shah,  seized  the  crown,  defeating  the  second  son,  Azimash-Shan,  the  nominal 
Governor  of  Bengal,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Ravi  in  his  flight  from  the 
field,  on  7th  March  1712.  Azimash-Shan's  eldest  son,  Muhamad  Karim,  was 
killed  a  few  days  later.  Jahan  Shah,  the  third,  and  Rafiash  Shan,  the  fourth 
son  of  Shah  Alam,  were  killed  in  action  on  15th  March.  Farakh-Siyar,  the 
second  son  of  Azimash-Shan,  who  was  in  Bengal,  then  struck  for  the  throne 
for  himself.  At  Christmas  1712  he  defeated  Jahandar  Shah  near  Agra,  and 
a  few  days  later  that  prince  and  his  general,  Zulfikar  Khan,  were  killed,  and 
Farakh-Siyar  ascended  the  throne. 

Khafi  Khan,  the  author  of  the  Muntakhabul-lubar,  whose  account  of  the 
capture  of  the  Portuguese  Fort  of  Hughli  in  1632  I  have  already  quoted, 
states  that  Europeans  were  present  at  some  of  the  battles  of  these  civil 
wars.  Describing  the  fighting  between  Kam  Baksh  and  Shah  Alam  in  1708, 
he  says: — 

"Kam  Baksh  and  his  two  sons,  all  desperately  wounded,  were  taken  to  Khuld  Manzil,  and 
placed  near  the  royal  tent.  European  and  Greek  Surgeons  were  appointed  to  attend  them."  (EUiot, 
HUtory  of  India,  Vol.  VII,  p.  407). 


A   BRIEF  HISTORY   OF  THE   HTJOHLI    DISTRICT.  23 

Tho  Qreek  Surgeons  probably  were  native  praotitioners  of  the  Ynnani 
system  of  mediome. 

An  ambassador  from  the  Persian  Court  to  the  Emperor  of  Delhi  reached 
Calcutta  on  30th  August  1712,  romainod  there  till  November  18th,  and  then 
went  to  Ilughli,  whore  ho  stayed  till  April  1713,  when  ho  loft  for  Delhi. 

Fai*akh-Siyar  being  firmly  seated  on  tho  throne,  the  Company  resolved 
to  send  him  an  Embassy,  with  rich  presents.  This  was  the  famous  Embassy 
of  Surman  and  Ilamilton,  during  the  course  of  which  William  Hamilton,  by 
Cluing  the  Emperor  of  a  disorder,  probably  hydrocele,  which  had  prevented 
his  marriage,  obtained  from  him  liberty  of  trade,  duty  free,  in  Bengal,  for 
the  Company.  This  mission  started  for  Delhi  in  April  1714.  Its  members 
were  John  Siuinan,  factor  in  command;  Edward  Stephenson,  factor;  William 
Hamilton,  surgeon;  Hugh  Barker  and  Thomas  Phillips,  writers;  with  an 
Armenian  merchant,  Khwaja  Sarhad,  as  general  adviser.  They  got  back  in 
November  1717,  after  an  absence  of  three  and-a-half  years,  and  were 
received  with  great  pomp  at  Tribeni  by  the  President,  Robert  Hedges,  and 
four  of  the  Covmcil,  Messrs.  Page,  Browne,  Spencer,  and  Collett;  costly 
presents  being  made  to  the  Mogul  officers  of  the  Court  who  had  accompanied 
them.  Hamilton  got  back  to  Calcutta  only  in  time  to  die,  which  he  did  on 
the  9th  December   1717. 

Meanwhile  the  Company's  factory  at  Hughli  seems  to  have  been 
gradually  falling  into  ruin.  In  September  1710  William  Spencer,  one  of 
the  Company's  writers,  was  sent  to  Hughli,  with  orders  to  repair  the 
Company's  house  there,  and  to  remain  in  it  till  further  orders  from  the 
Council.  In  May  1711  Spencer  reports  that  the  house  wiU  fall,  if  not  repaired, 
and  is  ordered  to  repair  it.  In  April  1713  Mr.  Eyre  and  Gunner  Cooke 
are  ordered  to  estimate  what  it  will  cost  to  repair  the  house  at  Hughli. 
They  reported  that  to  repair  the  house  would  cost  as  much  as  it  was  worth,  and 
that  the  site  was  also  likely  to  be  carried  away  by  the  river.  It  does  not 
appear  what  action,  if  any,  was  taken  on  this  report,  but  in  September  1717 
another  officer,  named  Mason,  was  ordered  to  survey  and  report  on;  the  house 
and  made  a  report  much  the  same  as  the  last.  Accordingly  orders  were 
given  to  dismantle  the  house,  and  to  bmld  "  a  small  house  there  for  the 
Accommodation  of  so  many  Persons  as  we  have  frequent  occasion  to  send  at 
one  time  on  the  Company's  Service  to  Hugly." 

In  the  Consultations  of  18th  January  1717  appears  the  following  minute  : 

"  Mr.  Thomas  Cooke  having  had  a  severe  fitt  of  Sickness  which  seized  him  at  Hugly,  when 
aunt  up  to  weigh  and  receive  Salt  Petre  from  the  Herchanta  it  was  bought  off,  which  Sickness  kept 
him  long  tiiere  in  great  danger  of  his  Life  and  being  onder  the  Necessity  of  seeking  relief  from  the 
Dutch  Doctor  and  such  other  Physicians  as  resided  at  Ungly,  because  we  could  not  spare  any  from 
here  to  attend  him.  He  was  at  45  Rujh'os  12  Anuoes  charge  upon  that  Account  which  is  not 
unreasonable.  Therefore  Agreed  That  that  Sume  be  paid  him  by  Mr.  John  Dean  Buzey  and 
Charged  in  his  Account  of  Gencrall  Cbftiges." 


24  A  bhief  history  of  the  hughli  district. 

The  above  extract,  as  well  as  most  of  the  preceding  information,  are 
taken  from  Wilson's  "Early  Annals  of  the  English  in  Bengal."  In  the  same 
work  is  quoted  the  following  extract  from  a  paper  entitled  "  The  adventures 
of  a  person  unknown,  who  came  to  Calcutta  in  the  Government  of  Mr.  Russel, 
and  went  to  the  Moors  then  fighting  at  Hughley"  (Vol.  11,  p.  385-6).  The 
date  is  about  December  1712: — 

"  Golgatt,  an  English  factory  subordinate  nnder  Calcutta  is  seated  in  the  City  of  Hugley  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  it  here  forming  it«elf  into  a  Cove,  being  deep  water  ships  riding  16  and 
18  fathom  not  a  stones  cast  off  shore ;  being  landed  and  ascended  the  bank  you  enter  the  factory 
through  a  large  gate  beautified  and  adorned  with  pillars  and  comishes  in  the  Chanam  work,  and 
on  the  top  of  all  is  the  flag  staff  fixed  into  the  brickwork  whereon  they  hoist  St.  George's  flag; 
being  entered  the  gate  you  come  into  a  small  Court  yard,  on  the  right  hand  being  a  row  of 
apartments,  and  on  the  left  a  Viranda  for  the  guard ;  you  ascend  into  the  house  by  steps,  having' 
under  it  two  square  cellars  with  staircases  to  descend;  the  hall  is  indifferent  large,  besides  two 
indifferent  apartments  with  chimneys;  there  are  other  rooms  and  closets  in  the  house,  the  whole 
consisting  but  of  one  storey. 

"  Behind  the  house  is  a  garden  in  which  grows  nothing  but  woods,  in  the  middle  is  an  ugly 
well,  and  at  one  comer  upon  the  wall  is  built  a  roond  sort  of  a  basineas  like  a  sentry  box,  but  much 
larger,  you  ascend  it  by  a  narrow  Cbenom  staircase,  which  have  no  rails  or  fence  to  keep  yon 
from  tumbling  into  the  garden,  and  when  entered  you  see  nothing  worth  observation  having  a 
door  but  never  a  window  though  it  yields  an  excellent  echo,  it  being  contrived  as  I  have  been 
informed  as  a  magazine  for  powder. 

"  At  the  end  of  the  garden  are  the  ruins  of  several  apartment*,  the  roofs  being  fallen  in, 
and  indeed  all  the  out-houses  are  in  the  like  condition,  of  which  there  are  several,  yon  may 
ascend  to  the  top  of  the  factory  by  an  old  wooden  stMrcaae  which  is  well  ierrac'd  with  seats  all 
round  and  a  small  oblong  place  included  by  itself,  from  whence  you  have  a  prospect  of  the  river: 
to  conclude  it  is  an  old,  ugly,  ill-contrived  edifice  wherein  is  not  the  least  spark  of  beauty,  form, 
or  order,  to  be  seen,  being  seated  in  a  dull  melancholy  hole  enough  to  give  one  the  Hippochondra 
by  once  seeing  it;  the  Company  have  no  factor  at  present  that  is  resident  here,  being  left  in 
the  charge  of  a  Molly  and  two  or  three  Punes  tho'  in  truth  it  is  hardly  worth  looking  after." 

During  the  period  of  nearly  two  centuries  which  have  elapsed  since  our 
unknown  adventurer  wrote  this  description  of  Hughli,  many  an  officer  stationed 
there,  who  had  never  heard  of  the  author,  must  have  cordially  sympathized  with 
his  description  of  the  station  as  "a  dull,  melancholy  hole,"  and  yet  there  are 
a  dozen  worse  stations  in  Bengal,  a  fact  which  speaks  volumes  for  the  amenities 
of  the  province. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  Hughli  hardly  has  a 
history.  Murshid  Kuli  Khan,  as  we  have  seen,  bdcame  Deputy  Governor  of 
Bengal  in  1710,  and  Governor  in  the  following  year.  Though  nominally  only 
the  Viceroy  of  the  Delhi  Emperor,  he  was  the  first  practically  independent 
Nawab  of  Bengal,  and  remained  so  till  his  death  in  1725.  He  was  succeeded 
by  his  son-in-law,  Shuja  Khan,  who  held  the  province  till  his  death  in  1739, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Sarfaraz  Khan.  In  1642  Alivardi  Khan,  brother 
of  Shuja  Khan,  slew  Sarfaraz  Khan,  and  took  his  place,  governing  imtU  April 
1756,  when  he  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  grandson,  the  notorious 
Siraj-al-daulat,   or    Surajah  Daulah.     This  young  prince,   as  soon  as   he  came 


A    BBIBP    HISTORY  OF  THE   WVOKLl    DTPTRTCT.  25 


to  th«  throne,  attacked  the  English,  and  took  Calcutta  and  Fort  "William ;  the 
Fort  Burrondoring  on  20th  June  175G,  and  the  ghastly  tragedy  of  the  Black 
Hole  follo\\4ng  the  same  night.  He  did  not  long  hold  his  new  oonqueeta,  for 
Clive  retook  Calcutta  on  2nd  January  1767,  and  the  dynasty  of  Murshid  Kuli 
Khan  vanished  after  the  battle  of  Palasi  or  Plassey,  fought  on  23rd  June  1757. 

Uughli  again  comes  prominently  into  history  by  its  capture  by  the  English 
in  January  1757.  The  following  aooount  of  its  capture  is  summarized  from 
Ivee'  Voyage : — 

"  Accordingly  Hooghley,  a  rery  lar^e  and  rich  city  belonging  tn  the  Nabob,  sitoate  on  the  river 
about  thirty  miles  above  Calcutta,  waa  fixed  upon  aa  the  next  object  of  our  military  operations." 

The  Bridge  water,  a  small  ship  of  20  guns,  the  sloop  King  fisher ,  16 
guns,  and  the  bombketch  Thunder  sailed  from  Calcutta  on  5th  January 
1757,  with  all  the  boats  of  the  squadron,  manned  by  150  sailors,  200 
European  soldiers,  and  250  sepoys.  Major  Kilpatrick  commanded  the  land 
forces.  Captain  King,  r.  n.  the  sailors.  They  reached  Hughli  on  the  9th, 
cannonaded  the  place  on  the  10th,  and  stormed  a  breach,  with  little  resistance, 
on  the  night  of  the  10th,  or  early  morning  of  the  11th,  under  Captain 
Coote  (subsequently  Sir  Eyre  Coote,  Commander-in-Chief).  The  garrison, 
consisting  of  200  men,  mostly  ran  away.  The  loot  taken  consisted  of  20  guns, 
wijh  some  ammimition,  some  tutenegg  (zinc),  tinkal,  and  Japan  copper. 
Most  of  the  valuables  in  HughH  had  been  sent  to  the  Dutch  settlement  of 
Chinsura,  to  escape  capture. 

After  the  capture  of  Hughli,  Captain  Speke,  r.  n.,  of  the  Kenty  was 
sent  to  take  conmiand  of  the  expedition,  and  taking  the  sailors,  with  50  soldiers 
and  100  sepoys  under  Coote,  burned  the  "  Gongee*'  {Qanj),  three  miles  from 
the  Fort,  containing  several  large  granaries  and  storehouses  of  the  Nawab's. 
On  the  way  the  party  passed  through  the  Portuguese  Convent  (Bandel),  where 
they  were  informed  that  from  3,000  to  4,000  of  the  enemy  had  assembled 
to  oppose  them.  They  fought  their  way  back,  losing  one  officer,  midshipman 
Hamilton  of  the  Kent,  and  a  few  men  killed  ;  and  three  midshipmen,  one 
of  whom,  Roberts,  of  the  Kent,  lost  his  hand,  and  25  men  wounded. 
Lieutenant  Roddam  of  the    Kent  died  of  bowel-complaint  and  fever. 

The  Nawab  wrote  to  protest  against  the  attack  on  and  capture  of  Hughli, 
and  also  forbade  the  English  to  attack  Chandamagar.  The  French  proposed 
a  treaty  of  neutrality,  but  admitted  that  they  had  no  power  to  make  such  a 
treaty  without  sanction  of  Pondicherry.  Watson  and  Clive  accordingly  agreed 
to  attack  Chandamagar,  which  they  did  on  23rd  March  1757.  The  fight  is 
described  in  the  section  on  the  history  of  the  French. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  up  to  1757  all  pajTnents 
due  from  the  English  Q-overnment  in  Calcutta  to  the  Nawab  of  Bengal  appear 
to  have  been  made  to  the  Faujdar  of  Hughli.  The  Consultations  of  22nd  April 
1706   show   Rs.    3,000  paid  as  "  Hughli  peahhash  "  for  the  past  year.    This  is 


26-  A   BRIEF   HISTORY   OF   THE   HTTGHLI    DISTHllCT. 


the  payment  made  in  lieu  of  all  dues,  under  the  Emperor's  farman  of  1691, 
for  liberty  to  trade,  which  has  been  mentioned  above.  In  the  Consultations 
of  1754-57  there  are  frequent  entries  of  these  payments,  the  peshkash  of 
Es.  3,000  a  year  (on  8th  January  1756  only  Es.  2,325  was  paid  as  the  annual 
amount)  ;  sums  for  ground  rent,  which  vary  a  little  with  every  entry,  but 
are  usually  between  Es.  425  and  430  as  ground  rent  for  four  months,  and 
Es.  200  as  an  annual  present  to  the  Faujdar  himself.  In  the  Consultations 
of  4th  August  1757  it  is  noted  that  the  annual  peshlcash  will  in  future  be 
paid  at  Muxadavad  (Murshidabad) ;  but  the  ground  rent  continued  to  be  paid 
at  Hughli.     This  payment  presumably  ceased  in  1760. 

In  Long's  "Selections  from  Unpublished  Eeoords,"  p.  137,  occurs  the 
following  curious  note  of  a  quarrel  between  the  English  and  the  representative 
of  the  Nawab  at  Hughli.  Considering  that  this  quarrel  occurred  barely  six 
months  after  the  battle  of  Plassey,  it  would  appear  that  the  Faujdar  had 
hardly  recognised  that  the  English  were  now  the  real  masters  of  Bengal : — 

"  Consultations,  3rd  January  1758.  The  zamindar  acquaints  the  Board  that  Solaman  Beg, 
the  Phowsdar's  Naib  at  Hugly,  has  placed  four  Simtaburdars  at  the  Company's  old  factory  at 
Gologaut  in  Hugly,  and  likewise  threatened  to  cut  down  the  English  colors  there,  and  has 
planted  a  pair  of  Moor's  colors  close  by  the  English  on  the  Company's  ground,  and  his  people 
have  been  and  drove  away  some  coolies  that  were  clearing  a  spot  of  ground  there  in  order  to 
settle  a  market.  Mr.  Collott  thinks  the  Company  have  an  undoubted  right  to  settle  &ny 
marketer  bazar  in  their  own  ground;  he  therefore  hopes  some  method  will  be  taken  to  reprove 
the  insolence  of  Solaman  Beg,  Ordered  that  the  President  do  write  to  Solaman  Beg  that  we 
think   this  a  piece   of   insolence." 

On  the  27th  September  1759  the  English  Q-ovemment  in  Calcutta 
concluded  a  treaty  with  Mir  Kasim,  son-in-law  of  Mir  Jafar,  by  which  it 
was  arranged  that  all  the  real  power  in  Murshidabad  should  be  transferred 
to  Mir  Kasim,  the  title  of  Nawab,  with  a  considerable  income,  remaining  to 
Mir  Jafar  for  life ;  that  the  English  should  support  Mir  Kasim  with 
their  troops,  and  that  for  their  miUtary  charges  Mir  Kasim  should  assign 
to  the  Company  the  districts  of  Bard  wan,  Midnapur,  and  Chittagong.  The 
tract  of  country  which  now  forms  the  Hughli  district  was  included  then  in 
the  zilia  of  Bardwan.  By  this  treaty,  then,  Hughli  district  became  British 
territory. 

4.  The  Dutchf  and  Chimura. — The  first  Dutch  fleet  sailed  for  the  Indies 
under  Houtman  in  1595.  The  Dutch  were  thus  about  a  century  later  than  the 
Portuguese,  but  only  four  years  later  than  the  English,  in  making  their  first 
venture  to  the  East.  They  founded  the  "Society  for  trade  to  Distant  Countries  '* 
in  1597.  This  Society  occupied  its  first  station  on  the  Indian  peninsula  in  1598, 
and  in  1602  became  the  Dutch  East  India  Company.  Von  Eiebeck  settled  a 
Colony  at  the  Cape  in  1651,  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  then  gave  up  St. 
Helena  which  they  had  held  for  some  time  previously,  and  which  was  at  onoe 
occupied  by  the  English  East  India  Company. 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THB    HUOHLI    DISTRICT. 


The  Dutch  visited  Bengal  first  in  1626,  according  to  Ormo,  and  in  1632,  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  Portuguese  from  Hughli,  they  aottlod  thoro,  and  founded 
Chinsura.  Not  much  is  known  of  the  early  history  of  the  Dutch  settlement.  In 
1676  Streynsham  Master  notes  in  his  diary,  when  making  his  visit  of  inspection 
from  Madras  to  Bengal,  that  the  Dutch  were  then  in  occupation  of  Chandamagar, 
which  the  French  had  previously  occupied,  but  abandoned : — 

33rd  September  1676. — "  Wednesday  morning  about  Mven  clock  we  gott  to  Buiuigtirr,  where  tha 
DCTOH  hvrt  a  place  called  the   Hogg   ffactory,  and   I  waa  Informed    they  kill  abont  3,000  hogga 

in  a  yeare,  and  salt  them  for  their  shipping lesse  than  two  miles  short  of  Hngly 

we  passed  by  the  Dutch  garden,  ^nd  a  little  further  by  a  large  spot  of  groimd  which  the  Ffssvch  bad 
laid  out  in  a  ffactory,  the  gate  to  which  was  standing,  but  which  was  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Dutch* 
Then  we  came  by  the  Dutch  ffactory,  which  is  a  large  well  built  house  standing  by  itselfe,  much  like  to 

a  country  seat  in  England That  parte  of  the  towne  which  wee  passed  by  was  all  built  of 

thatcht  Hovells.  About  7  a  clock  in  the  evening  we  came  to  the  Hon*^  Company's  ffactory.** 
(Hedges'  Diaty,  Vol.  II,  p.  288.) 

In  1696  occurred  the  rebellion  of  Subha  Sinh,  who  took  the  Mogul  fort  and 
town  of  Hughli  towards  the  end  of  the  year.  The  Governor  of  the  Dutch  factory 
at  Chinsura  drove  the  rebels  out  of  Hughli  by  broadsides  from  the  ships. 
Under  the  permission  then  given  by  the  Nawab  of  Bengal  to  the  European 
traders  to  defend  themselves,  the  Dutch  buQt  Fort  Ghistavus  at  Chinsura.  Some 
sort  of  a  fort,  however,  had  evidently  been  constructed  previous  to  this  date. 
The  author  of  an  article  called  "  Notes  on  the  Eight  Bank  of  the  Hooghly,"  in  the 
Calcutta  Review  for  1845,  states  that  the  fort  bore  the  dates  of  1687  on  its 
northern  and  1682  on  its  southern  gate.  What  may  be  the  authority  for  this 
statement  I  cannot  tell.  Stavorinus,  who  visited  Bengal  about  1769-70,  and  saw  the 
old  fort  with  his  own  eyes,  says  of  the  fort  that  "it  was  built  in  the  year  1656,  as 
appears  by  the  date  over  the  land  gate."  This  fort  was  pulled  down  by  the 
English  in  1827,  some  after  the  cession  of  Chinsura.  A  large  slab  of  grey  granite, 
which  is  still  extant,  was  recently  lying  in  the  outer  entrance  to  the  racquet  court, 
and  has  now  been  set  up  at  the  Commissioner's  house.  It  is  presumably  one  of  the 
stones  which  were  placed  over  the  fort  gates.  It  bears  the  monogram  O.V.C., 
and  the  date  1687.  The  letters  0  and  C  are  placed  crossing  the  two  limbs  of  the  V, 
with  16  on  the  left  and  87  on  the  right.  The  initials  stand  for  the  wordg 
OdindicJie  Vereenigde  Companie,  United  East  India  Company.  The  same 
monogram,  with  various  dates,  appears  on  the  copper  coinage  which  was  issued  by 
the  Dutch  Company,  the  other  side  of  the  coins  being  occupied  by  a  coat  of  arms; 

Hamilton,  who  visited  Bengal  about  1706,  gives  the  following  account  of 
Bamagul  and  Chinsura.  Bamagul  is  the  place  now  known  as  Baranagar  or 
Bamagore,  a  municipality  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hughli,  lying  immediately 
north  of  Cossipur ;  the  real  name  is  Yirayanagar: — 

"Bamagul  is  the  next  Village  on  the  River's  Side  above  Calcutta,  where  the  Dutch  have  an 
House  and  Garden,  and  the  town  is  famouflly  infamous  for  a  Seminary  of  female  Lewdness,  wbttO 
Nomben  of  Girls  are  trained  up  for  the  Destruction  of  unwary  youths,  who  study  more  wob  t« 
gratify  their  brutal  Passicns,  than  how   to    shun  the  evil  Consequences    that   attend  tbeii   Fbily, 


2S  A    BKIEP    HISTORY   OF   THB   HUOHLI    DISTRICT. 

notwithstanding  the  daily  Instances  of  Rottenness  and  Mortality  that  happen  to  those  who  most 
frequent  these  Schools  of  Debauchery.  The  Dutch  Shipping  anchors  there  sometimes  to  take  in  their 
Cargoes  for  Batavia 

"About  half  a  league  further  up  (from  Chandamagar)  is  the  Chinchura,  where  the  Dutch 
Emporium  stands.  It  is  a  large  Factory,  walled  high  with  Brick.  And  the  Factors  have  a  great 
many  good  Houses  standing  pleasantly  on  the  River  Side,  and  all  of  them  have  pretty  Gardens 
to  their  Houses.  The  Chinchura  is  wholly  under  the  Dutch  Company's  Government.  It  is  about  a 
Mile  long,  and  about  the  same  Breadth,  well  inhabited  by  Armenians  and  the  Natives.  It  is 
contiguous  to  Hughly,  and  affords  sanctuary  for  many  poor  Natives,  when  they  are  in  Danger  of 
being  opprest  by  the  Mogul's  Governor,  or  his  Harpies." 

For  the  following  description  of  Chinsura  in  1727  I  am  indebted  to  Major 
D.  Prain,  i.m.s.,  Superintendent  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Garden  at  Sibpur,  in 
■whose  possession  is  Garcin's  manuscript.  Laurent  Garcin  was  a  physician  in 
the  service  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  from  1709  to  1727.  Most  of 
his  service,  apparently,  was  put  in  on  voyages,  or  at  Batavia,  but  he  made 
three  visits  to  Chinsura,  as  Surgeon  of  the  Dutch  East  Indiaman  S.  Heer 
Arenskerke^  the  first  in  1724-25,  the  second  in  1726-27,  when  he 
remained  there  from  3rd  October  1726  till  the  end  of  February  1727,  and 
the  third  from  30th  August  to  3rd  November  1727.  Gurcin  was  a  man  of 
much  more  note  than  any  other  Surgeon  serving  the  European  Companies  in 
the  East  at  the  time.  He  was  a  Foreign  Member  of  the  Royal  Society,  an 
Associate  of  the  French  Academy,  and  an  Honorary  Member  of  the  Leopold- 
Caroline  Academy  at  Ratisbon — high  scientific  honours  to  be  paid  to  a  Swiss 
Surgeon  in  the  Dutch  service.  The  description  of  Chinsura  in  G^arcin'8  journal, 
which  I  believe  has  never  been  printed,  runs  as  follows: — 

"Les  petits  vaisscaux  de  la  compagnie,  tel  qu'estoit  le  n6tre,  montant  dans  la  Riviere,  jusqoes 
h  un  Endroit  appell4  Volta  qui  est  un  village  de  Cabanas  ^  la  maniere  du  PaVs.  Cet  endroit  est 
andeasouB  de  Chinchora  out  est  la  facture  Hollandoise  d'environ  IS  k  20  Lieues.  Tout  le  Pals  des 
environs  de  ce  Qange  Occidental  est  appell6  Hoogly  par  les  Naturels,  si  bien  qu'il  n'y  a  point  de 
lieu  qui  s'appelle  de  ce  nom.  II  n'y  a  que  les  Hollandois  sculs  qui  donne  le  nom  d'Sougly  a 
I'endroit  de  leur  demcure,  quoique  le  nom  propre  est  oelui  de  Ckinchcra. 

"Chinchora  est  un  village  fort  grand  qui  s'etend  le  long  du  Gauge,  et  qui  est  d'environ  one 
lieue  de  longueur.  Les  maisons  des  gens  dn  pais  y  sont  fort  irregnlierem^  rangers,  tantot  fort  • 
I'etroit  les  unes  des  autres  y  formant  quelqnes  petites  rues  courtes,  etroites  k  n'y  ponvoir  passer  que 
deux  pcrsonnes,  on  quelques  fois  qu'nne,  et  tantot  ecart^  on  entrecoupp^  par  de  vilains  petits 
jardins,  qui  ne  font  pas  moins  un  mauvais  effet  k  la  vue.  H  y  autant  de  maisons  isol^  qu'  il  y 
en  a  dcjointes  ensembles.  Elles  y  sont  g^n^ralment  petites,  laides,  et  mal  baties,  Elles  y  sont 
presque  toutes  construites  de  terre  et  de  lattee  on  de  Bambous  et  fort  pen  differentcs  de  celles  de 
la  Cumpagne  de  Surattc,  toutes  convertes  de  Jones,  on  de  feiiillages  herbac^.  Toutes  les  habi- 
tations de  Bengale  sont  k  peu  pres  de  la  maniere.  Les  Messieurs  Hollandois  de  ce  comptoir  y 
ant  des  Maisons  fort  propres,  grandes  et  ires  bien  baties;  elles  sont  toutes  baties  de  Briques, 
et  fonn^es  en  tarasse  ti  la  maniero  de  Perse,  et  toutes  tres  bien  blanchies  tant  par  dehors  que 
par  dedans,  de  maniere  qu'il  n'y  a  point  d'cndroit  dans  les  Indos  on  il  y  ait  de  plus  belles 
Maisons.     II  pent  y  en  avoir  douze  ou  quinze  environ. 

"La  logo  oili  le  Directeur  et  quelques  autres  font  Icur  demeure  et  oh  aussi  sont  les 
jnagazins  pour  les  marchandises,  est  grande  et  asses  bien  construite,  batie  en  tarasse  ;  elle  est 
nairee,    (Uvis^    eu   deux  cours,   qui  forment    comme  deux  petites  places    ou  il    y  a    peut    Itro 


A    BRIKF    HISTORY   OF  THE  HUOHLI    DISTRICT.  29 

«DTiroD  |iO  pi«OM  d»  Oahob.  II  y  »  un  bMtion  &  an  det  uglM  d«  la  Lo^  aoMl  Boni  im 
Canon.  On  y  tiant  qm  petite  gamiton  d'onviron  25  hommM  aveo  an  tnwigne  et  on  SngMit. 
II  y  a  derriera  rette  Loga,  un  grand  Jardin  on  il  ragn«  dana  le  miliea  aelon  m  longueor  on* 
belle  al)^  d'arbraa.  Plua  loin  au  bout  de  oe  Jardin  11  y  en  a  un  autio  que  le  Directeor 
qu'on  venoit  de  lelever  par  celuy  qui  y  ettoit,  avait  fait  conatndre;  il  estoit  eneient  de  eoCA 
da  la  riviere  par  un  beau  balcon  et  une  belle  Baluatrade,  an  prea  de  laqaelle  il  y  a  on  baaa 
Pavilion,  grand  et  bien  couatruit  qui  fait  un  bel  Aapect.  Ce  Jardin  qui  eatoit  encore  ao 
JFriche,  eatoit  encore  comme  neglig^  II  a  cout^  16,000  roupiea  a  Mr.  Vuiit  qui  n'avoit  et<  qua 
deux  ana  chef  de  celte  Direction,  et  qui  en  auroit  fait  pent  Atre  une  pi^ce  achev^,  car  11 
etoit  ingenieuz  et  curieux.  Le  mdme  avoit  fait  construire  deax  beaux  granda  cbemina  drc^ta 
ti'environ  une  demi-lieue  de  longueur  ch&cun,  pour  aervir  de  promenade,  aoit  en  Calecbe  aoit  en 
Palanqain.  Lea  gena  de  Bengale  n'ont  point  de  beaux  chemina;  tout  le  pala  n'a  pour  cbemin 
que  de  mauvaia  aentiera." 

Long's  Selections  from  Records  contain  three  references  to  quarrels  between 
the  English  and  Dutch  on  one  side,  the  French  on  the  other,  during  the  years 
1748  and  1749,  an  echo  of  the  great  struggle  that  was  then  going  on  between 
Dupleix  and  the  English  in  the  Camatio.     They  run  as  follows: — 

"  Consultationa,  May  1748.  Dutch  deputies  from  Hughly  attended  the  Council  to  acquaint 
the  Governor  that  they  had  been  forbidden  (presumably  from  Europe)  to  hold  any  intercouraa 
with  Chandemagore,    or  to  let  their  pilots  give  any  help  to  the  French, 

"Consultations,  July  1748.  The  Dutch  Governor  writes  that  if  the  French  attack  Calcutta 
they  will  send  all  their  shipa  to  help  against  them,  on  condition  that  the  English  will  not  take 
any  Dutch  deserters  or  refugees  into  their  service. 

"Consultations,  3rd  January  1749.  Huyghens,  Director  of  Chinsura,  informs  the  English  that 
the  French  have  forcibly  seized  the  Dutch  Company'a  garden,  thereby  breaking  the  neutrality  of 
the  Ganges." 

Could  the  Dutch  Director  then  have  seen  a  few  years  into  the  future,  hd 
would  have  found  that  the  "neutrality  of  the  Ganges"  would  soon  be  broken 
with  a  vengeance  at  Chandarnagar  and  Biderra. 

When  Siraj-al-daulat  sacked  Calcutta  in  June  1756,  he  threatened  the  other 
European  settlements  with  a  like  fate;  but  they  purchased  immunity  by  laxge 
money  payments,  the  Dutch  having  to  pay  up  4i,  the  French  3^  iak/ia 
of  rupees.  The  French  were  allowed  to  escape  with  a  smaller  fine  because  they 
had  furnished  the  Nawab  with  250  chests  of  gunpowder — a  loan  which  they 
were  to  pay  dear  for  a  few  months  later.  Both  Dutch  and  French  refused 
to  help  Calcutta  against  the  Nawab,  though  they  had  both  offered  to  shelter 
any  of  the  English  who  might  take  refuge  in  their  settlements.  Apparently 
a  good  many  of  the  English  fugitives  from  Calcutta  did  find  refuge  in 
Chinsura.  The  Consultations  of  3rd  October  1757  record  the  "payment  of 
650  Arcot  rmpees  to  the  Chinchura  Surgeon  for  medicine  and  attendance  on 
several  of  the  military  who  were  wounded  at  the  siege  of  Calcutta,  and  who 
went  up  to  that  place  after  the  capture  of  the  settlement."  And  a  medical 
officer.  Dr.  William  Forth,  seems  to  have  been  sent  to  Chinsura  at  the  time  aa 
a  sort  of  political  agent.  The  Consultations  of  14th  February  1757  record  tho 
payment  of  a  bill  of  his  for  sundry  disbursements  as  Hughli. 


so  A    BRIEF   HISTOKT  OF   THE   HUGHLI   DISTHICT. 

In  the  year  1759  the  Dutch  made  their  bold  bid  for  the  empire  of  the 

East.     At  first  sight  the  time  appears  to  have  been  unpropitious  for  such  an 

attempt.     The    star  of  England    seemed  to  be  everywhere  in  the    ascendant. 

Only  five  years  before,  in  1754,  Dupleix,  her  greatest  enemy  in  the  East,  and 

the  one  who  came  nearest  to  success,  had  left  India  a  ruined  and  broken  man, 

beaten  not  by  the  superiority  of  his  adversaries,  but  by  the  jealousies  of  his 

compatriots,  and  by  want  of  support  from  France.     The  crushing  blow  of  the 

capture  of  Calcutta,   followed  by  the  tragedy  of  the  Black  Hole,   might  have 

seemed  as  if  it  had   finally    disposed   of   the    English   Company's    pretensions 

to  independence,  indeed  to  exiBt«nce   in  Bengal.     But  to  the  English  the  loss 

of  Bengal  had  been  but  a   case    of   reculcr  pour  mieux  sauier,  and,  barely   a 

year  after  the   surrender  of  Fort  William,  the  genius  of  Clive  on  the  field  of 

Plassey  had  made  his  employers  the  masters  of  Bengal.     To  paraphrase  Horace 

slightly,  it  might  have  been  said  "  Micat  inter  ornnes  Anglium  sidm,  Velut  inter 

ignes   Luna  minores."    But    the    time    was    really  well    chosen.     The  Nawab, 

Mir  Jafar,  who  had  been  seated  on  the  throne  of  Bengal  after  the  battle  of 

Plassey,  had  speedily  discovered  that  the  English  traders  were  no  longer  the 

subjects,  but  were  in  reality  the  masters,  of  the  native  ruler,  and,  as  might  have 

been  expected,  he  was  ready  to  grasp  at  any  help  which  offered  him  a  fair 

prospect   of  freedom    from    his    new    servitude.     The    French,  also,  were  still 

fighting  in  the  Northern  Sirkars  with  a  fair  prospect  of  success,  and  Clive,  who 

was  at  the  time  Governor  of  Calcutta,  was  despatching  to  Madras  evwy  man 

he  could  possibly  spare  from  Bengal,  and  sending  thither  all   reinforcements 

from  England  as  soon  as  they  arrived.    In  November  1758  the  Nawab  and 

the  Dutch  came  to  an  agreement  that  the  latter  should  procure  from  Batavia 

a  force  of  men  and  ships  sufficient  to  expel  the  English  from  Bengal;  while 

the  former  should  aid  them  with  his  army  at  the  most  opportune  moment.    In 

the    preceding    month,    October    1758,    Clive    had  sent    Colonel    Forde  to   the 

Northern  Sirkars,  with  all  available  troops,  and  there  remained  in  Bengal  only 

little  more  than  three  hundred  English  soldiers,  with  two  weak  battaKons  of 

sepoys. 

Colonel  Malleson,  from  whose  work,  "  The  Decisive  Battles  of  India,"  most 
of  this  account  of  the  events  which  led  up  to  the  battle  of  Biderra  has  been 
taken,  states  that  the  Nawab  visited  Calcutta  in  June  1759,  and  bestowed 
upon  Clive,  for  his  recent  services,  a  large  personal  jagtr.  While  there  he 
received  word  from  the  Dutch  at  Chinsura  that  the  time  for  action  had  almost 
arrived.  In  August  a  Dutch  vessel,  with  a  number  of  Malayan  soldiers  on 
board  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Hughli.  Clive  took  steps  to  prevent  the  ship 
from  passing  up  the  river,  or  landing  the  troops  she  had  on  board.  The  Dutch 
explained  that  the  ship  was  really  bound  for  their  settlement  at  Negapatam 
and  had  only  been  driven  into  the  Hughli  by  stress  of  weather;  and  that; 
as  eoon  as  she  had  got  fresh  water  and  provisions,  she  wculd  proceed  on  her 


A    BKIKP   HISTORY   OF  THK   HUOHLI    DIBTRICT.  81 


▼oyage.  She  did  so,  but  an  attempt  of  tbe  Dutoh  master-attendant,  Lucas 
Sydland,  to  convey  18  Malayan  soldiers  to  Chinsura  in  his  official  borgo — an 
attempt  discovered  and  frustrated — threw  some  doubt  on  the  truth  of  the 
explanation. 

In  October  1759  the  Nawab  again  visited  Calcutta.  In  the  same  month 
seven  armed  Dutch  ships,  full  of  troops,  European  and  Malay,  arrived  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Hughli.  Olive  informed  the  Nawab  of  the  invasion.  The 
Nawab  went  to  Hughli,  nominally  to  forbid  the  Dutch  to  bring  their  ships  up 
the  river  actually  to  concert  with  them  his  plans  for  a  joint  attack  on  the 
English.  A  few  days  later  the  Nawab  wrote  to  Olive  that  he  had  granted  the 
Dutch  some  indulgences  with  respect  to  their  trade,  and  that  they  had  promised 
that  their  ships  and  their  troops  should  leave  the  river  as  soon  as  the  season 
would  allow. 

Olive  saw  at  once  that  the  Dutch  had  not  only  no  intention  of  sending 
away  their  ships,  but  that  they  had  obtained  the  Nawab's  consent  to  bring 
them  up  to    Ohinsura.     He    at    once  resolved  that,  in  his  own  words,  they 
"  should  not "  do  so.     The  position,  however,  was  not  an  easy  one.     Olive  is 
reported  to  have  said  that  in  India  a  soldier  always  fought  with  a  rope  round 
his  neck.    The  present  was  a  case  in  point.     In  Europe  the  Dutch  were  not 
only  not  at  war,  but  were  actually  in  alliance  with  the  English.      If  he  fired 
upon  the  Dutch  vessels  going  up  the  river,  he  made  war  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility on  an  ally  of  England.     If  he  did  not,  he  allowed  them  peacefully  to 
join  the  forces   at  Ohinsura ;    and,    which    was    of   more  importance,  to  join 
hands  with  the  Nawab ;  moreover,  if   he  fought,  the  odds  were  against  him. 
The    Dutch    were  actively  raising  troops  at  Ohinsura,  Patna,  and  Kasimbazar, 
with  the  aid  of  the  Nawab.     On  board  the  Dutch  vessels  were  700  European 
and  800  Malay  troops,  well  armed  and  equipped;  at  Ohinsura  were  150  Dutch 
soldiers,  and  native  levies  increasing  daily  in  number  ;   behind  the  Dutch  was 
the  Nawab,  ready  to  act  as  he  had  done  at  Plassey,  as  soon  as  fortune  should 
favour  them.     Olive  had  in  Calcutta  330   Europeans    and  1,200   sepoys.     He 
also  called  out  the  militia,  of  whom  HolweU  was  Oolonel,  amounting  to  300 
men,    chiefly   Europeans,   and   enlisted    about    60    volunteers,    half    of    them 
mounted ;  and  had  the  two  forts  which  commanded  the  passage  of  the  river — 
Thana  fort,  which  stood  where  the  Botanical  Gardens  now  are,  and  Oharnock's 
fort,   which   stood    on   the   left   bank   of    the   river   almost  opposite— greatly 
strengthened.     Just  at  this  time  Oolonel  Forde  arrived  in  Calcutta,  fresh  from 
the  storm  of   Masulipatam,  and  with  him  Captain  Knox.    Olive  assigned  the 
command  of  the  two  forts  to  Knox,  that  of  the  whole  force  to  Forde. 

In  the  second  week  of  November  the  Dutch  forwarded  to  Calcutta  a 
protest,  in  which  they  threatened  vengeance  unless  the  EngUsh  renounced  their 
claim  of  search,  as  well  as  all  opposition  to  the  passage  of  their  vessels  up  the 
river.     Olive  answered  that  all  that  had  been  done  had  been  done  by  the 


32  A   BRIEF    HI8T0EY   OF   THE    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 


express  authority  of  the  Nawab,  and  offered  to  mediate  for  them  with  him. 
This  answer  was  literally  true,  but  absolutely  false  in  spirit,  as  the  Dutch 
well  knew  that  the  Nawab  was  on  their  side,  and  had  directed  that  no 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the  orders  he  had  given  under  pressure.  Accord- 
ingly they  attacked  and  took  seven  small  English  vessels,  lying  off  Falta, 
and  plundered  the  small  English  settlements  at  Falta  and  Raipur,  or  Royapur. 
Clive  informed  the  Nawab  of  the  Dutch  action,  and  ordered  Forde  to  occupy 
the  Dutch  settlement  of  Baranagar,  to  cross  the  river  to  Serampur  with  his 
troops,  and  march  on  Chandamagar,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  intercept  the  Dutch 
marching  to  Chinsura  by  land. 

On  21st  November  the  Dutch  ships  anchored  in  Sankrail  reach,  just  out 
of  fire  of  the  batteries  ;  and  on  the  22nd  landed  their  troops,  to  march  on 
Chinsura.  They  then  dropped  down  the  river  to  Melancholy  Point.  Clive 
sent  information  to  Forde  that  the  Dutch  troops  had  landed  and  were  on  the 
march  for  Chinsura ;  and  ordered  Knox,  with  the  troops  in  the  batteries,  to 
join  Forde  as  quickly  as  he  could. 

There  were  in  the  river  at  the  time  three  English  ships,  the  Calcutta^ 
761  tons,  Captain  Wilson;  the  Hardmcke^  573  tons,  Captain  Sampson;  and 
the  Duke  oj  Dorset  ^  544  tons,  Captain  Forrester.  They  mounted  at  most 
thirty  guns  apiece.  The  Dutch  squadron  consisted  of  four  ships  of  36  guns, 
the  VHssingen,  Welgeleegen,  BkUwyk^  and  Princess  of  Orange ;  two  of  26 
guns,  the  Elizabeth  Dorothea  and  Walreld ;  and  one,  the  Mossel,  of  16  guns. 
The  English  ships  were  lower  down  the  river  than  the  Dutch,  whom  they 
had  followed  slowly  up.  Even  yet,  in  spite  of  the  Dutch  having  already 
attacked  the  English,  both  parties  hesitated  to  fight.  On  the  23rd  Wilson 
came  up  to  the  Dutch  fleet  with  his  ships,  when  the  Dutch  Commodore 
James  Zuydland,  warned  him  that,  if  he  attempted  to  pass,  he  would  be  fired 
upon.  Having  no  orders  to  fight,  Wilson  anchored,  and  reported  the  state 
of  affairs  to  Clive.  Clive  directed  Wilson  to  demand  at  once  from  the  Dutch 
Commodore  the  restitution  of  all  British  vessels,  subjects,  and  property,  a 
fuU  apology,  and  his  immediate  departure  from  the  river.  Failing  compli- 
ance, Wilson  was  ordered  to  attack  the  Dutch  at  once,  though  their  squadron 
was  double  the  strength  of  his,  both  in  numbers  of  ships  and  weight  of 
metal. 

Compliance  was  refused,  and  Wilson  attacked  at  once.  Forrester,  in  the 
Duke  of  Dorset,  the  best  sailer  of  the  three  English  ships,  came  up  first, 
and  laid  his  ship  alongside  the  Vli^singen,  the  Dutch  flagship.  The  other 
two  did  not  oome  up  for  half  an  hour,  but  when  they  did,  they  fought  with 
such  success  that  within  two  hours  six  of  the  seven  Dutch  ships  had 
struck.  The  seventh,  the  Bleiswyk,  escaped  down  the  river  to  Kalpi,  where 
she  was  taken  by  two  other  English  ships  which  had  just  entered  the  river. 
The  Dutch  had  lost  all  their  eeYen  ships,  and  had  oyer  a  hundred  men  killed 


A   BRISF   HISTORY  OF  TUB   JTUOHLl    PIBTRIOT.  38 


and  wounded.    The  English  loas  is  said  to  have  been  very  small    The  Duke 
of  Dorset   had  not  a  single  man  killed,    though  many  wounded. 

Meanwhile  Forde  hod  left  Calcutta  on  the  19th  November,  with  100 
Europeans,  400  sepoys,  and  four  guns,  token  the  Dutch  factory  at  Baranagar 
on  the  20th,  crossed  the  Huglili  at  Sorampur,  and  marched  to  Chandarnagar, 
where  he  encamped  on  the  night  of  the  23rd  in  the  French  gardens,  south  of 
the  fort.  The  Dutch  in  Chinsura,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  sent  their 
whole  force,  amounting  to  120  Europeans  and  300  sepoys,  with  four  guns,  to 
meet  Forde.  This  force  camped  for  the  night  in  the  ruins  of  Chandarnagar. 
Here  Forde  found  them  on  the  morning  of  the  24th.  He  attacked  them  at 
once,  took  all  their  guns,  and  drove  them  back  to  Chinsura.  That  evening  he 
was  joined  by  Knox,  whose  forces,  added  to  his  own,  amounted  to  320 
Eiuropeans,  800  sepoys,  and  about  50  European  volunteer  cavalry.  The  Nawab 
had  also  sent    him  about   100  horsemen,  who  were  to  watch  their  opportunity. 

Forde  anticipated  that  the  Dutch  force  marching  from  Sankrail  would 
arrive  next  day.  He  stiU,  however,  had  scruples  as  to  fighting,  and  wrote 
to  Clive,  asking  for  formal  orders.  This  note  reached  Clive  when  ho  was 
playing  cards.  Clive  wrote  on  the  back  of  it :  "  Dear  Forde, — Fight  them 
immediately.    I    will  send  you  the   Order  in  Council  to-morrow." 

Forde,  early  in  the  morning  of  the  25th  November,  took  up  a  position 
at  the  village  of  Biderra.     Malleson  says: — 

"  His  right  rested  on  the  village  of  Biderra,  his  left  on  a  mango  grove,  both  of  which  be 
occnpied;  his  front  was  covered  by  a  broad  and  deep  ditch.  Securely  planted  behind  this,  his  guns 
commanded  the  treeless  plain  in  front  of  it.  It  was  the  very  best  position  that  could  have  been 
taken,  for  whilst  very  defensive,   it  commanded  all  the   approaches." 

The  Dutch  force  appeared  at  about  10  a.m.,  led  by  Colonel  Roussel,  a  French 
soldier  of  fortune.  They  advanced  boldly  across  the  plain,  under  the  fire  of  the 
English  guns,  until  they  came  to  the  ditch,  by  which  they  were  completely  thrown 
into  confusion.  The  following  brief  account  of  the  fight  is  taken  from  Broome's 
"  History  of  the  Bengal  Army,"  p.  270 : — 

"  The  action  was  short,  bloody,  and  decisive,  In  half  an  hour  the  enemy  were  complettly  defeated 
and  put  to  flight,  leaving  120  Europeans  and  200  Malays  dead  on  the  field,  150  Europeans  and  as  many 
Malays  wounded,  whilst  Colonel  Roussel  and  14  other  officers,  350  Europeans,  and  200  Malays,  were 
iitade  prisoners.  The  troop  of  horse  and  the  Nawab's  cavalry — which  latter  did  nothinj;  during  the 
action — were  very  useful  in  pursuing  the  fugitives  afterwards,  which  they  did  with  such  effect,  that  only 
14  of  the  enemy  finally  escaped  and  reached  Chinsura.  The  loss  of  the  English  on  this  occasion  was 
comparatively  trifling.  The  advantage  of  a  skilfully  chosen  position,  the  effect  of  a  well-directed  and 
well-ser*'ed  artillery,  and  finally  the  aid  of  cavalry,  all  tended  to  render  this  victory  so  decisive  and 
complete  in  spite  of  the  disparity  of  numbers." 

Never  was  a  victory  more  decisive.  The  Dutch  had  played  for  the  Empire  of  the 
East,  and  lost. 

On  the  principle  of  audi  alteram  partem  it  may  be  interesting  to  give  the 
Dutch  account  of  the  battle.  It  does  not  differ  much  from  Broome's  account, 
though  the  plirase  "  constrained  to  retire"  seems  put  rather  mildly  as  a  record  of 

s 


34  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF    THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

tte  flight  in  which  14  escaped  out  of  a  force  of  1,600,  less  than  one  per  cent.  The 
Dutch  account  is  given  as  Appendix  L  by  Broome,  who  copied  it  from  Grose's 
"Voyage  to  the  East  Indies": — 

"  On  the  25  th,  when  the  troops  and  other  bands,  which,  on  the  22nd  before,  were  gone 
on  shore,  were,  in  their  projected  march,  come  near  Chandanagore,  they  were  there  met  by 
the  English ;  who,  according  to  their  own  account,  to  the  number  of  1,170,  were  posted  very 
advantageously,  and  provided  with  a  numerous  artillery.  No  sooner  were  these  troops  come  withhi 
cannon-shot,  but  they  were  fired  on  by  the  English,  and  though  all  the  people  were  extremely 
fatigued  by  a  very  long  march,  which  they  were  obliged  to  make  for  the  space  of  three  days ;  yet,  with 
much  bravery,  they  stood  the  fire  of  the  English,  and  though  unprovided  of  any  artillery,  marched  up, 
with  a  full  steady  pace,  to  the  enemy ;  but  meeting  in  their  way  a  broad  and  deep  ditch  which  they  were 
constrained  to  pass,  to  avoid  being  destroyed  by  the  artilleiy  of  the  English,  the  troops,  in  passing  that 
ditch,  fell  into  some  disorder;  the  English,  taking  advantage  of  their  circumstance,  redoubled  the  fire  of 
their  artillery,  and  musketry;  and  the  disorder,  already  arisen,  being  thereby  increased,  caused  the 
slaughter  of  a  part  of  these  troops ;  another  part  waa  made  prisoners ;  and  the  rest  was  constrained  to 
retire." 

History  repeats  itself,  and  in  the  same  month  of  October,  one  hundred  and 
forty  years  later,  the  curtain  was  to  rise  on  the  same  drama,  to  be  played  over 
again  by  the  same  two  races,  on  a  different  continent,  but  with  the  same  result. 
In  each  case  the  weaker  of  the  two,  relying  on  foreign  aid,  made  a  sudden  spring, 
and  caught  its  stronger  enemy  half  unprepared;  in  each  case  temporary  success  at 
first  was  to  be  followed  by  crushing  defeat  later  on.  Here,  however,  the  parallel 
ends.  It  is  not  recorded  that,  in  1759,  the  best  friends  of  the  enemy  were  to  be 
found  in  the  English  capital. 

Whore  was  the  battle  of  Biderra  fought?  The  exact  spot  does  not  seem 
to  be  known  now.  The  name  of  Bidara  or  Biderra  does  not  appear  in  the  Post 
Office  Village  Directory  of  the  district,  and  I  have  been  unable  to  get  any 
information  locally  from  any  of  the  inhabitants,  none  of  whom  appear  ever  to 
have  heard  of  the  name.  Malleson  says  that  Biderra  is  "about  midway 
between  Chinsura  and  Chandranagar."  This  distance  is  something  under  three 
miles,  the  whole  locality  being  now  thickly  covered  with  honBes.  Bhola  Nath 
Chander,  in  his  "Travels  of  a  Hindu"  (p.  12),  speaks  of  Bidera,  where 
Colonel  Forde  defeated  the  Dutch,  about  four  miles  west  of  the  town  of 
Chinsura.  This  would  put  it  on  the  other,  or  west,  side  of  the  Saraswati. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  find  the  place  marked  by  name  in  any  map  which 
1  have  been  able  to  consult.  But  in  E-ennell's  map  a  drawn  sword  is  shown, 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Saraswati,  a  little  south-west  of  Chandarnagar,  with 
the  date  1759.  This  must  refer  to  the  battle  of  Biderra.  This  map  is  dated 
1781,  only  22  years  after  the  battle,  and  no  doubt  the  spot  so  shown  is  the 
actual  filed  of  the  battle.  Probably  the  Saraswati  itself  was  the  broad  and 
deep  ditch,  which  threw  the  Dutch  into  confusion. 

The  Dutch,  after  their  defeat,  had  to  pay  for  their  ill-success  pretty 
dearly.  Broome  gives  in  fuU  (p.  xxi)  the  articles  drawn  up  after  the  battle 
between  the  English  and  the  Dutch,  and  the  Nawab  and  the  Dutch.     They 


A    BRTBF    HISTORY  OF    niR    UUGHLI    DISTRICT.  85 

jfot  small  Rynipafhy  from  the  Nawab,  who  naturally  wished  to  pertoade  the 
English  that  he  had  not  had  anything  to  do  with  their  action,  and  propofled 
to  exterminate  them,  or  to  expel  them  from  Bengal.  Clive  proceeded  to 
Chinsura  and  effected  an  aooommodation  between  them  and  tho  Nawab.  The 
Dutch  were  confirmed  in  all  their  previous  privileges  of  trade,  and  allowed 
to  maintain  125  soldiers  for  the  protection  of  their  factories.  But  they  were 
compelled  to  send  away  their  squadron,  taking  on  board  it  all  prisoners  who 
were  not  willing  to  take  service  with  the  English,  (both  ships  and  prisoners 
were  restored  by  the  English) ;  to  discharge  all  their  sepoys ;  and  to  agree 
never  in  future  to  carry  on  hostilities,  to  enlist  or  introduce  troops,  or  to  ereot 
fortifications,  within  the  limits  of  Bengal.  They  also  agreed  to  disavow  the 
conduct  of  their  fleet,  to  acknowledge  themselves  as  the  aggressors,  and  to  pay 
to  the  English  three  lakhs  of  rupees  as  compensation  for  losses  and  the  expenses 
of  the  war.  These  terms  were  subsequently  approved  by  special  Commissioners 
of  the  two  nations  appointed  in  Europe  to  consider  the  matter. 

Two  entries  from  the  Consultations  of  about  this  date  may  here  be 
quoted,   one  before  and  one  after  the  short  war: — 

"On  11th  January  1769  a  letter  was  road,  from  the  President  and  Cooncil  of  Chinchnrah 
dated  27th  ultimo,  protesting  against  us  for  preventing  them  collecting  Salt  Petro,  &c.  Resolution 
to  inform  the  Director  and  Council  of  Chinchurah  that  their  protest  is  groundless,  and  that  their 
disrespectful  behaviour  towards  the  Suhah  has  been  the  sole  cause  of  their  misfortunes,  but  every 
assistance  that  lies  in  our  power  shall  be  given  them,  and  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  our  professions 
we  offer  a  further  quantity  of  8,000  mannds  of  Salt  Petre." 

In  the  Proceedings  of  12th  May  1760  is  a  note  to  the  effect  that  the 
Nawab  states  that  he  intends  to  punish  the  Dutch,  who  have  helped  his 
enemies.  The  Dutch  asked  the  English  to  intercede  for  them,  which  they 
consented  to  do,  if  the  Dutch  paid  them  the  sum  of  Ks.  75,428,  due  by 
treaty.     The  money  was  paid. 

A  letter  from  the  Court  of  Directors,  dated  2nd  April  1762,  para.  19, 
sent  out  express  orders  to  Calcutta  not  to  quarrel  with  the  Dutch.  There 
was  now  no  further  necessity  for  any  quarrel. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  29th  April  1767  is  entered  a  complaint  froiti  the 
Dutch  that  the  English  bind  the  weavers  by  advances  to  work  for  none  but 
the  English. 

Stavorinus,  a  Dutch  admiral  who  visited  Bengal  in  1769-70,  devotes  a 
good  deal  of  space  in  his  "Voyages"  to  descriptions  of  Chinsura  and  its 
subordinate  settlements  on  the  Hughli.  He  states  that  Chinsura  and 
Bamagore  were  obtained  by  purchase  from  the  Moorish  Q-ovemment  •  and 
that  the  Dutch  have  also  factories  or  lodges  at  Calcapore  near  Kasimbazar  at 
Patna,  at  Dakka,  and  a  small  one  at  Balasore;  one  at  Malda  had  been 
abandoned.     He  writes: — 

"The  Dutch  began  to  trade  in  Bengal  as  early  as  the  commencement  of  the  last  centaiy;  they 
were  always  the  first  in  opulence  and  importance,  till  the  English  became  the  nilers  of  the  country 
in    the    last    revolution;    and    perhaps    they  would     still  have     been  so  had  the  well-pJuined    but 


38  A    BRIEF   HISTORY   OF    THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

badly-executed  attempt  made  as  before  mentioned,  daring  the  administration  of  the  Governor- 
General  Mossel  in  1759,  succeeded  to  our  wishes." 

On  liis  way  up  the  Hughli,  Stavorinus  first  visited  Fulta,  of  which  he  says: — 

"The  fiscal  of  Chinsura  keeps  one  of  his  officers  here,  to  have  an  eye  upon  the  illicit  or 
smuggling  trade,  that  is,  in  such  cases,  when  matters  have  not  been  settled  betimes  with  the  fiscal, 
and  a  proper  consideration  made  for  his  connivance." 

Of  Baranagar,  or  Barnagore,  he  says,  only  an  under-oflBoer  of  the  fiscal 
resides  here,  but  the  Dutch  hoist  their  flag. 

"The  coarsest  sort  of  blue  handkerchiefs  are  made  here." 

The  Dutch  Company  keep  up  a  house  for  the  accommodation  of  any  of 
their  servants  staying  here. 

"Barnagore  is  famous  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  ladies  of  pleasure,  who  reside  ther^ 
and  who  pay  a  monthly  recognition  to  the  fiscal  of  Chinsura,  for  the  free  exercise  of  their 
profession." 

Of  the  Chinsura  settlement  he  states  that,  though  the  Director  corresponds 
direct  with  Holland,  he  is  subordinate  to  Batavia;  any  vacancies  which  occur 
at  Chinsura  can  only  be  filled  temporarily,  pending  confirmation  from  Batavia. 
The  Government  consists  of  a  Director,  with  a  Council  of  seven  members,  the 
last  two  of  whom  have  no  vote.  The  Director  is  styled  "The  Honourable 
Director  of  the  Company's  important  trade  in  the  Kingdoms  of  Bengal, 
Bahar,  and  Orixa."  The  Director  reoeivee  a  percentage  on  the  sale  of 
all  imported  goods.  He  spends  Rs.  35,000  a  year  ;  the  English  Director 
at  Calcutta  spends  a  lakh.  The  Director  is  the  only  officer  allowed  to 
use  a  palki.  The  second  in  CouncU  is  the  Chief  at  Cossimbazar  ;  the 
third  is  the  Chief  Administrator ;  the  fourth  is  Superintendent  of  the  Cloth 
room,  considered  a  very  profitable  appointment.  The  Captain  of  the  troops 
is  a  member  of  Council,  but  has  no  vote.  The  first  warehouse-keeper  ranks 
as  merchant.  The  Fiscal  or  Sheriff  ranks  as  a  merchant,  but  has  only  the 
pay  of  a  junior  merchant.  He  punishes  by  flogging  and  fines,  frequently 
imposing  fines  of  20,000  or  30,000  rupees  on  rich  hunniahs.  The  natives 
call  him  Jamadar.  He  also  gets  five  per  cent,  on  all  imports  and  exports 
by  private  trade,  and  as  six  ships  come  and  go  every  year,  he  makes 
Rs.  4,000  per  ship,  or  Rs.  24,000,  out  of  this.  He  also  gets  one-half  of 
all  contraband  goods  he  seizes.  The  natives  stand  more  in  awe  of  him  than 
of  the  Director.  The  Controller  of  Equipment  has  also  a  seat  in  Council, 
but  no  vote. 

"  Chinsura  ( he  writes )  is  partly  built  along  the  river,  and  requires  full  three-quarters  of 
SQ  hour  to  walk  round  it.  On  the  land  side,  it  is  closed  by  strong  barrier  gates.  Within  it  is 
built  very  irregularly.  It  has  many  markets.  The  principal  booses  are  built  of  brick,  with 
terrtra  roofs,  in  the  Moorish  style.  They  are  but  of  one  storey,  and  are  whitened  on  the 
outside  with  lime,  which  gives  them  an  elegant  appearance.  As  little  wood  as  possible  is  used 
in  building,  on  account  of  the  white  ants,  which  entirely  destroy  the  inside  of  the  wood,  in 
a  very  few  years.  Glass  windows  are  not  known  here.  Frames  of  twisted  cane  are  made  use  of 
in  their  stead.     .     .     .     The  terrace  roofs,  and  the  floors  of   the  rooms,   are  laid   with    fine  pulverised 

stones    which  they  call  Zurkee The  houses,  or  rather  the  huts,   of  the  poor   Bengalese,  ara 

mostly  made  of  mud  and  straw,  and  receive  their  light  through  the  entrance.     .     .     . 


A   BRIBF   mSTOKT  OF  THI  HUOHLI   DISTRICrT.  87 

"The  Comptny's  lodge,  whioh  bsan  tbe  luun*  <)(  Foci  ChtttevM,  b  ooMtroaM  in  •  lai^ 
open  pUoe,  about  600  or  660  feet  from  the  river.  It  ia  en  oblong  aqoare ;  tbe  largest  eidaet 
whicb  are  oppoeito  to  north  and  eouth,  aro  about  650  feet  in  length,  the  Bhurteet,  about  the 
half.  It  waa  built  in  tho  yoor  1656,  aa  appears  by  the  date  over  the  land  gato.  The  walla  are 
of  atcme,  about  15  foot  high  ;  but  thoy  arc,  at  present,  in  such  a  ruinous  condition,  that  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  discharge  tho  cannon  which  are  mounted  upon  them.  Within  are  the 
Oompany's  wanhotisea,  and  the  hooae  of  the  Director,  which  ia  the  only  thing  worth  aeeing. 
Thoro  are  three  gates,  one  by  tho  river,  one  on  tho  land  side  to  the  north,  and  another  to  the 
south  ;  this  last  leads  to  what  is  called  the  Company's  garden,  in  which  there  is  neither  a  bush, 
nor  a  bUde  of  grass. 

"To  the  westward  of  the  lodge,  there  was  formerly  a  burying  ground,  which  was  adorned 
with  many  handsome  tombe,  and  gravestones.  But  these  were  all  destroyed  nnder  the 
Government  of  tho  Director  Taillefert,  except  the  monument  of  the  Director  Huyiman,  which 
was  transformed  into  a  powder  magatine.  The  rest  was  made  into  a  level  plain,  and  the 
burying  place  was  removed  to  another  part  of  the  town,  where  now  every  grave  has  an  upright 
tombstone  upon  it. 

"  A  battery  of  one  and  twenty  pieces  of  cannon  is  thrown  up  by  the  river  aide  for  the 
purpose   of    firing   salutes. 

"  Something  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  walk  out  of  Chinsura,  towards  Chandemagore, 
a  large  and  handsome  house  was  erected,  during  tho  direction  of  Mr.  Vemet,  as  a  lodge  for 
the  freemasons,  which  was  completed  and  inaugurated  while  I  was  there.  This  festivity 
concluded  in  the  evening  with  a  magnificent  fire-work  and  ball,  at  which  the  chief  English  and 
French   ladies  and  gentlemen   were  equally  present. 

"  This  building,  to  which  the  name   of   Concordia  was  given,   cost  Rs.   30,000,  and  the  money 
was  defrayed  out  of  the  private  purses  of  tho  members  of  the  Council  of  Hougly." 
He  also  writes — 

"  Hougly,  which  lends  its  name  to  Chinsnrah,  is  a  Moorish  Fort,  a  short  half  an  hour's 
walk  higher  up.  It  is  not  very  defensible,  and  has  little  worthy  of  observation  within  it, 
except  the  house  of  the  fatudar,   and  the  stables  for  his  elephants." 

Stavorinus  gives  an  interesting  account  of  a  short  struggle  with  the 
natives  which  took  place  in  1769.  The  Dutch  director  not  having  paid  the 
customs  duties  due  for  a  considerable  time,  the  faujdar  sent  a  chobdar  to  demand 
them.  The  Dutch  director  had  the  cJiobdar  flogged.  The  faujdar  then  seized 
all  goods  coming  down  to  Chinsura  by  river,  and  invested  the  place  with 
a  force  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  on  the  land  side,  as  well  as  by  river. 
This  was  done  by  order  of  the  Viceroy,  Mahomed  Eeza  Khan.  The 
investment  only  lasted  thirteen  days,  from  3rd  to  15th  October  17G9,  but 
during  this  short  period  many  are  said  to  have  died  of  starvation,  there 
being  no  stock  of  provisions  in  the  place.  The  blockade  was  raised  on  the 
intervention  of  the  English,  at  the  request  of  the  Dutch  Council,  who 
promised  to  pay  the  amount  due.  Stavorinus  states  that  famine  was  very  bad 
at  Chinsura  in  1769.  Presumably  this  refers  to  the  time  of  the  investment, 
though  not  directly  so  stated.  Small-pox  was  also  very  prevalent  at  the 
time  of  his  visit,  the  Dutch  director  F *  dying  of  that  disease  in  May  1770. 

•  Stavorinus  only  gives  tbe  initial  F . 


38  A   BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 

Toynbee  states  that  the  period  from  1770  to  1780  was  that  when  Dutch 
trade  was  in  its  most  flourishing  state.  The  peace  of  the  country  was  kept 
by  the  English,  and  the  Dutch  had  hardly  any  military  expenses.  The  chief 
profit  of  the  Dutch  was  derived,  not  so  much  from  their  trade  with  Europe, 
as  from  the  export  of  opium  to  Java.  Eight  hundred  chests  were  annually 
got  from  Patna,  and  exported  to  Batavia  ;  each  chest  contained  125  lbs., 
and  cost  the  Company,  all  told,  from  700  to  800  rupees.  Each  chest  sold 
in  Batavia  for  about  1,250  rupees,  and  the  annual  profits  of  the  trade 
amounted  to  four  lakhs  yearly.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
Chinsura  came  to  be  regarded  practically  as  a  suburb  of  Calcutta,  where 
wealthy  residents  of  Calcutta  spent  the  "week-end,"  and  where  European 
children  were  educated.  Advertisements  in  the  Calcutta  Gazette  give  us  some 
idea  of  the  cost  of  house  rent,  style  of  houses,  &o.  Considering  the  much 
greater  value  of  the  rupee  over  a  century  ago,  the  rente  seem  enormous.  The 
Gazette  of  15th  April  1784  advertises  to  let  at  Chinsura,  a  two-story  large 
house  on  the  river,  for  Rs.  250  per  month;  and  a  week  later  is  advertised  for 
sale  "a  neat  lower  roomed  Qurden  House  in  Hooghly,  near  Chinsum,  known 
by  the  name  of  Linden  Rust."  The  house  was  pakka,  contained  a  hall,  four 
rooms,  two  verandas,  had  25  highas  of  ground,  and  was  let  for  Rs.  100  a 
month.  On  30th  April  1789  is  advertised  for  sale  the  house  of  the  late 
A.  Bogaard,  Second  in  Council:  a  large  dwelling  house,  with  two  halls,  eight 
lower  rooms,  and  one  upper  room.  Also  a  garden  house  and  garden  two 
mUes  west,  with  29  highan  of  ground,  with  fruit  trees,  two  tanks,  and  a  deer 
park,  well  stocked  with  about  twenty  different  kinds  of  deer.  On  13th  May 
1790  came  into  the  market,  as  part  of  the  estate  of  Robert  Home,  deceased, 
"that  elegant  commodious  upper  roomed  house,  built  by  William  Lushington, 
Esq.,  and  known  by  the  name  of  Houghly  Hall,  situate  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  at  Houghly,  and  commanding  a  most  delightful  and  extensive  prospect." 
With  the  house  went  a  large  garden,  of  13  bighai.  On  22nd  May  1794  is 
advertised  to  let  at  Bandel  a  pticka-hvoM  upper  roomed  house,  containing  a 
hall,  40  feet  by  20,  two  rooms  20  feet  square,  out-houses,  and  a  walled  and 
railed  deer  park,  of  six  highas. 

Hodges  thus  describes  Chinsura  in  1780-81 : — 

"  Near  to  this  is  the  town  of  Chinsurah,  the  Dutch  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  river ;  this 
town  is  very  distinguishable  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  has  a  handsome  appearance.  It  con- 
tains several  good  houses  and  a  church,  with  a  little  mole  projecting  into  the  river.  Chinsurah 
lies  nearly  midway  between  Chandemagore  and  the  old  town  of  Hoogly,  which  is  now  nearly  in 
ruins,  but  possesses  many  vestiges  of  its  former  greatness.  In  the  beginning  of  this  century  it  was 
the  great  mart  for  the  export  trade  of  Bengal  to  Europe."  ["Travels  in  India  during  the  years 
1780,  1781,  1782,  and  1783,"   by  William  Hodges,  B.    A.     Quarto,  London,  1793.] 

Chinsura  was  seized  by  the  English  in  1781,  along  with  the  other  Dutch 
possessions  in  Bengal,  but  restored  at  the  peace  of  1783.  It  was  again  taken 
on   28th  July   1795,    and  appears  to  have    been  administered  by  the  English 


A    BRIKP    HISTORY  OF    THE    UUOULI    DISTRICT  S9 


up  to  1817 ;  though  possibly,  like  Chandarnagar,  it  was  given  up  by  the  peace 
of  Amiens,  on  27th  March  1702,  to  bo  again  taken  in  1703.  While  in  the 
hands  of  the  English,  the  foreign  settlements  on  tho  Hughli  were  governed 
by  a  special  Commissioner,  first  a  Mr.  R.  Birch,  afterwards  Mr.  G.  Forbee, 
i.c.s.  It  was  restored  to  the  Dutch  on  20th  September  1817,  according  to 
Toynbee,  but  tlio  actual  retrocession  would  seem  to  have  taken  place  a  few 
days  earlier,  from  the  following  extract  from  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  18th 
September  1817:— 

"On  the  occasion  of  the  rehoisting:  of  the  Dutch  fla^  at  Chinsura  on  Monday  last,  th« 
Hun'ble  J.  A.  Van  Braam  gave  a  grand  dinner,  and  in  the  evening  a  Ball  and  Supper  to 
Mr.  Forbes,  the  English  Commissioner,  and  principal  familief  in  Chiusura,  Chandcmagore,  and 
Serampore.  Wo  are  informed  that  the  entertainment  waa  arranged  in  the  most  gratifying  manner, 
and  the  greatest  harmony  and  cordiality  prevailed." 

In  1824  the  English  pohce  pursued  two  offenders  into  Dutch  territory- 
and  caputred  them  there.  The  Dutch  Governor  complained,  and  the  Magis- 
trate had  to  apologise. 

Chinsura  was  finally  ceded  to  England  by  the  treaty  dated  17th  March 
1824,  at  London,  along  with  the  other  Dutch  factories  in  Bengal,  Kalkapur, 
Patna,  Dakka,  Fulta,  and  Balasore,  with  efEeot  from  the  1st  March  1725.  It 
was  not,  however,  till  7th  May  1725  that  the  place  was  actually  handed  over. 
In  return  the  English  handed  over  to  the  Dutch  Fort  Marlborough,  and  all 
their  possessions  on  the  island  of  Sumatra.  The  English  also  withdrew  all 
objections  to  the  Dutch  occupying  Bencoolen,  the  Dutch  to  the  English 
occupation  of  Singapur.  The  treaty  is  given  in  full,  in  Toynbee's  book,  in 
vvnich  may  also  be  seen  a  plan  of  Chinsura,  as  it  was  in  1763.  Though  not 
mentioned  either  by  Stavorinus,  or  in  the  treaty  of  cession,  the  Dutch  had  also 
for  some  time  a  factory  at  Chapra. 

Most  of  the  Dutch  residents  remained  at  Chinsura.  In  1829  there  were 
76  Christian  (European  ?)  inhabitants  of  18  years  and  over  in  Chinsura,  and  30 
in  Bandel.  Now  the  only  European  residents  are  the  oflBcials,  both  of  the 
district  and  of  the  railway,  and  the  missionaries. 

The  author  of  an  article  "Calcutta  in  the  Olden  Time,"  in  the  Calcutta 
RevietD  of  1860,  quotes  from  Grand  Pre's  "Voyage  in  the  Indian  Ocean  and 
to  Bengal,  1789-90,"  a  book  I  have  never  seen  myself,  the  following  curious 
description  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chinsura: — 

** There  was  a  class  of  East  Indians  in  Chinsura  of  whom  Grand  Pre  writes  thus — 'Here,  aa  in 
all  the  Dutch  establishments,  some  Malay  families  have  settled  and  given  birth  to  a  description 
of  women  called  Mosses,  who  are  in  high  estimation  for  their  beauty  and  talents.  The  race  is 
tow  almost  extinct,  or  is  scattered  through  different  parts  of  tho  country;  for  Chinsura  in  ita 
decline  had  no  longer  sufBcient  attraction  to  retain  them,  and  at  present  a  few  only,  atd  thos« 
with  great  difficulty,  are  here  and  there  to  be  found.' 

"  We  have  not  heard  of  them  of  late  year*." 

These  Mosses,   apparently,  were  ladies  who  made  a  living  by  their   looks,  like 
the  damsels  of  Baranagar,  who  made  such  an  impression  upon  both  Hamilton 


1754 

...     J.  EeFsebon. 

1759 

...     A.  Bisdotu. 

1768 

...     G.  Veraet 

1780 

...     Row. 

1783 

...     P.  Brueys. 

1789 

...     HoDB.  Tit^iuh. 

1818-25 

...     G.  Overbeck. 

40  A   BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

and   Stavorinus.     Few  in  number  in    1790,  not  heard    of    in  late  years    in 
1860,  needless  to  say  that  the  race  does  not  now  inhabit  Chinsura. 

I  have  been  able  to  ascertain  the  names  of  only  a  few  of  the  Dutch 
Governors  oi  Chinsura.  The  officer  who  signs  first  the  treaty  of  December 
1759  is  A.  Bisdom ;  Q-.  L.  Vemet,  a  subsequent  Governor,  signs  second. 
Mossel  was  apparently  the  Governor-General  of  Batavia,  not  of  Chinsura — 

1706  ...  Willein  de  Ro«. 

P  ...  Huysman. 

t  ...  TaUlefert. 

1724  ...  Mona.  Vuiut. 

1726-27  ...  Heer  Patras. 

1744  ...  Sichtenuiui. 

1749  ...  Huyfi^uua* 

5.  The  French  and  C/tandarttagar. — The  first  attempt  of  the  French  to 
trade  with  India  was  made  as  early  as  1503,  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XH, 
when  two  ships  were  fitted  out  by  some  merchants  of  Bouen  to  trade  with 
the  East.  They  sailed  from  the  port  of  Havre  in  1503,  and  were  never 
heard  of  again.  No  further  efforts  were  made  for  a  century,  till  Henri  lY 
granted  a  patent  for  fifteen  years,  on  Ist  June  1604,  to  a  Company  to  trade 
with  the  East.  This  Company,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  done 
anything.  The  second  Company  was  formed  by  Richelieu  under  letters  patent 
of  24th  June  1642  as  "La  Compagnie  dee  Indes."  It  devoted  its  attention 
chiefly  to  Madagascar.  The  third  Company  was  formed  under  the  same 
name,  by  Colbert  in  1664.  They  founded  their  first  factory  at  Surat,  in 
1668.  In  the  beginning  of  1670  they  established  a  factory  at  Masulipatam, 
under  a.  far  man  from  the  King  of  Goloonda,  dated  5th  December  1669.  In 
1674  an  officer  named  Martin  bought  for  the  Company  a  piece  of  ground 
south  of  the  river  Coleroon,  to  which,  in  the  following  year,  was  given  the 
name  of  Phulcheri,  which  gradually  became  Pondieherry.  This  third  Company 
was  superseded  by  a  fourth,  got  up  by  John  Law,  under  a  royal  decree  of 
May  1719,  and  called  the  "  Company  of  the  Indies,"  the  scope  of  its 
operations  including  both  the  East  and  the  West  Indies.  This  fourth 
Company  came  to  an  end  in  1769. 

Chandarnagar  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  occupied  for  the  first 
time  by  the  French  about  1676.  It  may  have  been  a  little  earlier,  for 
Streynsham  Master,  in  his  diary  of  his  visit  to  Hughli  in  1676,  states,  under 
the  date  of  13th  September  1676,  that  a  little  south  of  the  Dutch  factory  at 
Chinsura  he  passed  a  spot  which  had  been  laid  out  as  a  factory  by  the 
French,  but  which  was  then  in  occupation  of  the  Dutch.  Colonel  Yule  gives 
1673  as  the  date  of  first  occupation.     (Hedges'  Diary,  Vol.  HI,  p.  218.) 

The  French  appear  to  have  made  no  further  efforts  at  settlement  or  trade 
in    Bengal    for    a    period    of    twelve    years.     But    in    1688    they    occupied 


A   BRIEF   H18T0R1   OF  TmS    inJOin.1   DISTRICT.  4l 

Chandornagar,  and  this  timo  pormanontly,  under  an  edict  of  Aurangzeb. 
About  tho  same  timo,  raoro  or  loss,  they  occupied  stations  at  Balasore, 
Kanmbazar,  Dakka,  Patna,  and  Jagdea.  In  1607,  at  the  time  of  Subha 
Sinh's  rebellion,  the  settlement  was  fortified,  by  tho  construction  of  Fort 
Orleans,  which  stood  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  present  embankment,  Iho 
Quai  Dupleix.  In  1701  Chandarnagar  was  made  subordinate  to  Pondicherry. 
But  little  was  done  in  the  way  of  trade  either  by  the  French,  or  by  tho 
Danes,  who  shared  the  French  settlement  up  to  1765,  until  the  Governorship 
of  Dupleix.  Hamilton  thus  describes  tho  place  in  his  "New  Account  of  tho 
East  Indies":— 

"  There  are  several  other  village*  on  the  Rtver't  Side,  on  the  way  to  H%hly,  which  lie*  20  Mile» 
above  Bamag^ul,  but  none  remarkable,  till  wo  come  to  tho  Dane's  Factory,  which,  stands  about  foor 
Mile*  below  Hughly,  but  the  Poverty  of  tho  Danes  has  mode  them  desert  it,  after  having  robbed  tho 
Mogul's  Subjects  of  some  of  their  Shipping  to  keep  themselves  from  starving.  Almost  opposite  to  tho 
Danes  Factory  is  Bankebanksol,  a  Place  where  the  Ostend  Company  settled  a  Factory,  but  in  anno 
1723  they  quarrelled  with  the  Fouxdaar  or  Governor  of  Hughly,  and  he  forced  tho  Ostouders  to  quit 
their  Bactory  and  seek  Protection  from  the  French  at  Chamagur,  whore  their  Factory  is,  but,  for 
Want  of  Money,  not  in  a  Capacity  to  trade.  They  have  a  few  private  Families  dwelling  near  the 
Factory,  and  a  pretty  little  Church  to  hear  Mass  in,  which  is  the  chief  Business  of  the  French  ia 
Bengal." 

The  above  extract  may  have  been  a  fair  description  of  Chandarnagar, 
at  the  time  when  Hamilton  visited  it,  in  1706  or  1707  ;  but  it  is  curious  to 
reflect  that,  by  the  time  his  book  was  published,  in  1744,  Chandarnagar  had 
risen  to  the  highest  pitch  of  prosperity,  which  it  ever  enjoyed,  and  was  a 
greater  centre  of  trade  than  Calcutta. 

Laurent  Qturcin  (1726-27)  gives  the  following  description  of  Chandar- 
nagar : — 

Au  desaous  et  k  nne  bonne  demi-lieue  de  Chinchora,  est  Chandemagor,  la  demeure  des  Francois. 
Us  oat  le  plus  bel  endroit  et  la  plus  belle  Loge  du  pals  d'Hougly,  fortifi^  regulierement  de  Quatre 
Bastions,  ayant  dans  son  enciente  une  grande  et  belle  place,  qui  sert  de  place  d'armes — le  tout  bien  muni  de 
canon.  La  maison  du  Directeur  est  belle  et  assez  bien  construit  et  on  y  batissoit  alors  h,  cote,  une  fort« 
jolie  petite  Eglize.  Dehors  cette  Loge  qui  est  environneo  d'un  bon  Fosso  il  y  a  aussi  une  petite 
Eglize  appartenant  aux  Jesuites  qui  est  tres  propremont  batie,  on  il  y  avoit  deux  Peres  qui  la  servoient. 
Cette  Loge  fortifi^  est  tout  pres  du  Qange.  II  y  a  outre  ceox  de  lenr  Compagnie  plusieurs  Francois 
d'etablis  qui  ont  d'assez  jolies  demeures.  Les  Francois  y  ont  quelqnes  trouppes  commandees  par  nn 
Capitaine." 

Joseph  Frangois  Dupleix  was  bom  at  Landrecie,  in  Flanders,  in  1697 
and  was  the  son  of  a  Director  of  the  French  Company  of  tho  Indies.  Ho 
first  went  on  a  voyage  to  India  in  1714,  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  On  his 
return  to  France,  he  was  appointed  Second  in  Council  at  Pondicherry  in 
1720,  and  returned  to  India  the  same  year.  In  1726  he  was  suspended,  but 
remained  in  India,  and  on  30th  September  1730  he  was  reinstated.  In  1731 
he  was  appointed  Intendant,  or  Governor,  of  Chandarnagar,  and  remained 
there  for  ten  years,  during  which  he  not  only  made  an  immense  fortune  for 
himself  by  private  trade,  but  also  made  the  fortune  of  his  charge.    He  found 

F 


42  A    BRIEF   HISTORY   OF    TirE    HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 

Chandamagax  almost  a  ruin ;  he  left  it  the  most  important  European 
settlement  in  Bengal,  with  2,000  brick  houses,  an  extensive  trade,  and 
unsurpassed  credit.  In  1741  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Pondicherry,  and 
went  to  that  station.  In  the  following  year,  1742,  he  revisited  Chandarnagar 
for  the  last  time.  He  remained  thirteen  years  at  Pondicherry.  During  that 
time  he  formed  the  design  of  making  the  French  the  paramount  power  in 
all  South  India — a  design  which,  with  proper  support  from  his  employers  at 
home,  and  his  compatriots  in  India,  he  would  certainly  have  carried  out. 
Both  utterly  failed  him,  and  he  left  India  a  disappointed  and  ruined  man. 
lie  was  superseded  by  Q-odeheu  on  2nd  August  1754,  and  sailed  for  home 
on  14th  October  1754.  His  immense  private  fortune  had  been  spent  in 
carrying  on  the  struggle  against  the  English,  and  was  never  repaid  by  the 
Company.     He  died  in  poverty  in  Paris,  on  10th  November  1764. 

Dupleix  was  succeeded  as  Governor  of  Chandarnagar  in  1741  by  M. 
Duval  de  Lejnrit,  under  whom  the  settlement  soon  sank  from  the  height  of 
prosperity  to  which  Dupleix  had  raised  it.  When  Siraj-al-daulat  advanced 
on  Calcutta  in  1756,  he  demanded  help  from  the  French  and  Dutch.  The 
French  gave  him  250  barrels  ©f  gunpowder,  in  return  for  which  he  afterwards 
let  them  off  with  a  fine  of  3i  lakhs,  while  he  exacted  44  lakhs  from 
the  Dutch.  Both  French  and  Dutch  refused  to  help  the  English,  but  both 
offered  protection  in  their  settlements  to  any  fugitives  who  might  escape  to 
them. 

After  he  had  recaptured  Calcutta,  Clive  lost  no  time  in  pushing  his  way 
forward,  and  seized  Hughli  on  the  10th  of  January.  The  iVench  proposed  a 
treaty  of  neutrality  in  Bengal  between  the  English  and  themselves,  but  Clive  and 
Watson  were  unwilling  to  agree,  unless  the  French  would  join  them  against  the 
Nawab,  which  they  were  unwilling  to  do.  In  the  beginning  of  January  Clive  had 
heard  that  war  had  been  declared  between  France  and  England.  The  same 
intelligence  had  reached  Chandarnagar,  but  both  French  and  English  were 
uncertain  whether  it  would  pay  them  better  to  make  a  treaty  of  neutrality  in  Bengal, 
or  to  fight  the  quarrel  out.  Both  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  treaty  would 
suit  them  better,  and  a  treaty  of  neutrality  had  almost  been  agreed  upon,  when 
events  occurred  which  caused  Clive  and  Watson  to  change  their  minds.  Clive's 
easy  defeat  of  the  Nawab's  army  before  Calcutta  on  4th  February  showed  that  the 
quality  of  the  Nawab's  levies  had  been  overestimated ;  the  news  of  the  capture  of 
Delhi  by  Ahmad  Shah  Abdali  reached  Bengal,  and  the  attention  of  the  Nawab  was 
attracted  to  his  northern  frontier,  unmindful  of  the  proverb  "  Ab  DilU  dur  ast  * 
("It's  a  far  cry  to  Loch  Awe  ").  Finally  the  opportune  arrival  of  three  ships  of 
war  from  England  settled  the  matter.  Never  again  would  so  good  an  opportunity 
offer  itself  of  settHng  once  and  forever  the  question  of  English  or  French 
supremacy  in  Bengal.  The  French  deputies  had  to  admit  that  they  had  no  power 
to   arrange   a   treaty   of   neutrality  without  the  eanction  of  head-quarters  at 


A    BRIEF   HT8T0RT  OF  THB   HUOHL!   DISTRICT. 


Pondioheny.    Taking  advantage  of  this  fact,  Clivo  broke  off  nogotiations,  and 
advanced  on  Cliandaraagar. 

The  following  account  of  the  attack  on  and  capture  of  Chandamagar  is 
summarized  from  the  accoimt  given  by  Ives,  Surgeon  to  Admiral  Watson's  ship, 
■who  was  himself  an  actor  in  the  scenes  he  describes,  in  his  "Voyage  from 
England  to  India."    He  thus  describee  the  French  settlement : — 

"  Cbandernagore,  the  principal  nttlement  of  the  French  in  this  part  of  the  Indies,  atrongly 
garhMoed.  The  fort  wa*  a  regular  tquare,  about  i  mile  iu  circumference,  with  four  baitiont,  each 
mounting  16  guna,  besides  some  on  the  curtain,  and  a  battery  of  four  pieces  of  cannon  on  the  top  of  a 
church.  There  was  a  dry  fosse  round  the  throe  sides  to  the  land,  with  a  glacis  of  about  40  yards. 
At  the  northward  port "  {i.e.,  gate)  "  was  a  ravelin  mounting  5  guns,  and  opposite  the  port  towards  the 
water  side  was  a  luud  battery  of  six  guns  which  flanked  down  the  river." 

Clive  commanded  the  land  forces,  invested  the  town  on  13th  March  1757,  and 
drove  the  enemy  into  the  fort  on  the  14th.  The  fleet,  consisting  of  the  Eeni^ 
of  70  guns,  Admiral  Watson  and  Captain  Speko ;  the  Ti/ger^  60  guns.  Admiral 
Pocock  and  Captain  Lathom ;  and  tho  Salisbury,  50  guns,  Captain  Knowles, 
arrived  on  18th  March,  "  and,  turning  the  point  of  Chandemagore  reach,  anchored 
off  the  Prussian  Octagon."  The  French  had  blocked  tho  channel  by  sinking 
ships,  and  had  also  prepared  three  fire-ships.  But  a  deserter,  named  Terraneau, 
showed  the  English  that  the  channel  was  passable  in  spite  of  the  sunken  ships ; 
and  on  the  night  of  18th  March  a  boat  party  cut  the  cables  of  the  three  fire-ships, 
and  they  went  ashore.  The  attack  was  made  on  23rd  March.  The  land  force 
under  Clive  captured  the  half -moon  battery.  On  the  river  the  Tyger  took  the 
lead  the  Kent  came  second,  but  the  two  collided,  and  the  Kent  drifted  back 
into  what  should  have  been  the  station  of  the  Salisbury,  which  never  came  into 
action  at  all.  At  8  a.  m.  a  lucky  shot  of  the  enemy's  caused  an  explosion 
on  board  the  Kent,  and  70  or  80  of  the  crow  jumped  overboard  into  the 
boats,  which  were  alongside.  Lieutenant  Brereton,  r.n.,  extinguished  the 
fire  and  persuaded  the  men  in  the  boats  to  return.  The  place  hung  out  a 
white  flag  about  three  hours  after  the  bombardment  began.  Captain  Coote  and 
Ldeutenant  Brereton,  who  was  the  only  officer  on  board  the  Kent  neither 
killed  nor  wounded,  were  sent  to  treat  for  the  surrender,  and  the  English 
occupied  the  place. 

Ives  gives  the  terms  of  surrender  in  full.  The  chief  items  were,  that  no 
deserters  should  be  executed ;  that  officers  should  be  paroled,  soldiers  and  sailors 
made  prisoners  of  war,  sepoys  allowed  to  go  home.  The  treaty  of  surrender 
was  signed  for  the  French  by  P.  Renault,  F.  Nicholas,  La  Portiere,  G.  Caillot, 
M.  Foumier,  and  Sugues. 

The  French  made  a-  gallant  defence.  They  stood  to  their  gims  as  long  as 
they  had  any  to  fire.  How  many  killed  and  wounded  they  lost  was  not 
ascertained;   in  the  south-east    bastion   alone  forty    were  killed.    Among  the 


44  A   BTITEF    msTORT   OF  THK  HCOHLl   DISTRICT, 


wounded  was  a  Corporal  Lee,  a  deserter  from  the  Tyger.  He  was  sent  to 
England  as  a  prisoner. 

The  Kent  had  three  guns  on  the  upper  and  three  on  the  lower  deck 
dismantled;  138  cannon  shot  were  sent  through  her  side  nearest  the  fort,  and  her 
sails  and  rigging  were  greatly  damaged.  She  lost  37  killed  and  74  wounded; 
among  them,  First  Lieutenant  Perreau  killed,  Third  Lieutenant  Hey,  and 
Midshipman  Speke,  son  of  the  Captain,  died  of  wounds ;  among  the  wounded  were 
Captain  Speke  (dangerously,  but  recovered).  Second  Lieutenant  Stanton, 
Midshipmen  Marriott  and  Wood,  Purser  Barnes,  and  Mr.  Lister,  Under-Secretary 
to  the  Admiral. 

On  the  Tyger  the  number  of  killed  "almost  equalled  those  of  the 
Ee»^,"  while  41  were  wounded,  including  Admiral  Pocock,  Master's  Mate 
Pater  (lost  his  arm),  and  Midshipmen  Wilkinson,  Thompson,  and  Gribble.  The 
only  officer  killed  was  the  Master,  Mr.  Phillips.  The  Salisbury  seems  to 
have  had  no  casualties,  never  having  come  into  action.  "  The  French  power 
and  commerce  in  Bengal  were  totally  ruined."  The  loot  taken,  guns,  stores, 
&c.,  sold  for  over  £130,000. 

Malleson,  in  "  The  French  in  India,"  p.  458,  gives  the  garrison  of  Chandar- 
nagar  as  146  European  troops,  of  whom  45  were  invalids,  300  sepoys,  and 
nearly  300  European  volunteers.  There  were  ten  32-pounder8  on  each  of  the 
bastions,  24-pounder8  on  the  ramparts ;  eight  32-pounder8  on  the  south-western 
ravelin*  six  guns  on  the  roof  of  the  church;  also  several  batteries  beyond  the 
elacis.  He  also  gives  the  French  loss  as  110  killed.  It  is  curious  that  the 
same  Renault  de  St.  Germain,  who  made  so  gallant  a  defence  of  Chandar- 
nagar,  afterwards,  in  1760,  surrendered  Karikal  to  the  English  after  a 
resistance  bo  feeble  that  Lally,  the  French  Commander-in-Chief,  said  he 
deserved  death,  and  he  actually  was  tried  and  cashiered. 

The  Consultations  of  5th  September  1757  contain  an  entry  of  orders  to  the 
Buxey  (Paymaster)  and  Military  Store-keeper  to  supply  the  officers  with  such 
materials,  to  blow  up  the  fortifications  and  public  works  at  Chandamagar,  as 
they  may  indent  for,  at  the  Company's  charge. 

Chandamagar  was  restored  to  the  French  at  the  peace  of  Paris  in  1763. 
One  of  the  conditions  of  its  restoration  was  that  the  fort  should  not  be 
rebuilt,  nor  the  settlement  in  any  way  fortified. 

Stavorinus,  in  1769-70,  describes  Chandamagar  as  follows: — 

"  Chandcrnj^ore  is  built  nil  along  the  river,  and  is  embellished  with  many  handsome  honscfl. 
.  Further  down,  about  half-way  between  Chandernagore  and  Serampore,  is  a  place  called  Garetti 
Here  on  the  same  side  with  Chandernagore,  the  French  Governor  has  built  a  noble  house,  or 
rather  a  palace,  and  has  Iwd  out  an  extensive  and  pleasant  garden.  And  in  this  neighbourhood 
the  English  have  a  military  fort,  where  often  one  thousand  men,  and  sometimes  more,  are 
encamped  .  .  .  Chiindemaarore  is  l-uilt,  about  a  mile  in  length,  along  the  Ganges,  in  a  straight  line, 
with  two  parallel,  and  several  cross  streets  behind  it,  which  have  some  good  buildings.  The  ruins 
of    the   Fort,    demolished    by    the    English,    are  at  the  north  end    of  the  place,  and  sufficiently 


A    BRIEF    HISTWRY   OP   THE    HUQHLI    DISTRICT.  46 

«tonoiutmt«  ito  former  tfamigth  .  .  .  The  trade  of  the  French  here  hae,  since  the  hut  war,  been 
giwatly  on  the  decline.  Their  settlement  and  fort  of  Chandemagore  were  then  wholly  destroyed 
by  Uio  English.  At  the  peace  which  folluwod,  it  wai  conditioned  that  tho  Furt  should  not  be 
rebuilt,  nor  should  tboy  be  allowed  to  fortify  thuinselves  in  any  way.  The  English  are  very  strict 
on  these  points,  and  nre  very  cnrvful  that  tlic  FriMich  do  not  infringe  these  conditions  in  tho  least. 
It  was  not  long  ago,  that  thoy  enforced  thuir  right  in  this  respect  without  any  coromony." 

He  then  relates  how  M.  Chevalier,  the  Governor,  had  ordered  a  deep  ditch, 
with  salient  angles,  to  be  dug  round  the  town,  the  earth  being  thrown  up  on 
the  inner  sides,  so  as  to  form  a  rampart.  He  alleged  that  this  was  simply  a 
ditch  to  drain  tho  place.  Tho  English  sent  an  Engineer  to  survey  it,  who 
reported  that,  being  deeper  than  low-water  mark,  it  could  not  be  meant  for  a 
drain.  Accordingly  800  sepoys,  under  an  Engineer  officer,  were  sent  to 
Chandarnagar,  and  the  ditch  was  filled  up. 

When  war  again  broke  out  between  England  and  France  in  1778i 
Chandamagar  was  occupied  without  opposition  by  the  English.  War  was 
declared  on  18th  March  1778,  the  news  reached  Calcutta  vid  Suez  on  6th  July, 
and  the  plaoe  was  occupied  on  lOth  July.  It  was  again  restored  to  the 
French  in  1783.  During  part  of  this  time  Sir  Robert  Chambers,  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Calcutta,  held  the  post  of  Special  Judge  of  Chinsura  and 
Chandamagar,  to  which  he  was  appointed  in  September  1781. 

The  Calcutta  Gazette  of  5th  October  1787  describes  a  serious  riot  which 
had  recently  taken  place  at  the  French  settlement.  The  paper  states  that,  a 
riot  having  taken  place  at  Chandernagore,  the  Q-overnor,  M.  Dangereaux,  had 
the  ringleaders  arrested;  the  mob  attacked  his  house  to  release  them;  his 
guard  fired  on  the  crowd  without  effect ;  he  had  to  send  for  help  from 
Barrackpore,  a  battalion  of  sepoys  was  sent  and  restored  order.  The  same 
newspaper  states,  in  the  following  year,  in  the  issue  of  20th  March  1788 : — 

"The  French  at  Chandernagore,  with  extreme  caution  rather  than  prudence,  have  stopped 
any  further  advances  for  their  investment,  and  some  of  the  wealthy  inhabitants  have  begnn 
moving  their  most  valuable  effects  to  Serampore." 

In  1789,  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  17th  September  notifies  that  M.  Montigny 
the  Q-ovemor  of  Chandernagore,  has  issued  a  proclamation  prohibiting  purchase 
or  export  of  natives  as  slaves. 

In  1789  the  great  French  Eevolution  took  place,  and  its  effects  gradually 
spread  to  the  French  settlements  in  India.  The  author  of  an  article  entitled 
"Notes  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Hooghly,"  in  the  Calcutta  Review  for 
1845,  describes  how  a  mimic  revolution  broke  out  at  Chandarnagar  in  1792. 
The  people,  led  by  a  lawyer,  rose  against  the  Governor,  who  fled  to  hia 
country  house  at  Ghireti,  as  Louis  XVI  took  refuge  at  Versailles.  The  mob 
followed  him  to  Ghireti  and  brought  him  back  to  Chandamagar  in  triumph 
as  the  Parisian  mob  brought  back  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette  from 
Versailles  to  Paris.  Fearing  that  the  parallel  might  be  completed  by  his 
^ecution,  the  Goyemor  appealed  for  help  to  the  English,  who  sent  a  force 


46  A   BHTEF   HISTORY   OF    THE    HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 

which  soon  put  down  the  disturhance.  A  less  picturesque,  but  probably  more 
authentic,  account  of  this  revolution  is  given  in  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  18th 
October  1792,  as  follows : — 

"  Monsieur  Fumeron,  some  time  ago  appointed  Chief  of  Chandemagore  by  the  Qovemment 
of  Pondicherry,  has  been  trying  in  vain,  for  many  months  past,  to  take  possession  of  bis  Qovemment, 
bu*  the  popular  Chiefs  of  Chandemagore  have  uniformly  resisted  his  authority,  and  even  denied 
hira  admisfion  in  their  Settlement.  Thus  situated,  M.  Fumeron  has  resided  in  Calcutta  since  hi» 
arrival  in  Bengal,  but  at  length,  seeing  no  hope  of  a  change  in  the  sentiments  of  those  over  whom 
he  was  intended  to  preside,  he  has  left  Calcutta,  and  embarked  on  board  la  Fidele  for  Pondicherry, 
which  sailed  from  hence  a  few  days  ago." 

War  was  declared  between  England  and  France  on  8th  February  1793, 
and,  on  the  news  reaching  Calcutta,  Chandarnagar  was  occupied  in  June  1793. 
In  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  20th  June  1793  appears  the  following  notification : — 

"The  Governor-General  in  Council  has  been  pleased  to  appoint  Mr.  Richard  Birch,  Superin- 
tendent, Judge,  and  Magistrate  of  Chandemagore,  and  Mr.  DeBretel  to  be  Deputy  to  the 
Superintendent." 

In  the  same  publication,  on  17th  July  1793,  was  advertised  for  sale  the 
property  of  the  French  Government  at  Chandarnagar  arsenal,  including  the 
state  palanquin. 

Besides  the  settlement  of  Chandarnagar  itself,  the  French  have  always 
owned,  and  to  this  day  own,  a  small  plot  of  land,  about  120  bighas  in  extent, 
at  Ghireti,  one  and-a-half  miles  to  the  south.  Close  to  Ghireti  the  Grand 
Trunk  Road,  running  from  Calcutta,  vid  Barrackpur,  to  Pulta,  crosses  the 
Hughli.  At  the  north  end  of  this  small  piece  of  land  was  the  French 
Governor's  country  house,  now  in  ruins.  It  was  here  that  the  Goveraor  was 
said  to  have  taken  refuge  during  the  mimic  revolution  of  1792. 

The  French  territory  of  Chandarnagar  comprises  altogether  about  four 
square  miles,  being  a  little  loss  than  four  miles  in  length,  along  the  river 
bank,  from  north  to  south,  and  a  little  over  one  mile  in  breadth,  from  east  to 
west.  But  of  this  territory  only  about  seven  bighas  belongs  to  the  French  in 
full  sovereignty.  Of  the  rest  they  are  only  zamindirs  or  patnidars^  and  pay 
land  revenue  to  the  British  Government,  through  the  Collector  of  Hughli, 
under  the  permanent  settlement.  About  sixty  years  ago  some  disputes  took 
place  between  the  Collector  of  Hughli  and  the  Administrator  of  Chandarnagar, 
the  former  claiming,  the  latter  refusing  to  permit,  British  jurisdiction  over  all 
that  part  of  .the  Chandarnagar  territory  for  which  the  French  paid  land 
revenue.  The  claim  of  the  French  to  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  of 
the  land  for  which  they  paid  revenue  was  eventually  allowed  by  Government 
order  No.  1086,  of  23rd  April  1845.  (Toynbee,  p.  24).  Besides  Chandar- 
nagar, and  the  small  patch  of  land  at  Ghireti,  the  French  also  still  own  a  few 
bighas  of  ground  at  Balasore,  the  site  of  their  old  factory  there. 

The  French  ditch,  which  more  or  less  surrounds  Chandarnagar,  appears 
to   have   been   originally   dug   for   drainage   purposes  about  the  end   of   the 


▲  BRIEF   HISTORY  OF  THE   HUOHLl   DISTRICT. 


eighteenth  oentuiy,  its  oonstruotion  boing  permitted  by  the  13th  article  of  the 
treaty  of  Vorsailloe  in  1783.  "With  the  same  object,  it  was  redug  and  deepened 
about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  now  forms  the  boundary 
between  the  French  territory  and  Bhadreswar,  where  it  is  both  broad  and 
deep.  On  the  west  of  the  settlement  it  is  not  so  large,  and  its  northern 
limb,  whioh  is  still  smaller,  only  a  large  ditch,  lies  well  within  the  French 
boundary. 

Modem  Chandamagar  is  a  very  neat,  pretty,  and  well-kept  little  town, 
as  far  as  the  European  quarter  goes.  The  native  parts,  however,  are  no  better 
than  Hughli  and  Chinsura.  There  is  a  fine  promenade  or  bund  along  the 
liver  bank,  on  the  landward  side  of  which  stand  the  chief  buildings  of  the 
town ;  the  residence  of  the  Administrator,  the  Convent,  the  JaU,  the  Thistle 
Hotel,  and,  a  little  way  back  from  the  river,  the  Church  of  St.  Louis,  built  in 
1726.  Tliis  bund  is  known  as  the  Quai  Dupleix.  Parallel  with  it,  running 
northwards  from  the  Church,  is  the  second  street,  the  Rue  Martin,  named  after 
(General  Claude  Martin,  who  left  Rs.  50,000,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be 
given  yearly  to  the  poor  of  the  town.  A  tablet  in  the  Church  of  St.  Louis 
commemorates  this  legacy.  In  this  street  stands  the  College,  named  after  the 
great  Governor,  Dupleix,  a  bust  of  whom  stands  in  the  public  gardens,  at  the 
south  of  the  Church.  Of  the  monuments  in  the  Church,  the  following  is  the 
most  interesting  : — 

a  gU  Jean  Henri  Firon,  offieier  frant;au,  OinSral  Commandant  le  Corpi  fran<;ait  an 
serriee  du  Souhah  de  Decan.  Ne  ct  Euringue  le  25  Mars  1763.  Mort  au  jardin  de  L'AmitiS 
le  21  Octobre  1807,  agi  de  44  ant,  6  moit,  26  Jours." 

The  name  of  Chandarnagar  should  literally  be  Chandan-nagar^  the  City  of 
Sandalwood.  The  population  is  about  26,000  for  the  whole  territory,  all  of 
which  is  practically  urban.  The  Governor,  or  Administrator,  as  he  is  officially 
called,  is  subordinate  to  the  French  Governor-General  at  Pondicherry.  The 
English  Administration  gives  the  French  Government  300  chests  of  opium 
annually,  on  condition  that  the  inhabitants  do  not  attempt  to  engage  in  the 
manufacture  of  opium.  The  chief  manufacture  of  the  place  is  jute  spinning 
and  weaving,  as  carried  out  by  the  Gondalpara  jute  mill.  Gondalpara  is  the 
south-eastern  comer  of  the  French  territory.  It  was  here  that  the  Danish 
factory  was  situated,  up  to  1755;  and  the  place  still  goes  by  the  name  of 
Danemardanga.  The  whole  settlement  of  Chandamagar  comprises  2,359  acres, 
or  about  3|  square  miles.  It  is  known  to  the  natives  as  Farasdanga,  A  fair 
called  the  Gosaighata  mela  is  held  on  the  river-side,  at  the  northern  end  of 
the  Fi-ench  territory,  during  the  months  of  December  and  January.  It  lasts 
for  four  weeks. 

French  Ghireti  is  called  Farasisganj.  It  consists  of  a  long  strip,  between 
the  Grand  Tnmk  Road  on  the  west,  and  the  river  Hughli  on  the  east,  and 
comprises  120  bighas  in  all;   of   which  a  very  small  portion,   110  yards  in 


48 


A   BRIEF   HISTORY  OF   THE    HT7GHLI   DISTRICT. 


length,  and  measuring    1^  acres,  lies  on  the  western  side  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Eoad,  at  the  northern  end  of  the  territory. 

Capital  punishment  at  Chandarnagar  is  carried  out  by  guillotine,  the  instru- 
ment being  brought,  when  required,  from  Pondicherry.  It  was  last  used  in  1895. 
Chandarnagar,  in  common  with  the  other  French  settlements  in  India,  has  a 
special  issue  of  postage  stamps.  At  the  census  of  1901  the  number  of  British 
subjects  living  in  French  Chandarnagar  was  10,999. 

I  have  been  able  to  ascertain  the  names  of  only  a  few  of  the  Governors 
or  Administrators  of  Chandarnagar  during  the  eighteenth  century.  From  1793 
to  1816  the  settlement  was  almost  continuously  in  the  possession  of  the 
English.  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  M.  Deville,  the  present 
Administrator  of  Chandarnagar,  for  a  list  of  the  Governors  from  1816  to 
1901.  The  names  of  Governors  prior  to  1793  are  not  available  now  at 
Chandarnagar : — 


M.  Blancbatiere 

. 

..     1729  (Died  at  Chandarnagar.] 

Joeq)h  Francois  Duplet  x 

..     1731—1741. 

M.  De  Leyrit 

..     1742 

„  Do  Leyrit 

..     1753 

„  Renault  de  St. 

Germain     . 

..     1756 

„  Chevalier 

..     1769 

„  Dangcreauz 

..     1787 

„  F.  Nicolaa 

..     1788 

„  Montigny 

.     1789 

„  Fumeron 

.     1792 

Administrators  of  Chandarnagar^  1816 — 1901. 


Kame. 

Appointment. 

Titie. 

Date. 

If.  Ravier 

Commissture  de  la  Marine 

Chef  de  Service 

1816 

„  Dayot 

Intendant  O^n^ral 

Ditto 

1819 

„  Bavier 

Commissaire  de  la  Marine 

Ditto 

1821' 

„  Cordier 

Capitaine  de  Yuaaaaa 

Administrateur 

1822 

„  Pellisaier     ... 

CoBQEaissaire  de  la  Marine 

ChargI  du  Service 

1823 

„  Cordier 

Capitaine  de  Vaisseau 

Administrateur 

1826 

pt  Crocquet      ... 

Sous  CommlBsaire  de  la  Marine 

Chef     de    Service    pour 
interim. 

1828 

„  Cordier 

CapitAine  de  Vaisseau 

Administrateur 

1829 

„  Kiel 

Sous  Commissaire  de  la  Marine 

Charge  du  Service  p.  i.  ... 

1836 

„  B^dier 

Commissaire  de  la  Marine 

Chef  de  Service 

1836 

„  Niel 

Sous  Commismre  de  la  Marine 

Chargl  du  Service  p.  i.  ... 

1837 

1.    BRIEF   HIOTORT  OF  THl   HVOHLl   DISTRICT. 


4» 


AdtmmairatioH  of  Chanehrnagary  1810—1901 — concluded 

» 

Num. 

Appointment 

TitlA. 

D»to. 

M.    Aagutte 
Boiu^iu. 

Commis  Principal  do  la  Marine... 

Cbarg^  do  Service  p.  i.  ... 

188a 

,.  St.  HUaire  ... 

Chef  do  BataiUon 

Adniiniatratcur 

1841 

^  St  PBurijain 

Chef  de  Service  p.  i.      ... 

1848 

„  L  8  w         d  e 

ClapenioD. 

Colonel 

Chef  de  Service 

1844 

„  A.  Vigneti  ... 

Commiasaire  de  la  Marine 

Ditto 

l&t8 

^  La  Clarorie... 

Magistrat 

Ditto    p.  i. 

18S5 

„  L  Hayes      ... 

Couiuiissaire  de  la  Marine 

Ditto 

1865 

„  Maran 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1856 

„  L  aw         d  e 

Clapernoiu 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1857 

„  I.Hayes      ... 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1860 

„  Deruaaat      ... 

Ditto 

Ditto 

186S 

„  Herv^ 

Sous  Commissfure  de  la  Marine 

Ditto    p.  i. 

1868 

„  Bayet 

Ditto 

Ditto    p.  i. 

18C8 

„  Duraud 

Colonel 

Ditto 

1868 

„  Ferricr 

G<?ndral 

Ditto 

1875 

M  Sergent 

Commissfdre  adjoint  d«  la  Marine 

Ditto    p.i. 

1878 

n  E.P^riez     ... 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1879 

„  Eud«l 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1880 

„  C  I  ^  m  e  n  t 
Thomas 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1883 

„  Sarine 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1887 

„  Daclin  Sibour 

Ditto 

Administrateur    des 
Colonies. 

1887 

M  Le  Cardinal... 

Chef  dn  bureau  de  la  Direction 
de  1 '  Int^rieur. 

Ditto    p.  i.      ... 

1888 

M  Bonnet 

Administrateur        ...                ,,, 

Ditto 

1889 

»  A   Q   b    r   y 

Lecomte. 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1892 

n  L'Ormi^rcs ... 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1896 

„  Echalier 

Ditto 

Ditto 

1896 

„  Bonchard    .., 

Magistrat 

Ditto    p.  i. 

1901 

„  Alex  Deville 

Administrateur 

Ditto 

1901 

50  A    BRIEF    HISTORY    OF    THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT; 

6.  The  Danes  anU  Serampur. — The  Danish  East  India  Company  was 
formed  in  1612,  and  the  first  Danish  ship  arrived  in  India  in  1616.  The 
Captain,  Rodant  Crape,  is  said  to  have  wrecked  his  ship  off  Tranquebar,  to 
effect  a  landing.  His  crew  were  all  murdered,  but  he  himself  contrived  to 
make  his  way  to  the  Court  of  the  Eaja  of  Tanjore,  and  obtained  for  the 
Danish  Company  a  grant  of  Tranquebar,  on  the  Coromandel  Coast,  with  the 
land  around,  five  miles  long  and  three  miles  broad. 

Stewart  states  that  the  Danes  first  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Hughli 
at  the  same  time  as  the  French,  in  or  about  1676.  The  author  of  an 
article  caEed  "Notes  on  the  Right  Bank  of  the  Hughli,"  in  the  Calcutta  Review 
for  1846,  states  that  the  Danes  first  settled  near  Hughli  in  1698,  having  got  a 
farnian  granting  them  liberty  to  trade  from  Azimus-shan,  Viceroy  of  Bengal, 
Toynbee  states  that  for  this  farnian  the  Danes  paid  Rs.  30,000,  in  ten  annual 
instalments.  Anyhow  their  first  settlement  was  at  Grondalpara,  in  what  is  now  the 
south-east  comer  of  the  French  territory  of  Chandamagar ;  the  spot  to  this  day  is 
known  as  Danemardanga.  Hamilton,  as  quoted  in  the  account  of  Chandamagar, 
mentions  having  visited  their  factory  here,  about  1706.  He  also  speaks  of  their 
having  a  small  settlement,  or  at  least  a  house,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hughli, 
a  little  south  of  the  modem  Geankhali.  The  river  which  he  calls  Ganga  is  the 
Rupnarayan.     After  describing  the  mouth  of  the  Hughli,  he  goes  on : — 

"  About  tive  leagues  further  up,  ou  the  west  side  of  the  river  of  Hnghly,  is  another  branch 
of  the  Qanges,  called  Qanga,  it  is  broader  than  that  of  Hughly,  but  much  shallower,  and  more 
incumbered  with  sand  banks ;  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  it  the  Danes  have  a  thatcht  house,  but 
for  what    reason  they   kept  an   house   there,    I   never  could  learn." 

The  author  of  the  anonymous  account  of  Hughli  in  1712,  quoted  under  the 
early  history  of  the  English,  also  mentions  having  visited  "the  Danes'  Factory 
at  Q-undulparfa." 

The  Danish  settlement  does  not  figure  in  history  at  all  during  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  the  year  1755  they  obtained  permission  from 
Alivardi  lOian,  the  then  Viceroy  of  Bengal,  to  settle  and  erect  a  factory  at 
Serampur.  They  paid  Rs.  1,60,000  for  this  permission,  which  was  granted 
through  the  influence  of  M.  Law,  then  chief  of  the  French  factory  at 
Kasirabazar,  a  nephew  of  the  famous  John  Law,  the  projector  of  the  Mississippi 
Boheme.  The  chief  of  the  Danish  factory,  who  took  over  Serampur,  was  named 
Soctman.  They  got  permission  to  occupy  sixty  bigh^as  in  all,  and  took  three 
Mghas  at  Serampur  itself,  and  57  at  Akna,  because  "no  ship  could  lay  at  Ackna 
though  a  good  factory  might  be  built  there  on  a  large  open  spot  of  ground;" 
while,  had  they  taken  up  the  whole  grant  «t  Serampur  itself,  they  would  have 
been  obliged  to  purchase  all  the  houses  on  the  ground,  to  the  value  of  ten  or 
twelve  thousand  rupees.  This  shows  that  Serampur  was  a  village  of  some 
importance,  even  before  the  Danes  settled  there.  Akna  lies  between  the  river 
and  the  East  Indian  Railway,  and  now  forms  a  paii  of  Serampur  Municipality. 


A  BEIBF   HISTORY  OF  THE   HVOHLl   DISTRICT.  51 


Tho  Danee  gave  the  name  of  Fwderik's-nagar,  after  thoLr  King,  t^  their  new 
eettleraout,  which  was  actually  taken  ovor  by  them  on  8th  Ootober  1755. 

"When  Siraj-al-daulat  was  mareliing  on  Calcutta,  in  Juno  1766,  he 
ordered  Soctman  to  join  him,  with  all  his*  troops,  cavalry,  infantry,  and 
artillery;  to  which  Soctman  answered  that  he  had  neither  horse,  foot,  nor 
guns,   but  was  living   in   a  miserable  mud    hut  with   two   or    three    servants. 

During  tho  war  that  ensued,  from  1757  to  1703,  between  France  and 
England,  the  Danes  took  no  active  part;  but  their  sympathies  naturally 
were  with  the  French,  who  had  given  them  houseroom  for  so  long  in  their 
own  settlement  at  Chandamngar.  The  following  extracts  from  tho  correspon- 
dence of  the  Cfdcutta  government  with  the  Directors  at  home  refer  to  this 
subject : — 

Letter  to  Court,  31st  December  1758. — Para.  6. — Complains  of  tho  partiality  of  the  Dane* 
for  the  French,  the  chief  of  Serampur  factory  having  sent  a  ship  with  provisions  to  Pcmdicherry, 
and  acting  as  a  means  of  communication  between  the  French  allowed  to  remain  in  Bengal  and 
Pondicherry.  In  this  he  only  follows  the  example  of  his  superior  officer.  Crag,  the  Governor  of 
Tranquobar,  who  helped  Lally  in  his  attack  ou  Tanjour.  Accordingly  all  French  iu  Bengal  will 
b«  deported  to  the  Coast.     (Madras.) 

Minutes  of  Conaultatiotu,  Fort  William,  11th  January  1759.— Letter  from  Mr.  Ziegenbalg  and 
the  Gentlemen  of  Frederick  Nagore,  asking  why  their  Company's  ship  The  King  of  Denmark 
was  stopped.  Reply  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  Ziegenbalg  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  Danish  Factory 
stating  that  their  partial  behaviour  towards  the  French  and  tho  help  given  by  them  to  our 
enemies  with  provision,  have  forced  us  to  watch  their  conduct  carefully,  and  to  detain  their 
ship,   but  that  if  they  please  we  will    land  their  rice   at  Madras. 

Ditto,  18th  January  1759. — Letter  from  Mr.  Ziegenbalg  and  the  other  gentlemen  at 
Fredericknagore,  dated  the  15th  instant,  acknowledging  ours  of  the  11th,  intimating  that  they 
c&nnot  but  submit  at  present,  but  they  hope  to  be  redressed  by  Judges  in  Europe ;  that  they 
cannot  accept  our  proposal  of  landiug  their  rice  at  Madras,  and  contracting  with  us  for  it, 
but  they  will  solemnly  declare  that  their  ship  is  destined  for  Tranqueber  only,  that  if  we  cannot 
trust  them  we  can  either  escort  her  or  send  a  Commissary  with  her,  also  that  we  will  be  answerable 
for  any  loss  incurred  by  them  on  account  of  her  detention.  Resolution  to  write  to  Mr.  Ziegenbalg 
and  the  gentleman  at  Fredericknagore,  intimating  that  one  of  our  Europe  ships  will  sail  for 
Madras  in  about  a  week,  and   that   we  will  send  their  ship  under  her  escort. 

In  the  Council  Proceedings  of  12th  May  1760  occurs  a  note  to  the  effect 
that  the  Danes  apply  for  loan  of  four  cannon  and  ammunition  for  defence 
against  Mahrattas.  Council  regret  that  they  cannot  comply,  but  say  the  Danes 
have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Mahrattas  as  long  as  the  Company's  party 
under  Captain  Spears  remains  in  their  neighbourhood. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  1st  March  1763  we  hear  of  a  small  quarrel  between 
the  Danes  and  the  English.  Captain  Broadbidl,  at  Ghireti,  complained  that 
when  two  companies  of  sepoys  were  coming  from  Calcutta  to  Ghireti,  by  the 
high-road,  which  runs  through  Serampur,  a  janwdai\  a  hamldar,  and  a 
sepoy,  loitered  behind,  got  into  an  altercation  with  some  natives,  and  were 
^^chaubucked**  (flogged)  by  the  Danish  znmimlar.  On  complaining  to  the  Chief 
of  Serampur,  he  made    a    counter-complaint  that    soldiers  from   Ghireti    camp 


52  .   A   BHIET    HISTOKY   OF  THE    HT7GHI.I    DTSTRICT. 

constantly  committed  depredations  in  the  town,  and  representations  to  Colonel 
Ooote  had  no  effect. 

The  sequel  to  this  quarrel  appears  in  a  reference  in  a  letter  from  the 
Court  of  Directors  at  home,  dated  22nd  February  1764,  para.  117.  The 
English  had  thereupon  invested  the  Danish  factory,  the  Danish  zamindar  then 
*'did  at  last  make  the  acknowledgment  required,"  and  the  troops  were 
withdrawn.  The  Chief  of  the  Danish  factory,  M.  Demarchez,  being  a 
Frenchman,  probably  bore  the  English  a  grudge. 

On  29th  October  1763  the  Danes  complained  of  the  oppression  of  their  native 
merchants  by  the  Faujdar  at  Hughli  (Sayad  Badal  Khan),  and  by  Lahuri 
Mai,  the  Hughli  Diwan,  who  was  appointed  by  Nuncomar. 

Stavorinus  in  1709  describes  Serampur  as  follows : — 

"Where  the  Dane*  have  a  factory;   this   is  the  most  inconsiderable  Earopean  establiihment 
on  the    Ganges,    consisting    only,    besides  the    village    occupied  by  the  natives,   in  a    few    bomse* 

inhabited  by  Europcansi Their  trade  is  of   very  little  importance 

They  receive  only  one  or  two  ships  every  year  from  Eknrope,  and  they  hare  no  eoantiy  trad* 
-whatever," 

A  few  years  later  came  the  palmy  days  of  Serampur  trade,  during  the 
American  War  (1780).  England  was  at  war  with  three  great  maritime 
nations — France,  Holland,  and  America;  English  vessels  were  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  privateers,  especially  French  privateers  from  Mauritius  and  Reunion, 
who  captured  a  large  number  of  Indiamen,  and  rates  of  insurance  were  very 
heavy.  Goods  shipped  from  Serampur  went  in  neutral  bottoms,  and  naturally 
the  Danish  ships  easily  got  valuable  freights  at  high  rates.  No  less  than 
22  ships,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  over  10,000  tons,  cleared  from 
Serampur  within  nine  months.  The  Danish  East  India  Company  made  large 
profits,  and  their  factors  retired  with  handsome  fortunes,  made  in  a  few  years 
service. 

The  Calcutta  Gazette  of  22nd  January  1818  quotes  from  the  memoirs  of 
Mrs.  Fay,  who  had  died  a  few  months  before,  a  note  to  the  effect  that  some 
English  merchants  freighted  a  Danish  ship,  the  Natluiliay  from  Serampur 
for  Suez,  in  1779,  to  evade  the  prohibition  by  the  East  India  Company  of 
private  trade  with  Suez.  Mrs.  Fay,  who  was  an  old  resident  of  Serampur, 
came  out  to  India,  rid  Egypt,  in  1779.  The  ship  in  which  she  came  to  India 
having  touched  at  Calicut,  the  English  passengers  were  taken  prisoners  by 
Haidar  Ali,  and  she  remained  a  prisoner  to  the  Sultan  of  Mysore  for  some 
time. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Serampur,  like  Cliinsura, 
was  practically  a  suburb  of  Calcutta,  and  a  popular  "week  end"  resort  The 
hotels  there  were  much  resorted  to  from  Calcutta.  An  advertisement  in  the 
Calcutta  Gazette  for  16th  March  1786  records  that  "Mr.  Parr,  who  formerly 
kept  the  London  Tavern,  has  taken  the  new  upper  roomed  house  near  the 
flagstaff  in  Serampore,"    &c.,    and    opened  it   as   the  "Denmark    Hotel    and 


A    RRIKF    HISTORY  OF   THB    HUOHLI    DISTRICT.  53 

Tavern."  Two  yean  later  the  place  had  oliangod  hands,  and  on  30ih  April 
1788  it  is  advertised  as  "Late  Parrs,  John  Nichol's,  who  formerly  kept  the 
llormouiek  Tavern  in  Calcutta,  has  taken  that  established  and  well  known 
Tavern  in  Serampore,  lately  kept  by  Mr.  Parr,"  &o. 

In  1790  the  three  famous  Sorarapur  missionaries,  Carey,  Marshman,  and 
Ward,  settled  here.  A  short  account  of  their  work  is  given  in  Chapter  III 
of  the  Huglili  Metlicol  Ghizetteer  in  the  description  of  the  Sorampur  College,  under 
the  head  of  Education, 

Serampur  was  again  seized  by  the  English  in  1801,  but  restored  by  the 
peace  of  Amiens,  which  was  signed  on  27th  March  1802.  For  the  next  six 
years  it  throve  even  more  than  it  had  done  twenty  years  previously.  The  Bay 
was  swarming  with  French  privateers,  English  merchant  vessels  were  taken  by 
the  dozen,  rates  of  insurance  were  prohibitive;  the  merchants  of  Calcutta 
eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the  neutral  flag  of  Denmark,  and  obtained  Danish 
Commanders  and  Danish  papers  for  their  ships.  These  golden  days  of  Serampur 
came  to  an  end  in  1808,  when  Denmark  was  again  at  war  with  England.  The 
Calcutta  Gazette  of  4th  February  1808  thus  relates  the  taking  over  of  the 
Danish  settlement : — 

"In  consequence  of  intelligence  received  by  Government  of  a  ruptnre  between  Great  Britain 
and  Denmark,  a  detachment  of  troops  from  the  Garrison  of  Port  William,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Cary,  took  possession  of  the  Danish  settlement  of  Serampur,  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  the  28th  ultimo.  The  Danish  ships  in  the  River  Hooghly  were,  on  the  same  day, 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Honble  Captain  Elliot,  of  H.  M.  S.  Modette,  by  Captain  Montague,  of 
H.  M.   S.  Terpiiehore,  and  by  Captain  DeCourcy,  of  H.  M.  S.  Daaher." 

Serampur  was  restored  again  to  the  Danes  in  1815,  but  after  that  year  it 
is  said  that  only  one  vessel  ever  visited  the  port,  and  for  many  years  previous 
to  their  sole  to  England  the  Danish  settlements  were  maintained  oiJy  at  a 
heavy  expense  to  the  Home  Government. 

Bhola  Nath  Chunder,  in  his  "Travels  of  a  Hindu,"  thus  describes  the 
town  in  1845: — 

"Serampore  is  a  snug  little  town  that  possesses  an  exceeding  elegance  and  neatness  of 
8pi>earance.  The  range  of  houses  along  the  river  makes  up  a  gay  and  brilliant  picture.  The  interior 
keeps  the  promise  which  a  distant  view  has  given.  The  streets  are  as  brightly  clean  as  the 
walks  in  a  garden.  There  is  not  much  bustle  or  activity,  the  place  greatly  wears  th«j  character 
of  a  suburban  retreat.  But  time  was  when  there  was  a  busy  trade,  and  22  shipt  cleared  from 
the  small   port  in  the   space   of   six   months." 

In  1845  the  Danish  Government  sold  their  Indian  settlements,  Tranquebar 
on  the  Coromandel  Coast,  south  of  Pondicherry,  and  Serampur,  to  the  British 
for  the  sum  of  twelve  lakhs.  The  latter  was  taken  over  on  11th  October  1845 
after  being  in  the  possession  of  the  Danes  for  ninety  years  and  three  days. 

In  1845  a  subdivision  of  the  Hughli  district  had  been  started,  with 
head-quarters  at  Dwarhata,  Mr.  L.  Jackson,  afterwards  Sir  Louis  Jackson  of 
the  High  Court  of  Calcutta,  being  the  first  subdivisional  officer.  On  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Serampur,  the  head-quarters  of  the  subdivision  were  moved  to  that  plaoe. 


54  A    BRIEF   HISTORY  OF   TirE    irUGHLl   DISTRICT. 

The  history  of  Serampur,  as  far  as  it  has  had  any,  subsequent  to  1845, 
and  its  present  condition,  are  described  in  Chapter  YII  (Municipalities)  of  the 
Hughli  Medical  Grazetteer. 

I  have  only  ascertained  the  names  of  a  few  of  the  Danish  Governors,  as 
follows : — 

Soctman  ...  1753—55 

Ziegenbalg  ...  1759 

Demarchez  ...  1763 

Colonel  Bie  ...  1789—1805  Died  at  Serampur  13tli  May  1805. 

Jacob  Krofting  ...  1805—1828 

J.  S.  Kohlenberg  ...  1828—1833 

Colonel  Rehling  ...  1836 

P.  Hansen  ...  1836—1842 

Lindeman  ...  1842  to  1845 

The  celebrated  Botanist,  Surgeon  Nathaniel  Wallich,  who  was  for  many 
years  Superintendent  of  the  Royal  Botanical  Gardens  at  Sibpur,  was  originally 
a  Surgeon  in  the  Danish  service,  and  Medical  Officer  of  Serampur.  He 
became  an  Assistant  Surgeon  in  the  Bengal  Medical  Service  on  10th  May 
-M4,  Surgeon  on  5th  May  1826,  retired  on  9th  April  1846,  and  died  in  1854 
His  best-known  work  is  "Plantce  Asiaticae. " 

"Wallich  was  a  Jew.  His  real  name  -was  Nathan  Wolff.  He  received  a 
license  from  the  Royal  Academy  of  Surgeons  at  Copenhagen  on  25th  April 
1806,  was  appointed  Surgeon  at  Serampur  on  1st  November  1806  in  succession 
to  a  Dr.  Guenzius  (who  had  died  in  1806  at  Serampur),  sailed  in  the  Danish 
East  India  Company's  ship  Prince  of  Augmtenburgh  on  8th  April  1807,  and 
arrived  at  Serampur  on  18th  November  1807.  When  Serampur  was  taken  by 
the  English  in  1808  he  was  taken  prisoner,  but  was  released  on  parole.  In  1809 
he  was  employed  under  Roxburgh  in  the  Botanical  Qurdens,  but  was  again 
serving  as  Surgeon  at  Serampur  in  1810.  Dr.  J.  A.  Voight,  author  of  "Hortus 
Suburbanus  Calcuttensis,"  was  Surgeon  at  Serampur  from  1827  to  1842.  He  died 
in  London  on  22nd  June  1843. 

7.  The  other  European  Companies. — I  have  abeady  briefly  related  the 
history  of  the  settlements  in  Hughli  district  of  five  European  nations — Portu- 
guese, English,  Dutch,  French,  and  Danes.  A  few  words  may  be  devoted  to 
describing  the  attempts  of  other  European  nations  to  obtain  settlements  on  the 
Hughli.  At  least  four  other  nationalities,  Scots  (before  the  Union),  Belgians  or 
Austrians,  Prussians,  and  Swedes,  made  some  attempt  to  do  so,  though  only 
one  ever  got  the  length  of  actually  acquiring  land  and  building  a  factory. 
That  settlement,  though  not  in,  was  just  opposite  to,  the  Hughli  district. 

The  Scottish  Comjmny. — On  26th  June  1795  the  Scottish  Parliament 
authorized  the  King  to  grant  a  charter  to  a  Scottish  Company,  giving  power 
to  trade  to  Africa,  America,  the  Mediterranean,  the  East  and  West  Indies. 
This  Company  only  sent  one  ship  to  the  Eastj  it  was  wrecked  in  the  Stiaits 


A    BR  I  IF   HISTORY  OF   THE    HUOHLI   DlflrTRICT.  66 

of  Malacca,  and  never  reached  India.  In  1G98  the  Company  omharked  on  ita 
ondoavoiir  to  colonize  the  Isthmus  of  Dorien,  the  first  ship  reacliing  Dorion  in 
November  of  that  year.  As  is  well  known,  the  scheme  ended  in  a  tragedy  of 
failure. 

The  Ostt'tid  Compantj  was  the  only  one  of  the  four  here  mentioned  which 
got  tlie  length  of  acquiring  settlements  in  India.  The  Emperor  of  GJermany 
granted  to  a  Company  of  merchants  at  Ostend,  then  in  the  Austrian 
Netherlands,  a  patent  permitting  them  to  trade  with  India.  Grose  states  (Vol. 
I,  pp.  317-320)  that  this  charter  was  given  in  1719,  for  thirty  years,  that 
ships  were  sent  out  in  1720  and  1721,  that  in  1723  both  France  and  England 
forbade  their  servants  to  hold  shares  in  the  Company;  and  that  the  Charter 
was  in  1727  suspended  for  seven  years,  and  was  never  revived.  Stewart  states 
that  the  charter  was  granted  by  the  Emperor  in  August  1723,  and  that  in 
1724  they  received  a  grant  of  land  at  Banki  Bazar,  where  they  fortified  a 
factory,  from  Murshid  Kuli  Khan,  Viceroy  of  Bengal.  Banki  Bazar  is  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Hughli,  where  G-arulia  now  stands,  opposite  to  Bhadreswar. 
Their  tenure  of  this  place  was  not  long,  Stewart  says  (p.  422)  that  the 
Emperor  withdrew  his  charter  in  1727,  that  in  1730  the  English  captured  one 
of  the  Ostend  ships,  and  that  in  1733,  on  the  representation  of  the  Dutch  and 
English,  the  Nawab  ordered  them  to  be  attacked,  and  turned  out.  They 
defended  their  factory  against  the  troops  of  the  Nawab  for  some  time,  but, 
having  lost  several  men,  and  their  chief  having  lost  his  arm,  they  abandoned 
it  in  the  night,  retreated  by  the  river  in  their  ships,  and  returned  to  Europe, 
abandoning  all  hope  of  retaining  a  settlement  in  Bengal.  Stewart  quotes  Orme 
as  giving  1748  as  the  date  of  their  expulsion,  but  says  that  1733  is  the 
dorreot  date. 

In  the  account  of  the  French  and  Chandamagar  I  have  already  quoted 
Hamilton's  description  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Ostenders  from  Banki  Bazar. 
As  Hamilton's  Travels  were  published  in  1744,  this  expulsion  must  have 
occurred  previous  to  that  date,  and  1748  cannot  be  the  correct  date.  Stavorinus 
describes  Banki  Bazar  as  follows: — 

"The  East  India  Company  of  Ostend  had  formerly  a  factory  here,  about  two  Dutch 
miles  below  ours,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Ganges,  at  a  place  called  Banki  Bazar,  but  which, 
after  a  long  siege,  having  been  taken  by  the  Moora,  in  1738  or  1739,  the  Ostend  Company  were 
obliged  to  abandon  the  trade  of  Bengal." 

The  translator  of  Stavorinus  says,  in  a  foot-note,  probably  quoting  from 
Orme,  that  this  occurred  in  1748.  This  Company  had  also  a  settlement  at 
Cqvelon,  or  as  Grose  calls  it  Coblon,  on  the  Coromandel  Coast,  56  miles  north 
of  Pondicherry. 

Tlte  Empden  or  Prmaian  Company. — In  1751  a  Company  of  merchants  at 
Empden,  a  town  on  the  North  Sea,  close  to  the  boundary  between  Germany 
and  Holland,  received  a  charter  permitting  them  to  trade  with  India,  from  the 


66  A   BRIBP   HISTORY   OP   THE    HTTGHLI    DISTRICT. 

King  of  Prussia.  The  English,  French,  and  Dutch,  while  ready  to  quarrel 
among  themselves,  were  equally  ready  to  comhine  to  prevent  any  fourth  party 
cutting  into  the  lucrative  trade  of  Bengal,  and  did  so  with  much  effect  on  the 
present  occasion.  The  Proceedings  of  the  Calcutta  Government  contain  several 
references  to  the  Prussian  Company.  In  a  despatch  to  Court,  dated  6th 
September  1754,  para.  11,  the  Council  state  that  they  have  obeyed  the  orders 
of  Court  in  relation  to  the  ships  expected  from  Empden,  and  have  forbidden 
pilots,  masters,  and  mates,  to  give  assistance  to  any  ships  not  belonging  to 
Powers  already  established  in  India.  The  French  and  Dutch,  they  state,  have 
promised  to  do  the  same.  The  Proceedings  of  2nd  September  1754  contain  a 
letter,  dated  27th  August,  from  the  Director  and  Council  at  Chandamagar, 
promising  to  prevent  the  ship  expected  from  Empden  from  making  a  settlement 
in  Bengal.  The  Proceedings  of  16th  September  contain  a  letter,  dated  8th,  to 
the  same  effect,  from  the  Dutch  Director  and  Council.  A  letter  from  the 
Court  of  Directors,  dated  25th  March  1757,  para.  71,  absolutely  forbids  all 
trade  with  the  Prussian  ships,  or  any  assistance  to  them,  except  "  the  usual 
assistance  of  water,  provisions,  or  real  necessaries."  Finally,  the  Proceedings 
of  21st  August  1760  record — 

"  Received  a  letter  i)er  Otulow  from  Mr.  John  Yoang,  dated  London  18th  July  1759,  retiueat- 
ing  we  would  take  into  our  iKjescssion  all  the  effects  of  the  Boyal  Pnusiau  Bengal  Company." 

Apparently  the  Company  was  ^old  up. 

The  Sicedkh  Company. — Gi-ose  states  that  the  Swedes  projected  a  Company 
to  trade  with  India  in  1730.  This  Company  apparently  never  got  further 
than  a  project. 

8.  HiKjhli  District  {subsequent  to  1760). — The  story  of  Hughli  district, 
from  1760  to  date,  is  administrative  rather  than  political.  In  1765  the 
Mogul  Emperor  invested  the  East  India  Company  with  the  Ditcani  of  Bengal. 
Bhola  Nath  Chander  states  that  the  first  printing  press  in  India  was  put  up 
at  Hughli  in  1778,  by  Halhed  and  Wilkins,  to  print  a  Bengali  grammar. 
Probably  he  meant  the  first  vernacular  press. 

In  EenneU's  map  of  Bengal,  dated  1781,  all  the  tract  which  at  present 
makes  up  the  districts  of  Hughli  and  Howrah  is  included  in  Bardwan,  except 
a  narrow  strip  along  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  from  Naya  Sarai  to  Fort 
Gloster,  which  is  shown  in  a  different  colour,  but  not  named.  The  name  of 
Hughli  is  given  to  a  tract  of  country,  on  both  sides  of  the  Hughli  river, 
extending  from  Contai  to  the  Raimangal  river;  this  tract  now  forms  the 
Qontai  and  Tamluk  subdivisions  of  Midnapur,  and  most  of  the  24-Pargana8. 
Eennell  marks  the  names  of  about  fifty  places  in  what  is  now  the  district  of 
Hughli.  Of  these  the  most  important  are  Ambooa  (Ghiptipara),  Inchura, 
Ballagurry,  Niasari,  Terbonee,  Moggura  Gaut,  Boenchee,  Purruah  (Pandua), 
Kissabutty  (Mahnad),  Deneacolly,  Saatgong,  Poanan,  Bansbaria,  Bandell 
Hoogly,  Chinsura,  Chandernagore,  Ghyretty,  Serampour,  Allinagar   (Kotrang) 


A   BRIEF    HISTORT  OF  THS   HVOHLI    DISTRICT.  87- 

Chunditwlla,  Bundipur,  Nnllycuro  (Nalikul),  Herpaol,  Kistnagar,  Tlajbulhaut, 
Johanabad,  Gosopour,  Dowangungo,  Buddumgungo,  Bazdepour.  TIo  eliows  a 
track  iu  the  line  of  the  preeont  Grand  Trunk  lload,  but  gives  it  no  name; 
the  Old  Benares  Road  is  shown  as  passing  through  Ejistonagar,  and  crossing 
the  Damudar  at  llajbalhat,  some  ten  miles  south  of  its  present  alignment. 

Orme's  map  marks  only  Ambooah,  Purruah,  Ilughley,  and  Chandernagore. 
Stewart's  map,  date  1813,  seems  to  be  a  copy  of  llennell's,  except  that -only 
eleven  place  names,  all  among  those  quoted  above,  are  given.  Herklot's  route 
map  (undated,  but  early  in  the  nineteenth  century)  marks  Ambooa,  Inchurra, 
Ballagurry,  Boencby,  Piuruah,  Niaserai,  Moggra  GH;.,  Saotgang,  Bansbaria, 
Bandell,  Iloogly,  Chiusura,  Chandernagore,  Ghyretty,  Digum,  Sorampore. 
He  shows  the  route  for  troops  as  passing  vid  Niasarai  and  Inchura,  and 
does  not  show  the  Grand  Trunk  Road.  The  Magra  Khal  and  Kunti  Nadi 
are  called  the  Sorasotty  C. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  riverside  strip  of  Hughli,  from  Tribeni 
southwards  to  Sankrail,  lying  east  of  the  Saraswati  river,  originally  formed 
a  part  of  the  Nadiya  district,  while  the  greater  portion  of  the  district,  west 
of  the  Saraswati,  was  part  of  Bardwan.  The  strip  east  of  the  Saraswati 
almost  coincides  with  the  part  shown  in  a  different  colour  in  Rennell's  and 
Stewart's  maps.  To  this  day  that  part  of  the  district  east  of  the  Saraswati  is 
known  as  "Nadiya  Kharij-"  the  rest  of  the  district  as  "Bardwan  KJmrij^* 
i.  e.f  separated  from  Nadiya  and  Bardwan  respectively. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  part  of  the  Hughli  district  may  originally 
have  been  included  in  the  district  of  Nadiya,  which  still  marches  with  Hughli 
for  some  twenty  miles.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  see  how  any  part  of  Hughli 
can  ever  have  been  combined  with  Jessore.  But  the  following  official 
notification  certainly,  in  some  way  or  other,  combines  parts  of  Hughli  and 
Jeesore. 

The  number  of  district  charges  in  the  hands  of  different  officers,  indepen- 
dent of  each  other,  being  considered  too  large,  was  reduced  in  1787.  The 
Calcutta  Gazette  of  29th  March  1787  contains  a  long  list  of  reductions, 
among  which  are  two  relating  to  the  Hughli  district.  I  confess  I  fail  to 
see  how  Hughli,  or  even  parts  of  it,  could  be  combined  with  Nadiya  and 
Jessore  at  the  same  time,  while  the  two  latter  remained  separate  charges. 
The  notifications  relating  to  Hughli,  which  appear  ajnong  a  long  list  of 
others,  are  as  follows: — 

"The  Honorable  Court  of  Directors  havings  been  pleased  to  direct  a  redaction  of  the 
ntanber  of  establishments  formed  for  the  collection  of  their  revennes,  the  Right  Honorable  the 
Qovemor    General    in     Coancil    baa     made     the    following    naw      arrangements     in     Bengal     mnd 

Orissa 

U 


58  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE   HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 


"T.  Henckell,  Esq.,  confirmed  Collector  of  Jessore,  with  additions  from  Mahomed  Shahy, 
lately  under  J.  Sherburne,  Esq.,  Hoogly,  lately  under  R.  Holme,  Esq.,  and  parts  of  other 
districts.* 

"F.  Bedfeam,  Esq.,  confirmed  Collector  of  Nuddea,  with  additions  of  Hoogly  and  other 
districts." 

In  1793  the  Governor-General,  Lord  ComwalliB,  introduced  that  much 
debated  measure,  the  permanent  settlement  of  Bengal.  At  the  same  time 
the  office  of  Faujdar  of  Hughli,  first  established  by  the  native  Government 
of  Bengal,  when  Hughli  became  the  Royal  Port  of  the  Province,  after  the 
destruction  of  the  Portuguese  in  1632,  was  abolished.  The  last  Faujdar ^ 
Nawab  Khan  Jahan  Khan,  received  a  pension  of  Es.  250  per  month,  and 
was  allowed  to  continue  to  occupy  the  old  Mogul  Fort  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  23rd  February  1821.  A  pension  of  Rs.  100  per  month 
was  then  bestowed  upon  his  widow. 

The  district  of  Hughli,  including  Howrah,  was  out  off  from  Bardwan, 
as  a  separate  magisterial  charge,  in  1795,  but  for  27  years  more  it 
remained  a  part  of  the  Bardwan  Collectorate  in  all  revenue  matters.  The 
Hon'ble  C.  A.  Bruce  was  the  first  Judge  and  Magistrate.  Toynbee 
Btates  that  he  corresponded  direct  with  the  Governor-General  in  Council,  and 
was  an  officer  of  much  greater  influence  and  importance  than  the  District 
Magistrate  of  the  present  day.  Mr.  Bruce  was  succeeded  before  1799  by 
Thomas  Brooke,  who  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  Mr.  Ernest,  who  held  the  poet 
at  least  up  till  1809. 

In  1814  the  thanas  of  BaidyabatI  and  Rajapur  were  transferred  from  the 
24-Pargana8  to  Hughli,  and  on  Ist  January  1815  the  different  thanas  in  the 
district  were,  according  to  a  list  (shown  on  page  59)  g^ven  by  Toynbee,  who  adds 
three  tlmnas  placed  imder  Hughli  at  a  later  date.  Of  these  3,787  villages,  five 
contained  from  1,000  to  2,500  houses,  and  16  from  500  to  1,000.  Howrah 
city  was  then  part  of  Calcutta. 

In  1817  the  Government  had  to  order  the  Collector  of  Bardwan  to  reside 
at  that  place  and  not  at  Hughli ;  and  five  years  later  Hughli  was  made  a  fuU 
Collectorate,  including  Howrah.  The  land  revenue  of  the  Hughli  district  was 
then  Rs.  11,23,474,  and  the  stamp,  excise,  &c,  revenue  about  Rs.  76,526,  or 
about  twelve  lakhs  in  all;  while  about  thirty  lakhs  remained  as  the  revenue 
of  Bardwan  and  the  Jungle  Mahals  (Bankura).  The  formation  of  the  new 
Collectorate  of  Hughli  took  effect  from  1st  May  1822. 

In  1825  came  the  cession  of  Chinsura  to  the  English,  and  in  1827  Fort 
Gustavus,  the  old  Dutch  Fort,  dating  from  1697,  was  pulled  down.  In  1830 
the  old  Mogul  Fort  was  also  pulled  down.  In  both  cases  the  materials  were 
used  for  road-making. 

•  Thf>  Calcutta  Gantte  of  19th  February  1789  notes  the  death,  on  13th  February,  of  "  Robert  Holmes,  late 
Collector  ot   Hughli." 


A    nniKF   HISTORY  OF  THS   UUOHLI   DISTRICT. 


m 


Period. 

No. 

YiLiAan. 

RlVASXf. 

1810. 

1819. 

' 

1 

HoghU ... 

161 

174 

S 

Buiabui* 

98 

89 

8 

Benipur 

197 

194 

Now  Balagarh. 

4 

Pandua 

191 

209 

6 

Dbaniakhali 

895 

872 

6 

Haripal 

184 

174 

1796 

7 

Rajbalhat 

271 

289 

Now  KriitonagMT 

8 

Jahanabad 

835 

310 

Now  Arambagh. 

9 

Diwanganj 

262 

200 

Now  Oogbat. 

10 

Chandralona 

390 

292 -^ 

11 

Ghatal 

157 

1553 

Now  in  Midnapur. 

12 

Bagnan 

354 

359" 

.     13 

Ampta 

132 

129  ' 

Now  in  Howrah. 

Added  in  1814    ] 

14 

Rajapor 

210^ 

I 

15 

Baidyabati 

280 

Added  in  1819    . 

•      16 

Kotra 

203 

Now      Shampur     in 
Howrab. 

-      17 

Ulnbaria 

248 

Now  in  Howrab. 

Added  in  1831  ... 

18 

Chinsurm 

... 

... 

Total 

8,127 

3,787 

Satiy  or  the  burning  of  widows  along  with  their  husbands'  dead  bodies, 
was  frequently  practised  in  the  Hughli  district  by  the  high  caste  Hindus 
who  lived  in  such  numbers  along  the  banks  of  the  sacred  river.  In  Seton 
Karr*s  "Selections  from  the  Calcutta  Gazettes"  there  are  several  accounts  of 
satis,  seen  by  European  passers-by.  One  at  Chandamagar  is  described  in  the 
Gazette  of  10th  February  1785,  one  at  Serampur  on  2l8t  August  1823. 
Toynbee  states  that,  between  1815  and  1829,  in  fourteen  years,  no  less  than 
thirteen   hundred  and    ninety-eight   satis  were  reported  in  the  Hughl;   district. 


60  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 

Probably  a  great  many  more  went  unreported.  ScUi  was  aboKshed  by 
Regulation  XVII  of  1829  in  the  Governor-Generalship  of  Lord  William 
Bentinck.  It  is  strange  to  think  that  now  in  1901  there  is  an  officer  still 
living,  who  saw  a  sati  in  1829.  The  officer  in  question  was  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir)  Frederick  Halliday,  then  Magistrate  of  Hughli,  and  subsequently  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of  Bengal.  (Buckland's  "Bengal  under  the  Lieutenant- 
Governors,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  160-62).     Sir  Frederick  died  on  22nd  October  1901. 

In  1829  Smyth's  Ghat  and  the  old  Circuit  House  at  Bandel  were  bmlt. 

In  1818  the  Government  of  India  started  a  semaphore  telegraph  system, 
which  was  to  be  carried  from  Calcutta  to  Benares,  like  the  one  then  in 
existence  between  London  and  Portsmouth.  In  1821  Lieutenant  Weston  was 
at  work,  building  the  towers  required  for  the  purpose  in  Hughli  district.  He 
was  succeeded  in  1825  by  Captain  Playfair,  who  appears  to  have  finished  the 
towers.  The  experiment  was  a  failure,  and  was  abandoned  about  1830. 
How  many  of  these  towers  were  built  I  cannot  say.  There  are  still  standing 
two  in  the  Howrah,  four  in  the  Hughli  district,  and  seven  in  the  Bankura 
district;  the  fourteenth,  if  it  was  ever  built,  would  be  in  Manbhum  district. 
The  first  semaphore  station  would  of  course  be  Fort  William.  The  first  six  towers 
are  at  regular  intervals  of  about  eight  miles,  and  are  exactly  in  a  straight  line 
with  each  other,  except  that  the  first,  Mohiari,  is  a  little  south  of  such  a  line. 
These  six  towers  are  at  the  following  places: — 

1.  Mohiari  ...  8  miles  west  of   Calcntta. 

2.  Borgschi  ...  8  miles  north-west  of   Mohiari. 

3.  Dilakbas  ...  4  miles  soath-west  of   Kriitonagar. 

4.  Haiathpur  ...  9  miles  north-east  of   Khanakul. 

5.  Mubarakpur  ...  3  miles  sooth  of  Arambagb. 

6.  Nayasaa  ...  1|  miles  north-west  of  Goghat. 

The  seven  towers  which  continue  the  line  through  Bankura  are  at  the 
following  places: — 

(1)  Peno.  (4)  Bamsagttr. 

(2)  Pursotimpor.  (5)  Chandrakona. 
(8)  Tantipokhor,  in  the  Bishenpnr  jangle.  (6)  Bankura. 

(7)  Chatna. 

A  similar  series  of  Semaphore  towers  was  in  use,  before  the  introduction 
of  the  telegraph,  from  London  to  Portsmouth. 

The  towers  are  about  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  are 
built  with  four  stories  or  tiers.  There  is  now  no  sign  of  a  stair  left  in  any 
of  those  I  have  seen. 

The  Great  Trigonometrical  Survey  was  commenced  in  the  Hughli  district  in 
1830,  suspended  in  June  1831,  recommenced  in  March  1832.  Great  opposition, 
both  active  and  passive,  was  shown  by  the  people,  who  apprehended  that 
the  survey  would  be  followed  by  an  increase  of  taxation,  and  the  work  was 
not   finally    completed   till    1845.      There   are   eight    survey    stations   in  the 


1. 

2. 

Uughli 
Dilakhaa 

8. 

4. 
6. 
6. 

Mubarakpur 
Akuapar 
Bbola 
Satban 

7. 
8. 

Boga 

Niala* 

A   BRIEF   mSTOBY  OP  TUB    HTJOHLI    DISTRICT.  61 

district.  For  two  of  these,  Mubarakpur  and  DQakhafl,  the  old  semaphore 
towers  were  used;  for  a  third  the  roof  of  Ilughli  College  was  utilized,  while 
for  the  other  five,  towers  were  built.  These  towers  are  square,  about  50  to 
60  feet  in  height.  That  at  Bhola  is  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Tarakeswar 
branch  of  the  East  Indian  Railway,  on  the  north  of  the  line.  The  sites  of 
these  stations  are  a.s  follows  : — 

..     Roof  of  Hughli  Colleg*. 
,.     A»  above. 
As  above. 

8  miles  north-east  of  Tarakeswar. 
Half-wuy  betwccu  Nalikul  and  Singar. 
li  miles  soutb-east  of  Dwarbasini. 
.     5  miles  nortb  of  Naya  Sarai. 
8  miles  nortb-east  of   Baincbi. 

Toynbee  relates  how  in  1837  the  then  Judge,  Mr.  C.  R.  Martin,  was 
suspended  on  charges  of  bribery,  brought  by  three  munsifn.  At  the  same 
time  the  Government  Pleader,  Tafazal  Hosain,  was  suspended  on  a  charge  of 
taking  a  large  bribe  from  a  client,  on  the  plea  that  the  money  was  required 
to  be  paid  to  the  Judge,  "  according  to  custom,"  in  order  to  win  the  case. 
One  Noona  Bai  came  forward  and  charged  the  judge  with  having  received 
certain  sums  of  money  from  her  under  promise  of  giving  appointments  of  mumiff 
to  certain  persons  nominated  by  her.  A  full  enquiry  was  held  under 
Regulation  XVII  of  1813.  The  Judge  was  acquitted,  the  Government  Pleader 
dismissed,  Noona  Bai  got  seven  years'  imprisonment  for  perjury.  It  is'  not 
stated  what  happened  to  the  three  munsiffs. 

Toynbee  states  that  in  1839  the  following  places  in  Hughli  district  were 
the  seats  of  munsijs ;  (1)  Hughli,  (2)  Naya  Sarai,  (3)  Mahanad,  (4)  Baidyabati, 
(5)  Dwarhatta,  (6)  Rajapur,  (7)  Bali,  (8)  Ulubaria,  (9)  Khirpai.  The  first 
six  are  still  in  Hughli  district,  but  Hughli  is  the  only  one  of  the  six  where 
munsif^  are  now  stationed.  The  next  three  are  now  in  Howrah,  and  Khirpai 
in  Midnapur. 

In  1843  Howrah  district  was  cut  off  from  Hughli,  as  a  separate  Magisterial 
charge.  The  separation  was  made  under  Government  order  No.  268  of  27th 
February  1843.  The  fhanas  transferred  to  form  the  new  district  were  Kotra, 
now  Shampur,  Ulubaria,  Rajapur,  and  Bagnan.  Howrah  city  seems  to  have 
been  separated  from  Calcutta  at  the  same  time.  Apparently  Ampta  thana 
-was  not  transferred  to  Howrah  till  a  later  date.  Some  villages  in  Baidyabati 
thana  were  transferred  to  Howrah  in  1845.  The  first  Magistrate  of  Howrah 
district  was  William  Tayler,  who  was  to  .win  fame  in  the  Mutiny,  fourteen 
years  later,  as  *'  Patna  Tayler."  Howrah  had  been  a  separate  Civil  Surgeoncy 
at  least  twenty-three  years  earlier.      A  tombstone  in  the   North  Park  Street 


*  This  tower  (all  in  the  Mrthquake  of  ISas,  but  tbe  roias  may  ttiU  be  ssen. 


62  A    BRIEF   HISTORY   OF   THE   HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 

Cemetery,  Calcutta,  bears  the  name  of  Eobert  Nighland,  late  Civil  Surgeon 
of  Howrah,  died  20th  October  1820. 

In  1845  the  Hughli  district  was  divided  into  three  subdivisions,  the  Sadr^ 
Dwarhatta,  and  Khirpai.  Dwarhatta  subdivision  corresponded  to  the 
modem  Serampur,  and  the  head-quarters  were  removed  to  that  town  on  its 
purchase  from  the  Danes,  later  in  the  same  year.  Khirpai  corresponded  to 
the  modern  Jahanabad. 

The  Commissionership  of  the  Bardwan  Division  was  founded  in  1854,  by 
Bengal  Government  order,  dated  25th  January  1854.  The  head-quarters  of 
the  Division  have  several  times  been  moved,  as  follows  : — 

1.  At  Bardwan  ...  ...  ...     (Government  order  of  25th  January  1854), 

2.  From  Bardwan  to  Howrah         ...  ...     (Government  order  of   2l8t  June   1871). 

8.  „  Howrah  to   Hughli  (Circuit  Hou«e)  (  „  „  of   7th  September  1871). 

4.  „  Hughli  to  Howrah            ...  ...  (  „  „  of  20th  April  1875). 

5.  „  Howrah  to  Chinsura          ...  •••  (  „  „  ol  lOth  March  1879). 

6.  „  ChinBura  to  Bardwan        ...  ...  (  „  „  of  29th  December  1884). 

7.  „  Bardwan  to  Chinsura         ...  ...  (  „  „  of  November  1896). 

Hughli  was  not  affected  by  the  Mutiny,  no  native  troops  being  stationed 
there;  though  at  the  time  the  residents  were  under  some  apprehension  lest  the 
native  troops  at  Barrackpur  should  mutiny,  and  plunder  Hughli  on  their  way 
up-country.  It  was  in  the  34th  Native  Infantry,  at  Barrackpur,  that  the 
first  open  mutiny  occurred.  In  Hughli  district  the  tamindars  presented  a 
petition,  complaining  of  the  inefficiency  and  cowardice  of  the  police  barkundazeSy 
and  begging  that  a  bolder  class,  recruited  from  professional  lathials,  might  be 
entertained.  The  experiment  was  tried  on  a  small  scale  at  Hughli,  and  a 
number  of  Native  Christian  police  were  enlisted,  though  these  men  were 
presumedly  not  lathiah  by  profession. 

The  tJmms  of  Jahanabad  and  Gbghat  were  transferred  to  Bardwan,  Ghatal 
and  Chandrakona  to  Midnapur,  from  1st  July  1872.  Elanakul  thafia  was 
transferred  to  Howrah  in  1876.  From  Ist  October  1879,  thanas  Jahanabad  and 
Goghat  were  retransferred  from  Bardwan,  and  Khanakul  from  Howrah,  to 
Hughli,  the  three  being  formed  into  the  Jahanabad  subdivision,  by  Bengal 
Government  order  dated  6th  June  1879,  in  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  18th  June 
1879.  The  latest  change  in  the  boundaries  of  the  district  was  the  transfer  of 
Singti  outpost  in  Khanakul  thana^  with  an  area  of  34  square  miles,  and  a 
population  of  42,414,  in  42  villages,  from  Hughli  to  Howrah,  by  Government 
notification  No.  3838J.,  of  3rd  September  1894.  The  name  Jahanabad  was 
changed  to  Arambagh  by  Government  notification  No.  36J.D.,  of  19th  April 
1900,  in  the  Calcutta  Gazette  of  25th  April  1900. 

The  scheme  now  under  consideration  in  1901,  for  the  formation  of  a 
separate  district  to  include  the  coal-mining  tracts,  with  head-quarters  at  Raniganj 
or  at  Asansol,  may  possibly  involve  further  changes  in  the  Hughli  district. 
One  of  the  suggestions  made  is  the  transfer  of  Arambagh  subdivision  again  to 


A    BRIEF   HlgTORY  OF   THE    HUOHLI    DISTRICT.  68 


Bardwan,  with  the  transfer  of  the  Kalna,  and  pofldbly  also  of  the    Katwa 
flubdiviaion  of  Bardwan  to  Hughli. 

Ah  it  now  stands,  the  district  of  Hughli  comprises  three  subdivisioas — the 
«»<*•,  or  Hughli,  with  five  tharmsy  Hughli,  Polba,  Balagarh,  Dhaniakhali,  and 
Pandua;  tho  Sorampur  subdivision,  also  with  five  thanaa,  Serampur,  Singur, 
Chanditola,  Uaripal,  and  Kristonagar;  and  the  Arambagh  subdivision,  with 
three,  Arambagh,  Goghat  and  Khanakul.  Howrah  is  an  entirely  separate 
Magisterial  district,  with  a  Magistrate,  District  Superintendent  of  Police,  and 
Civil  Surgeon,  of  its  own;  but  for  revenue  purposes  forms  a  part  of  the 
Hughli  Collectorate.  Besides  the  Magistrate,  Hughli  usually  has  either  a  Joint 
or  an  Assistant  Magistrate,  sometimes  both,  and  six  or  seven  Deputy  Magistrates, 
at  the  sadr  station.  The  Subdivisional  Officer  of  Serampur  is  almost  always  a 
member  of  the  Covenanted  Civil  Service;  a  Deputy  Magistrate  is  usually 
stationed  at  Serampur  to  assist  him.  The  Subdivisional  Officer  of  Arambagh  is 
usually  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Service. 

Howrah  is  not  a  separate  Judgeship,  but  forms  part  of  the  Hughli 
Judgeship ;  which,  as  weU  as  having  a  Judge  of  its  own,  usually  shares  with  the 
24-Pargana8  the  services  of  an  additional  Judge,  who  is  stationed  at  Alipur,  but 
conducts  the  sessions  at  Howrah.  There  is  a  Small  Cause  Court  Judge  of 
Howrah,  Hughli,  and  Serampur,  who  holds  his  Court  at  the  three  places 
alternately.  Two  Sub-Judges  are  stationed  at  Hughli,  and  one  mumtf;  Serampur 
and  Arambagh  have  three  mumiffs  each ;  there  aie  also  three  mumiffs  at  Howrah, 
and  one  each  at  Ulubaria  and  Ampta. 

The  area  and  population  of  the  different  thanas  and  subdivisions,  at 
different  times,  will  be  found  in  Chapter  III — Population  of  the  Hughli  Medical 
Gazetteer. 

9.  Ethnology  has  been  considered  under  the  head  of  race,  in  Chapter  III — 
Population  of  the  Hughli  Medical  Q-azetteer  ;  but  a  few  notes  on  the  Musalman 
inhabitants  of  HughU  district  are  also  given  below.  These  notes  have  been 
furnished  to  the  District  Census  Eeport  of  1901  by  Maulvi  Syad  Ashrafudin 
Ahmad.  Matwali  of  the  Hughli  Imambarah ;  Maulvi  Muhamad  Kabix,  Matwali  of 
Sitapur;  Maulvi  Muhamad  Abdul  Huq  of  Pandua,  and  Maulvi  Abdul  Kadir, 
Subdivisional  Officer  of  Arambagh. 

There  are  three  chief  centres  of  Musalman  influence  in  the  district : — 

(1)  Pandua,  head-quarters  of  Pandua  thatia,  in  the  Sadr  subdivision. 

(2)  Sitapur  and    Phurphura    in    thana    Kristonagar,    in    the    Serampur 

subdivision. 

(3)  Q-oghat  and  Mandaran  in  Goghat  thana  in  the  Arambagh  subdivision. 
Pandua  is  the  chief  Musalman  centre.     The  Musalmans  of  Pandua  mostly 

belong  to  the  upper  classes,  or  Ashra/y  as  they  are  called,  and  are  generally 
known  as  aimadars,  from  ainkiy  a  grant,  bestowed  by  the  Moghul  Government 
for  services  rendered  by  their  forefathers.    During  the  early  years  of  British 


64  A    BRIEF   HISTORY   OF    THE    HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 

rule,  when  the  British  oflBcers'  duties  were  chiefly  confined  to  the  collection 
of  revenue,  and  judicial  authority  was  left  in  the  hands  of  Kazis,  or  Musalman 
Judges,  E[azis  were  frequently  chosen  from  among  the  aimadars  of  Pandua, 
and  the  post  of  Kazi-al-hazzat  {Kazi  of  Kazis,  or  chief  Kazi)  was  for  some 
time  hereditary  in  a  Pandua  family,  the  last  holder  of  the  post  being  Kazi 
Muhamad  Mazhar.  The  Musalmans  of  Pandua  are  said  to  be  chiefly 
descended  from  the  ofiicers  and  soldiers  who  invaded  Bengal  under  Shah  Sufi 
in  the  fourteenth  century. 

Sitapur,  Phurphura,  Bandipur,  and  a  few  other  small  villages,  are  the 
(Mef  seats  of  Musalman  influence  in  the  Serampur  subdivision.  The  Musalmans 
of  these  parts  are  also  chiefly  Anhraf^  and  are  said  to  be  the  descendants  of 
Musalmans  who  invaded  Bengal  in  the  fourteenth  century,  about  the  same 
time  as,  and  possibly  in  conjunction  with,  Shah  Sufi's  invasion.  There  is  a 
tradition  that  a  Bagdi  king,  who  ruled  in  Phurphura,  was  defeated  by 
Musalmans  named  Huzrat  Shah  Kabir  Halibi,  and  Hazrat  Karamudin,  both 
of  whom  were  killed  in  the  battle :  their  tombs  to  this  day  are  reverenced 
both  by  Hindus  and  by  Musalmans. 

Mandaran  and  Goghat  are  said  to  have  been  in  the  possession  of  a  Hindu 
king,  who  was  conquered,  at  a  date  imknown,  by  Shah  Ismail  Ghazi,  an 
invader  from  G«.ur.  There  is  an  inscription  on  the  tomb  of  the  conqueror  in 
which  appears  the  date  900.  This  must  be  the  date  by  the  Hijray  or 
Musalman  era,  and  would  about  correspond  with  the  year  A.  D.  1505,  as  the 
Sijra,  or  exodus  of  the  Prophet  from  Mekka,  took  place  in  622  A.  D.,  and 
would  fix  the  date  of  the  conquest  of  Mandaran  about  the  last  quarter  of 
the  fifteenth  century. 

In  the  district  of  Hughli  the  Sunnis  g^reatly  predominate  in  number  over 
the  Shiahs ;  but  in  the  town  of  Hughli  there  are  about  500  Shiahs,  the  presence 
of  BO  large  a  number  being  due  to  the  existence  of  the  Imambarah,  which, 
having  been  founded  by  a  Persian,  is  a  Shiah  institution. 

The  chief  tenets  of  the  Sunnis  are  as  follows  : — 

(a)  Kalimah  Shahadah   (bearing  witness  to  the    word),   the    declaration 

that  there  is  but  one  God,  and  Muhammad  is  the  prophet  of  God. 
(6)  Acceptance  of  the  Quran  (Koran),  and  the  Ahadis^  or  traditions, 
(c)  Prayer  five  times  daily,  and  observance  of  the  thirty  days*  fast  of 

the  Ramazan. 
{({)  Acceptance  of  the  ^(y>*,   or  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  the  obligation 
of  zakat,  or  distribution  of  charity  to  the  poor  in  accordance  with 
the  means  of  each. 

The  Shiahs  differ  from  the  Sunnis  chiefly  with  regard  to  the  succession  to 
the  prophet.  They  add  to  the  Kalimah^  "  There  is  no  God  but  one  God,  and 
Muhammad  is  the  prophet  of  God,"  the  words  "and  Ali  is  the  rightful  successor 
of  the    Prophet."    The     Sunnis    consider    that    Muhammad's    father-in-law^ 


A   BRIEF   mSTORT  07  THE   HUOHLI   DISTRICT.  d5 

Abu  Bakr  (the  father  of  the  Virgin),  was  the  rightful  sucoeesor  of  the 
Prophet,  and  the  first  Khalifahy  followod  by  Omar  and  Osman,  Ali  being  the 
fourth  lOtalifah.  Tho  Shiohs  ooneidor  that  the  first  three  wore  usurpers,  and 
that  Ali  was  by  rights  the  first  KJMlifah.  Abu  Bokr  was  the  father  of  Ayesha, 
whom  Muhammad  married  when  she  was  only  nine  years  old.  He  suooeeded 
the  IVophot,  when  the  latter  died  in  A.  D.  632,  only  reigned  two  years,  and 
died  on  22nd  August  A.  D.  634.  Omar  or  Umar  succeeded  him  in  A.  D. 
634,  A.  H.  13,  and  was  assassinated  in  A.  D.  644 ;  he  also  was  a  father-in- 
law  of  Mohammad,  who  married  his  daughter  Haisah.  Osman,  or  Usman  ibn 
Aifan,  was  Muhammad's  son-in-law,  having  married  two  of  the  Prophet's 
daughters,  Ruqaiyah  and  Ummu  Kulsum.  He  was  killed  in  A.  D.  656.  His 
Buooessor  Ali  was  first  cousin,  adopted  son,  and  son-in-law  of  Muhammad,  having 
married  the  Prophet's  daughter  Fatimah,  who  bore  him  three  sons,  Hasan, 
Husain,  and  Muhassin ;  the  last  named  died  in  infancy.  Ali  reigned  from  A.H.  35 
to  A.  H.  40,  when  he  was  murdered.  Hasan  succeeded  his  father  as  fifth 
(or  second)  Khalifah,  but  abdicated,  after  a  reign  of  six  months,  in  favour  of 
Muawiya,  son  of  Abu  Sufyan,  one  of  the  companions  (Ashfib)  of  the  Prophet. 
Muawiya  died  in  A.  H.  60.  He  was  the  first  Khalifah  who  made  the  Khalifat 
hereditary,  and  founded  the  dynasty  of  the  Umaiyah  (Ummiades).  Hasan  was 
poisoned  in  A.  H.  49  by  his  wife,  Jadah,  who  was  suborned  to  commit  the 
deed  by  Yazid,  son  of  Muawiya,  by  a  promise,  which  he  did  not  keep,  of 
marrying  her.  Husain  was  defeated  and  slain  at  the  battle  of  Karbala,  in 
A.  H.  61,  by  Yazid,  who  had  succeeded  his  father  as  seventh  Khalifah^  accord- 
ing to  the  Sunnis,  in  the  previous  year.  The  Shiahs  consider  Husain  as  the 
third  Khalifah,  or  rather  Imamj  for  they  do  not  use  the  title  Khalifah.  From 
Hasan  and  Husain  are  descended  the  Saiyads,  or  descendants  of  the  Prophet. 
The  martyrdom  of  Husain  is  celebrated  yearly  in  the  Muharram  festival. 
Karbala,  where  Husain  was  killed  and  buried,  is  a  city  in  the  province 
of  Iraq,  fifty  miles  south-west  of  Baghdad,  and  about  six  miles  west  of 
the  Euphrates.  It  is  the  holy  place  of  the  Shiahs,  as  Mecca  is  of  the 
Sunnis,  and  after  its   name  Shiahs  call  their   burial  grounds   Karbalas. 

The  Sunnis  of  this  district  chiefly  belong  to  the  Hanifi  sect,  and  follow 
the  teachings  of  their  founder,  the  Imam  Abu  Hanifa,  whose  doctrines  are 
generally  received  throughout  Turkey,  Central  Asia,  and  India.  Those 
recently  converted  to  Islam  are  known  as  "new  Musalmans,"  whether  Shiahs 
or  Sunnis. 

Both  Shiahs  and  Sunnis  celebrate  the  usual  festivals  of  the  Musalmans, 
(1)  the  IcUil-Azha,  or  Gfreater  Id,  or  Bakr  Id  (Cow  Festival),  or  Feast  of 
Sacrifice,  celebrated  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  oow ;  (2)  the  Id-al-Fitr,  or  Lesser 
Id,  the  festival  of  breaking  fast  after  the  month  of  Eamazan ;  (3)  the 
Shab-i-Baratj  or  Night  of  Fate ;  (4)  Nauroz,  or  New  Year's  Day.  The  Greater 
Id  is  oelebrated  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  Zu'l  Hijjah,  the  Lesser  Id  on 

I 


186  A    BRIEF   HISTORY  OF   THE    HU0HL1   DISTRICT. 

the  first  day  of  Shawival,  the  Shah-i-Barat  on  the  fifteenth  of  Shahan.  But 
while  the  Sunnis  say  their  Id  prayers  in  the  mosques  under  the  leadership 
of  an  Imanhy  the  Shiahs  repeat  their  prayers  in  the  privacy  of  their  own 
homes. 

There  are  said  to  be  a  few  Wahabis  in  the  district.  The  WaJiahis  are  a 
sect  of  reformed  Musalmans,  who  call  themselves  Muwahhid  or  Unitarians. 
They  have  been  compared  to  Protestants  in  the  Christian  religion,  one  of  their 
chief  tenets  being  that  the  Quran  requires  no  interpretation,  but  that  each 
man  can  interpret  its  teachings  for  himself.  It  would  take  too  much  space 
to  give  their  doctrines,  or  a  description  of  the  sect,  here.  The  sect  was 
founded  by  Muhammad,  son  of  Abdul  Wahab,  bom  in  Najd  in  A.  D.  1691. 
They  are  numerous  in  Eastern  Bengal,  but  few  in  Hughli. 

There  are  no  local  reformers,  but  there  are  several  Maulvis  of  note  in 
the  district,  such  as  Maulvi  Abu  Bakr  Sahib  and  Maulvi  Abdul  Ahaid  Sahib 
of  Phurphura,  and  Shah  Murshid  Ali  of  Andnapur.  They  preach  no  new 
doctrines,  but  inculcate  the  usual  observances,  such  as  Zikr  (remembrance  of 
the  name  of  God).  They  are  said  to  be  learned  men,  well  versed  in  the 
Quran  and  the  Ahadis  (traditions).  There  are  also  many  Khondkars,  or 
hereditary  religious  preceptors.  Some  of  these  men  possess  very  little  religious 
knowledge  themselves,  but  are  only  reverenced  by  their  disciples  because  one 
of  their  ancestors  was  renoAvned  as  a  preceptor.  In  this  way  the  performance 
of  religious  teaching  has  tended  to  become  hereditary.  But  with  the  spread 
of  education  these  hereditary  teachers  are  gradually  losing  their  influence, 
which  is  falling  more  into  the  hands  of  the  learned  Maulvis. 

No  religious  propaganda  is  now  carried  out  in  this  district ;  nor  does  it 
appear  that  any  forcible  conversion  was  ever  made  on  an  extended  scale, 
judging  from  the  small  number  of  Musalmans  in  the  district.  For  when  Islam 
was  the  ruling  power  conversion  for  material  ends  as  well  as  by  faith  must 
have  been    far    more    common    than  now,  yet   the  number   of  Musalmans  is 

Binall. 

Hindu  superstitions  are  not  observed  by  the  educated  classes  of  Musalmans, 
but  some  of  the  lower  classes  follow  the  Hindu  practice  of  outcasting. 

Pirs  are  venerated  by  the  lower  classes  of  Sunnis.  The  chief  Pir  or 
Baint  of  the  district  is  Shah  Sufi,  the  victor  of  Pandna,  who  is  said  to  effect 
miraculous  cures,  and  people  pray  to  him  for  the  fulfilment  of  their  wishes 
through  his  intercession.  More  about  Pirs  will  be  found  under  the  head  of 
folklore. 

The  higher  classes  of  Musalmans  are  known  as  the  Ashrafy  the  lower 
classes  as  Ajlaf  in  this  district,  in  other  places  often  as  Atraf.  The  Ashraf 
comprise  Saiyads,  Moguls,  Pathans,  and  generally  those  who  are  either  rich, 
learned  or  of  good  character.  They  confine  themselves  to  trades  or  professions 
which  are   considered  honourable ;  their  ideas  on  this  subject,  however,   differ 


A   BRIBF  HinORT  OP  THE   HUGH  LI   DlSTEICT.  67 


widely  from  those  of  Eiiropoans,  the  trade  of  a  tailor  or  darti  being  among 
those  considered  honourable.  There  is  no  religious  prohibition  against 
intermarriage  between  the  higher  and  lower  classes,  theoretically  all  are  equal, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Ashraf  seldom  either  intermarry  or  take  food 
with  the  Ajlaf.  In  the  mosque  and  in  the  cemetery  all  are  equal,  practically 
as  well  as  theoretically,  and  a  senant,  if  he  arrives  first,  may  stand  before 
his  master  in  the  mosque,  and  may  lie  beside  him  in  the  cemetery. 

The  Saiyads  are  the  descendants  of  the  Prophet,  through  his  daughter 
Fatimah,  wife  of  Ali,  and  her  two  sons,  Hasan  and  Husain.  The  descendants 
of  the  latter  are  known  as  llusaini  Saiyads.  Beg  is  a  branch  of  the  Saiyad 
family,  which  came  to  India  from  Turkistan.  The  great  Sheikh  fltimily  has 
many  subdivisions,  some  of  which  are  held  in  high  estimation  as  noble 
families ;  e.g.,  Quraish,  the  name  of  the  Arabian  tribe  to  which  Muhammad 
belonged ;  the  Abbasis,  descendants  of  ILizrat  Abbas,  paternal  uncle  of  the 
Prophet ;  to  this  family  belonged  the  Abbasid  Khalifahs  of  Baghdad,  who  ruled 
the  Musalman  world  from  A.  H.  132  to  A.  H.  656 ;  during  these  five  centuries 
'61  Khalifahs  reigned ;  the  Siddiqs,  descendants  of  Abu  Bakr,  the  first  KlMlifah, 
who  is  called  Siddiq,  or  the  truthful ;  the  Usmans,  descendants  of  Usman, 
the  third  Khalifah ;  Faruqs,  descendants  of  Umar,  the  second  Khalitah ;  AnsariSf 
descendants  of  the  early  converts  at  Madinah,  known  as  al-Amar  (the  helpers). 
The  appellation  Sheikh  is  now,  however,  given  to  all  Musalmans  who  do  not 
belong  to  the  nobler  families,  including  converts.  Not  every  man,  who  calls 
himself  a  Saiyad,  is  really  a  descendant  of  the  Prophet ;  the  title  of  Saiyad 
is  sometimes  assumed  by  those  who  have  no  right  to  it,  a  practice  not  wholly 
unknown  in  other  countries  besides  India. 

The  Musalman  names  of  Biswas,  Chaudhri,  and  Hazra  are  not  common 
in  Hughli  district ;  but  Mir,  Mirza,  and  Khan  are  fairly  common  surnames. 
Many  families  who  were  formerly  known  as  Mirs,  have,  on  the  acquisition  of 
wealth  or  learning,  called  themselves  Saiyads.  Mir  is  an  abbreviation  of  Amir, 
and  was  a  title  conferred  by  the  Mogul  Emperors  on  officers,  such  as  Mir 
Shikari,  Mir  Mumhi,  &c.  Ghazi  and  Dafadar  are  military  titles,  similarly 
conferred  upon  those  who  distinguished  themselves  in  battle ;  the  title  of 
Diwan  was  given  to  men  of  letters,  Musalman  and  Hindu  alike.  Jolahas  and 
Kabaris  are  the  lowest  classes  of  Musalmans,  and  are  probably  the  descendants 
of  low  caste  Hindu  converts.  Jolahas  were  originally  weavers,  Kabaris  vegetable 
sellers ;  but  most  of  these  classes,  as  well  as  most  of  the  lower  classes  of 
Sheikhs,  are  now  cultivators.  Occupations  are,  as  a  rule,  hereditary,  but  with 
the  spread  of  education,  more  and  more  men  abandon  the  occupations  of  their 
forefathers. 

In  the  Serampur  subdivision  there  are  a  few  Zairs,  who,  like  other 
Suimis,  6M^owledge  the  first  three  Klialifahs,  but  do  not  follow  the  teachings 
of   the   Imam  Abu  Hanifah.    Literally,   a  Zair   is    one  who    has    made    the 


68  A    BRIEF   HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI   DISTRICT. 


pilgrimage  to  Muhammad's  grave   at   Madinah,  as  opposed  to  fliyV,  one  who 

has  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

10.    Folklore. — Several   legends   are    current   about    various  places  in  the 

Hughli  district.     Those  which  have  come  to  my  notice  are  recounted  below: — 
(i)  The  legend  of  Pandua  is  given  at  full  length  in   the  description  of 

that  place  in  Chapter  VII  of  the  Hughli  Medical  Gazetteer, 
(m)  The  legend  of  Ranjit  Eai's  tank. — For  this  legend  I  am  indebted  to 
Assistant  Surgeon  Syam  Nirod  Grupta,  of  Arambagh.  Ranjit  Rai 
was  a  big  samindar,  called  by  courtesy  a  Raja,  who  lived  in  a 
village  named  Gtuhbhari,  on  the  north  of  the  Old  Benares  Road, 
about  a  mile  east  of  Arambagh.  He  was  a  devoted  worshipper 
of  the  goddess  Durga,  who  on  one  occasion  played  the  part  of 
his  daughter,  to  show  him  favour.  On  the  morning  of  the  day 
of  the  Baruni  festival  (the  thirteenth  day  of  the  moon  in  April), 
a  shankharij  or  dealer  in  conch  shell  ornaments,  while  passing 
near  the  tank  now  known  as  Ranjit  Rai's  tank,  felt  thirsty,  and 
went  to  the  tank  to  get  a  drink  of  water.  On  reaching  the  ghat 
he  saw  a  beautiful  maiden  bathing  there.  The  maiden  enquired 
who  he  was.  On  hearing  that  he  was  a  shankhari,  she  asked 
whether  he  had  a  pair  of  shankhas,  or  shell  bracelets,  which 
would  suit  her.  He  said  that  he  had  such  a  pair,  but  they  were 
expensive.  The  girl  then  came  out  ef  the  tank,  and  asked  the 
man  to  put  the  bracelets  on  her  wrists.  He  did  so,  and  told  hw 
that  their  price  was  five  rupees.  The  girl  said  that  she  had  no 
money  with  her,  but  that,  if  the  man  would  go  to  her  father, 
Ranjit  Rai,  he  would  pay  for  the  bracelets.  She  further  told 
the  shankhari  to  tell  her  father  that  he  would  find,  in  a  niche  in 
the  room  facing  south,  a  smaU  box  with  five  rupees  in  it ;  and 
added,  that  if  her  father  made  any  demur  to  paying,  if  the  man 
returned  to  the  ghat  and  called  for  her,  she  would  pay.  The 
shankhari  accordingly  went  to  Ranjit  Rai's  house,  told  his  story, 
and  asked  for  the  five  rupees.  Ranjit  Rai,  it  happened,  had  no 
daughter,  and  at  first  he  thought  of  simply  dismissing  the  man 
as  a  liar;  on  second  thought  he  went  to  look  for  the  box,  and 
found  it,  with  five  rupees  inside,  in  the  place  described.  He 
then  thought  that  some  supernatural  agency  was  at  work,  and 
went  with  the  shankhari  to  the  ghat  where  the  girl  had  been 
bathing.  The  shankhari  called  out  for  the  girl  whom  he  had 
seen,  saying,  "  Where  are  you.  Oh  beautiful  maiden,  who  took  a 
pair  of  shankhas  from  me  this  morning?"  In  answer,  a  pair  of 
hands,  wearing  the  new  bracelets,  were  raised  from  the  water  in 
the  centre  of  the  tank.     The  Raja  threw  himself  on  the  ground 


A    BRIEF    HISTORT   OF  THB    MVOHU    DISTRICTT. 


and  prayed  to  Diirga,  and  in  the  evening  celebrated  a  great 
p^ja  at  the  tank.  To  this  day  the  Baruni  or  bathing  festival  is 
celebrated  at  Ranjit  Eai's  tank.  The  tank  ia  on  the  south-west 
of  the  Arambagh-Arandi  Boad  (Koad  No.  59),  in  its  second 
mile. 
(mi)  The  legend  of  Mohesh  is  given  in  Bhola  Nath's  "  Travels  of  a 
Hindu,"  Vol.  I,  p.  6 ;  and  is  to  the  effect  that  Jagannath  and 
his  brother  Dalaram,  when  at  this  place,  having  fasted  the  whole 
day,  had  to  pawn  a  bracelet,  belonging  to  the  temple  of  Jagannath 
at  Puri,  with;  a  shop-keeper  at  Mohesh,  in  order  to  procure  food. 
On  their  return  to  Puri  the  ornament  was  missed  by  the  Pandas 
(priests),  who  had  to  come  to  Mohesh  to  redeem  it. 

{ys)  The  legend  of  the  Bhugirathi  is  given,  under  the  heading  of  that 
river,  in  Hunter's  "Gazetteer  of  India,"  and  is  as  follows: — 

"  King  Sagar  woa  the  thirteenth  ancestor  of  Rama,  and  bad  ninety-nine  times 
performed  the  Attoamedha  Jajna,  or  great  Horse  Sacrifice,  which  consisted  in 
aen^ng  •  horse  round  the  Indian  world,  with  a  defiance  to  any  one  to  arrest  its 
pngreaa.  If  the  horse  returned  unopposed,  it  was  understood  to  bo  an  acquies- 
cence in  the  supremancy  of  the  challenger,  and  the  animal  was  then  solemnly 
sacrificed  to  the  gods.  King  Sagar  made  preparations  for  the  hundredth  per< 
formance  of  this  ceremony,  but  the  god  Indra  having  himself  performed  the 
sacrifice,  and  jealous  of  being  displaced  by  a  rival,  stole  the  horse  and  concealed 
it  in  a  subterranean  cell,  where  a  holy  sage  was  absorbed  in  heavenly  meditation. 
The  siity  thousand  sons  of  Sagar  traced  the  horse  to  its  hiding  place,  and 
believing  the  sage  to  be  the  author  of  the  theft,  assaulted  him.  The  holy  man 
being  thus  aroused  from  his  meditation,  cursed  his  assailants,  who  were  imme* 
diately  reduced  to  ashes,  and  sentenced  to  hell.  A  grandson  of  Sagar,  in  search 
of  his  father  and  uncles,  at  last  found  out  the  sage,  and  begged  him  to  redeem 
the  souls  of  the  dead.  The  holy  man  replied  that  this  could  only  be  effected  if 
the  waters  of  Ganga  (the  aqueous  form  of  Vishnu  and  Lakshmi)  could  be 
brought  to  the  spot  to  touch  the  ashes.  Now  Chmga  was  residing  in  heaven, 
under  the  care  of  Brahma,  the  Creator,  and  the  grandson  of  Sagar  prayed  him 
to  send  the  goddess  to  earth.  He  was  unsuccessful,  however,  and  died  without 
his  supplication  being  granted.  He  left  no  issue,  but  a  bod,  Bhagirath,  wm 
miraculously  bom  of  his  widow,  and  through  his  prayers  Brahma  allowed  Ganga 
to  visit  the  earth.  Bhagirath  led  the  way  to  near  the  sea,  and  then  declared 
that  he  could  not  show  the  rest  of  the  road.  Whereupon  Ganga,  in  order  to 
make  sure  of  reaching  the  bones  of  the  dead,  divided  herself  into  a  hundred 
mouths,  thus  forming  the  delta  of  the  Ganges,  one  of  these  mouths  arrived  at 
the  cell,  and  by  washing  the  ashes,  completed  the  atonement  for  the  sin  of  the 
sons  of  King  Sagar." 

(c)  The  legend   of   Tarakesicar  is    given    as    follows  in    the    "List    of 
Ancient  Monuments  in  the  Burdwan  Division": — 

•'  Raja  Vishnu  Das,  a  Khshetriya  by  caste,  lived  at  Mohaba  Garkalingar  in  Oudh, 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Rather  than  remain  under  the  rule  of  the 
Musalman  Nawabs  of  Oudh,  the  Raja  emigrated  to  Bengal,  and  took  up  hia 
abode  at  the  village   of  Ramnagar  at    Balagarb,  near   Haripal,  about    two  mile* 


70  A    BRIEF   HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 


from  where  Tarakeswar  now  atands.  With  him  came  500  followers  of  hi« 
own  caste,  and  100  Brahmans  from  Eanauj.  The  inhahitanta  of  the  neighbour- 
hood suspected  them  of  being  robbers,  and  sent  word  to  the  Nawab  of  Bengal 
at  Murshidabad  that  a  large  gang  of  marauders,  in  complete  armour  and  with 
strange  beards  and  moustaches,  had  come  and  settled  near  Haripal.  The  Xawab 
sent  for  them,  when  the  Raja  presented  himself,  and  said  that  they  were  a 
harmless  folk  who  only  wanted  some  land  whereon  to  settle.  Tradition  states 
that,  to  prove  his  innocence.  Raja  Vishnu  Das  went  through  the  ordeal  by 
fire,  holding  in  his  hand  a  red-hot  iron  bai,  without  injury.  The  Nawab  was 
convinced,  and  gave  him  a  grant  of  500  bighas  of  land,  equal  to  1,500  at  the 
present  day,  eight  miles  from  Tarakeswar.  Vishnu  Das  had  a  brother  who 
had  become  a  religious  mendicant,  and  wandered  about  the  neighbourhood  as 
a  devotee.  While  living  in  the  jungle  near  Tarakeswar,  then  known  as  Jot 
Savaram,  he  noticed  that  many  cows  entered  the  jimgle  with  udders  full  of  milk, 
and  returned  with  them  empty.  Varamal  Sinh,  as  the  devotee  was  called, 
followed  them  to  see  who  milked  them,  and  saw  them  discharge  their  milk  of 
their  own  accord  on  to  a  stone  which  had  a  deep  hollow  in  it,  made  by  cowherds 
grinding  rice  upon  it.  He  tried  to  dig  up  the  stone,  and  spent  a  whole  day 
at  the  work  without  reaching  its  lower  side.  Daring  the  night  he  dreamed 
that  Tarakeswar,  the  divine  reliever  of  the  world  (a  form  of  Shiva),  appeared  to 
him  and  ordered  him  to  desist  from  trying  to  dig  up  the  stone,  but  to  build  over 
it  a  temple  of  Tarakeswar,  of  which  ho  should  be  the  worshipper  and  mohant. 
Varamal  Sinh  then  went  and  related  his  dream  to  his  brother  Vishnu  Daa. 
whose  help  he  asked.  The  two  brothers  accordingly  built  the  temple  of 
Tarakeswar  over  the  sacred  stone,  and  Varamal  Singh  became  the  first  mohant  or 
warden  of  the  temple.  The  original  temple  having  fallen  into  decay,  the  present 
building  was  erected  by  the  Raja  of  Burdwan.  Chintamoni  De  of  Uowrah  is  said 
to  have  erected  the  marble  hall  in  front  of  the  shrine  in  g^ratitude  for  having 
been  miraculously  cured  of  disease,   in  answer  to  prayer  at  the  shrine." 

(w)  The  legend  of  tJie  Bahula  Nadi,  or  Baolia  k/tai,  a  small  stream 
which  enters  the  Magra  khal,  a  little  to  the  west  of  Naya  SaraL 
There  once  lived  a  great  merchant  named  Chand  Saudagar,  who 
had  no  reverence  for  the  serpent  goddess  Manasa.  She,  out  of 
revenge,  caused  a  snake  to  bite  his  only  son  Lakhindar,  whose 
corpse  was  not  allowed  to  be  cremated.  Chand's  wife,  mother 
of  Lakhindar,  took  the  body  with  her  on  a  raft  made  of 
plaintain  stems,  and  with  it  floated  down  the  river  Bahula, 
which  was  subsequently  named  after  her.  Her  prayers  and 
tears  moved  the  gods  to  compassion ;  the  goddess  Manasa  appeared 
and  brought  Lakhindar  to  life  again.  It  is  said  that  from  this 
legend  grew  the  custom  of  not  burning  the  body  of  a  person 
who  has  died  from  snake-bite. 

(vii)  The  legend  of  Dwarbasini. — This  legend  was  furnished  to  me  by  Babu 
Satkauri  Ghosh,  Head  Master  of  Dwarbasini  School.  It  is  much  the 
same  as  the  traditions  of  Pandua  and  Mahnad,  related  in  Chapter  VII 
of  the  Hughli  Medical  Gazetteer.  At  the  time  of  the  Musalman 
invasion  of  Bengal,  a  line  of  Hindu  kings  of  the  Satgop  caste  had 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THK   HUOHLl    DISTRICT.  71 


their  capital  at  Dwarbasini.  The  last  of  them  was  named  Dwar  Pal. 
HiB  dominions  were  invaded  by  a  Musalman  general  named 
Muhamnd  Ali.  The  first  battle  fought  was  indecisive.  In  Dwar 
Pal's  palace  enclosure  was  a  tank  called  the  Jibat  Kund,  which 
had  the  property  of  curing  the  wounds  of  all  who  bathed  in 
it,  and  even  of  restoring  to  life  the  bodies  of  those  killed  in 
battle,  if  they  were  placed  in  the  holy  water.  A  Musalman  saint, 
named  Saha  Jokai,  obtained  permission  from  Dwar  Pal  to 
bathe  in  this  tank,  and  entered  the  water  with  a  piece  of  beef 
concealed  in  his  garments ;  the  pollution  thus  caused  destroyed 
the  miraculous  properties  of  the  tank.  Deprived  of  its  help, 
Dwar  Pal  was  totally  defeated  by  the  invaders  in  a  second  battle, 
after  which  he  and  his  whole  family  burned  themselves  on  a 
funeral  pile  within  his  palace,  which  was  thus  reduced  to  a  heap 
of  ruins,  known  as  Dhan  Pata.  Before  his  death  he  predicted 
that,  whenever  a  respectable  Hindu  of  the  Satgop  caste  should 
come  to  live  at  Dwarbasini,  ho  would  become  its  king.  It  is  said 
that,  as  long  as  the  Musalman  dominion  lasted,  no  Satgop  was 
ever  allowed  to  settle  there. 
The  tank  now  shown  as  the  Jibat  Knnd  is  simply  a  small  shallow 
pool  on  the  south  side  of  a  much  larger  tank  known  as  Kamana 
(prayer-fulfilling).  A  small  tomb  on  the  east  of  the  Jibat  Kund 
is  said  to  be  that  of  the  P»V,  Saha  Jokai.  It  is  in  good  repair, 
having  been  renewed  about  ten  years  ago.  Another  large  tank, 
a  little  to  the  east,  now  divided  by  cross  bunds  into  three 
small  tanks,  is  known  as  Chandra  Kup  (tank  of  moonshine). 
Some  distance  further  north  are  another  large  tank  called 
Pajjharan  (sin-removing) ;  and  a  series  of  seven  tanks  called  Sat 
Satin,  after  the  Raja's  seven  wives.  On  the  south-east  of 
Dwarbasini  is  a  slightly  raised  mound,  composed  of  broken 
brick,  known  as  the  garh,  a  fort.  All  over  the  village,  a 
little  below  the  surface,  are  the  remains  of  brick  houses  and 
walls,  with  many  filled-up  wells;  and  local  tradition  says  that 
much  treasure  has  from  time  to  time  been  dug  up,  as  well  as 
many  broken  sculptured  stones. 
Under  the  head  of  folklore  may  naturally  fall  an  account  of  the  various 
deities  who  are  worshipped  in  order  to  obtain  immunity  from,  or  cure  of 
various  diseases;  also  of  different  leseer  deities  worshipped  in  the  district. 
The  latter  are  in  many  cases  local,  and  of  celebrity  only  within  a  small  area ; 
the  former  are  mostly  general,  and  not  peculiar  to  the  Hughli  district,  which 
only  shares  in  their  worship  with  other  parts  of  Bengal.  My  notes  on 
these  subjects  are  taken   from  the  draft  of  the  district  census  report  for  1901  • 


72  A    BRIEF   HISTORY     OF  THE    HUGHLT   DISTRICT. 


to  which  they  were  mostly  contributed  "by  Babus  Satis  Chandra  Mukerjee 
of  Guptipara,  Satyendra  Nath  Gupta  of  Bainchi,  and  C.  B.  Chakravarti, 
Deputy  Magistrate,  Hughli. 

Sithy  the  goddess  of  small-pox,  is  the  best  known  and  most  widely 
worshipped  of  the  deities  who  preside  over  disease.  Though  specitdly  connected 
with  small-pox,  she  is  also  worshipped  at  some  places  in  order  to  obtain 
immunity  from  other  diseases.  She  is  a  malignant  deity,  and  if  not 
propitiated,  scatters  death  on  all  sides  by  spreading  the  germs  of  small-pox. 
A  block  of  stone  usually  does  duty  as  her  image.  On  occasions  of  special 
worship,  however,  a  regular  idol  is  made,  in  the  shape  of  a  female,  with 
four  arms,  riding  on  an  ass.  In  one  hand  she  holds  a  broomstick,  in  a 
second  a  water-pot,  in  a  third  a  winnowing  fan.  Her  body  is  naked,  but 
adorned  with  ornaments,  as  well  as  covered  with  pustules  of  small-pox. 
There  is  no  shrine  to  her  in  Hughli  district.  All  classes  of  Hindus  worship 
her.  Among  the  higher  castes,  a  Brahman  officiates  as  priest.  Offerings  to 
her  are  made  of  fruits,  rice,  and  sweeta  ;  animals  are  also  often  sacrificed  to 
appease  her  thirst  for  blood.  Several  low  castes,  such  as  Bagdis,  Doms, 
Chandals,  and  Moohis,  worship  Sitla  by  carrying  about  clay  figures  from  door 
to  door,  singing  and  begging  alms.  In  rural  areas  the  bodies  of  Hindus  who 
have  died  of  small-pox  are  often  buried  instead  of  burned ;  but  in  towns  this 
practice  has  ceased. 

Rakshya  Kali  is  often  worshipped  in  times  of  cholera  or  other  epidemics, 
not  that  she  is  specially  the  goddess  of  that  disease,  but  as  a  general 
protectress  against  danger.  She  is  also  worshipped,  in  epidemic  seasons,  in 
cremation  grounds,  and  is  then  called  Sasan  Kali.  She  is  merely  one  form 
of  Kali,  Durga,  or  Bhagabati,  the  wife  of  Siva. 

Ola  Bibi,  Olai  Chandi,  or  Olesari,  is  the  special  presiding  deity  of  cholera. 
Bhe  is  a  malevolent  deity,  and  is  specially  invoked  in  times  of  cholera 
epidemic.  She  has  no  image ;  her  external  symbol  is  an  earthen  pot.  Seldom 
is  any  temple  built  to  her ;  her  worship  is  celebrated  under  a  Nim  tree.  The 
month  of  Baisakh  is  considered  most  favourable  for  her  worship,  which  is 
celebrated  on  a  Tuesday  or  Saturday  during  the  bright  half  of  the  moon. 
All  castes  join  in  her  worship,  but  the  officiating  priest  is  usually  a  Brahman 
of  one  of  the  inferior  orders.  At  Bainchi  there  is  a  shrine  of  Olai  Chandi, 
where  the  officiating  priest  is  a  Gtcala  Brahman.  Fruits,  rice,  sugar,  and 
Bweets,  form  the  offerings  to  this  goddess  ;  goats  are  also  sacrificed  to  her. 
The  officiating  priest  distributes  a  portion  of  the  offerings  to  the  worshippers 
and  keeps  the  rest  for  himself. 

Jagatganri  is  the  name  of  another  goddess  who  presides  over  cholera  as 
Veil  as  snake-bite.  She  is  the  sister  of  Maimsa,  and  is  at  times  benevolent, 
at  other  times  malevolent.  She  is  represented  as  a  female  seated  on  a  throne 
with  a  child  in  her  lap.    She  has  shrines  at  Nalikuldanga  and  Chautkhanda, 


A    BRIEF   HISTORY  OP  THE    HUOm.l    DISTRICrT.  78. 

where  she  is  worshipped  by  all  oastoe,  from  Brahmans  to  Haris.  Her  worship 
is  celebrated  daily,  on  ppeoial  oooasions  on  a  Tuesday  or  a  Saturday.  Tho 
offioiating  priest  is  a  Brahman,  through  whom  every  one  has  to  approach  the 
goddess.  Besides  the  usual  offerings  of  rioe,  fruit,  &o.,  goats,  sheep,  and 
bulTiiloea  are  sacrificed  to  her  ;  while  Doms  and  Haris  sacrifice  pigs.  Other 
Hindus,  while  they  consider  piga  unclean,  do  not  object  to  their  sacrifice, 
on  condition  that  it  is  performed  behind  and  not  in  front  of  the  altar.  A 
tHeia  is  held  every  year  in  honour  of  this  goddess,  in  the  month  of  Jaiatha, 
on  the  fifth  day  of  tho  bright  half  of  the  moon,  when  large  crowds  assemble 
at  her  shrines. 

Minasa  is  a  malevolent  goddess,  who  presides  over  snake-bite ;  and,  if  not 
propitiated,  sends  a  plaguo  of  snakes  over  the  face  of  the  country  to  bite 
her  recalcitrant  worshippers.  She  is  also  known  as  Jaratkari  and  Bishahari ;  the 
latter  name,  however,  is  now  usually  regard  as  being  the  name  of  a  separate 
deity.  Manasa  is  the  lady  referred  to  in  the  legend  of  the  Bahula  iVarfi, 
quoted  above.  She  is  worshipped  by  all  classes  of  Hindus.  As  a  rule  no 
idol  of  her  is  made,  but  a  branch  of  the  Manasa  tree  is  planted  in  a  comer 
of  the  courtyard  of  each  Hindu  household,  as  an  emblem  of  the  deity,  and 
there  worshipped  by  the  family  Brahman.  At  some  places  in  the  Arambagh 
subdivision,  she  is  represented  by  a  clay  figure  of  a  female  mounted  on  a 
snake.  She  is  worshipped  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  light  fortnight  of  the 
month  of  Jaistha,  and  then  on  the  fiith  day  of  each  succeeding  month  until  the 
last  day  of  Shravan ;  in  special  cases  her  worship  is  carried  out  on  any 
Tuesday  or  Saturday.     [  Manasa  tree    (  Euphorbia  Neriifolia  ),] 

Kliadai  is  another  name  for  the  goddess  who  presides  over  snake-bite. 
She  is  a  transformation  of  Manama,  the  serpent  goddess.  •  She  is  malevolent, 
but  when  propitiated  ensures  her  worshippers  immunity  from  snake-bite.  Her 
symbol  is  a  Manasa  tree ;  but  sometimes  she  is  represented  as  a  female,  seated 
on  a  snake,  and  attended  by  eight  other  snakes.  Mochis  and  other  low  castes 
worship  her  ;  the  officiating  priest  is  generally  a  Mochi.  She  is  worshipped  on 
the  last  day  of  Shravan.  The  offerings,  which  are  kept  by  the  priest,  consist 
of  rice,  fruits,  and  sweets;  goats  and  buffaloes  are  sometimes  sacrificed 
to  her. 

Bahula  is  another  name  given  to  Manasa,  apparently  from  the  story 
given  above  as  the  legend  of  the  Bahula  Nadi.  Under  this  name  she  has  a  temple 
at  Bainchi,  where  she  is  worshipped  daily,  chiefly  by  Jaliyas.  The  officiating 
priest  is  a  Jaliya  Brahman.  Special  worship  is  carried  out  here  on  the  full  moon 
day  of  the  month  of  Baisakh  and  in  the  Dasahara  festival. 

Snakesy  as  is  well  known,  are  often  worshipped.  If  a  man  can  got  hold 
of  the  actual  snake  which  bit  him,  or  knows  the  hole  where  it  lives,  he  tries 
to  propitiate  it  with  offerings  of  milk,  sugar,  &c.  Some  time  ago  a  sepoy  of 
the  military   police  stationed   here  was   bitten   by   a    snake.     The   then   Civil 


74  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THB    HUGHLl    DISTRICT. 

Surgeon  was  sent  for  at  once.  On  his  arrival  he  found  the  bitten  man  endeavour- 
ing to  propitiate  the  snake  which  had  bitten  him,  and  which  he  had  managed 
to  get  hold  of,  with  a  saucer  of  milk.  The  Civil  Surgeon  at  once  reoognized 
that  the  snake  was  not  a  poisonous  one,  and  told  the  man  so.  The  sepoy  was 
very  unwilling  to  believe  that  the  snake  was  a  harmless  one,  but  at  last,  on 
being  persuaded  that  it  was  so,  he  took  ofi  his  heavy  shoe,  and  gavd  the  snake 
a  blow  on  the  head  which  killed  it,  at  the  same  time  abusing  its  female  relations 
to  the  last  generation,  and  calling  it  an  impostor  which  had  got  milk  out  of 
him  by  setting  itself  up  as  a  poisonous  snake,  and  thus  cheating  him  under  false 
pretences. 

Ohantakarnaj  the  god  of  skin  diseases,  is  a  malevolent  deity.  He  was  a 
great  hero,  and  a  devoted  follower  of  Siva,  who  granted  him  as  a  boon  power  over 
cutaneous  diseases.  He  is  represented  by  a  lump  of  cowdung,  on  the  top  of  which 
are  placed  a  few  cowries,  dyed  vemulion.  All  castes  join  in  his  worship,  which 
is  conducted  outside  the  front  gate  of  a  house.  The  special  time  for  his  worship 
is  the  last  day  of  Phaljun  before  sunrise.  No  Brahman  is  required  to  officiate 
as  priest ;  the  mantras  or  prayers  are  recited  by  women  or  children,  who  are  his 
special  worshippers.  The  offerings  consist  of  rice,  »M««r  dal,  and  Ohanta  flowers, 
(Clerodendron  infortunatum).  Sometimes  this  deity  is  represented  as  a  female, 
Q-hantoswari. 

Achal  Mai  is  a  god  of  disease,  who  effects  miraculous  cures  in  oases  of 
phthisis  and  ophthalmia.  He  has  a  shrine  at  Barul  near  Dhaniakhali,  which 
has  considerable  local  renown,  and  is  visited  even  by  persons  coining  from 
distant  villages.  The  image  of  the  god  is  a  rectangular  block  of  stone,  about 
a  yard  long.  "Worship  is  performed  daily.  A  mela,  at  which  large  crowds 
assemble,  is  held  in  honour  of  this  god  on  the  full  moon  day  of  the  month 
of  Baisakh.  The  officiating  priest  is  a  Jaliya.  All  castes  pay  homage  to 
this  god,  but  even  Brabmans  make  their  offerings  through  the  Jaliya 
priest. 

Dharmraj  (king  of  righteousness)  is  worshipped  in  many  places  as  the 
god  of  snakes,  a  malevolent  deity,  chiefly  by  the  lower  castes.  The  time 
usually  considered  most  favourable  for  propitiating  him  is  the  fifth  day  of  the 
bright  half  of  the  month  of  Bhadon.  Besides  offerings  of  rice,  fruits,  and 
sweets,  goats  and  other  animals  are  sacrificed  to  him,  the  offerings  being  the 
perquisite  of  the  priest. 

At  KochmaU,  near  Bainchi,  Dharmraj  has  a  shrine  in  the  house  of  a 
Gwala,  and  pvja  is  performed  by  a  Gwala  Brahman. 

At  Berala,  near  Bainchi,  Dharmraj  is  represented  by  a  huge  block  of 
stone.  As  priestess  be  has  a  Dom  girl,  through  whom  even  Brahmans  make 
their  offerings. 

At  Eameswarpur  Dharmraj  ia  worshipped  by  a  Jaliya  priest,  and  animala 
are  sacrificed  to  him. 


A    BRIEF   HISTORY  OF  TUB   UUOHLl    DISTRICT.  75 

At  Naiibpur,  ii«ar  Khanakul,  Dharmraj  hu  »  ahrine,  where  a  symbol  of 
the  god  is  kept  in  a  email  covered  case,  no  one  being  allowed  to  see  what  it 
is.  All  oastes  of  Hindus  in  the  neighbourhood  worship  at  this  shrine,  but 
the  priest  is  a  Dom. 

At  Goghat  Dharmraj  has  a  shrine,  where  he  is  represented  by  the  form 
of  a  tortoise  kept  in  a  box.  All  Hindu  castes  worship  here,  but  none  are 
allowed  to  touch  the  idol,  or  to  do  ptya^  except  through  the  priest,  who  is  a 
Brahman. 

Dharmrckj  is  also  a  name  given  to  Tama,  the  god  of  the  infernal  regions, 
the  Indian  Pluto.  Ordinarily  the  god  is  represented  in  the  figure  of  a  human 
being.  At  the  village  of  Tildanga,  on  the  Guptipara-Inchura  Road,  in  thana 
Balagarh,  the  god  is  worshipped  in  the  form  of  a  block  of  stone,  by  all 
Hindu  castes,  but  chiefly  low  castes,  such  as  Dojns,  Bagdis,  and  Chamars. 
This  form  of  Dharmraj  is  also  worshipped  at  Mulgram.  In  both  oases  the 
priest  is  a  Dom. 

Jalkumari  (water  princess)  is  the  presiding  deity  of  water.  She  is  generally 
invoked  when  death  by  drowning  occurs,  and  the  puja  is  celebrated  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  or  tank  in  which  the  accident  took  place.  Naturally  there  is 
no  fixed  time  for  this  worship.  The  oflSciating  priest  is  a  Brahman.  The 
offerings  mostly  consist  of  rice,  fruits,  and  sweets;  but  on  special  occasions 
goats  are  sacrificed  to  the  goddess. 

Exorckm  is  had  recourse  to  by  Hindus  chiefly  for  hysteria  and  mental 
aberration.  The  patients  are  supposed  to  be  possessed  by  evil  spirits,  and  to 
drive  out  these  spirits  is  the  business  of  the  exorcist,  who  may  be  of  any 
caste.  The  method  of  procedure  is  by  uttering  mantras^  blowing  on  the 
patient,  and  making  passes  with  the  hand  over  all  parts  of  the  body;  the 
patient  is  also  made  to  inhale  the  steam  of  burning  turmeric,  and  sulphur  is 
burnt. 

Ghosts  or  evil  spirits  are  firmly  believed  in  by  all  classes  of  Hindus. 
Ghosts  are  supposed  to  be  the  spirits  of  the  dead  who  are  unable  to  leave  the 
earth.  Their  ranks  are  recruited  by  all  those  who  die  unnatural  deaths,  such 
as  being  killed  by  wild  animals  or  by  snake-bite,  by  other  injuries,  by 
drowning;  those  who  die  of  incurable  disease,  such  as  leprosy  or  phthisis; 
and  women  dying  in  child-birth.  Patients  suffering  from  incurable  diseases  are 
made  to  do  the  Prayaschitta  ceremony  before  death,  which  is  supposed  to  save 
their  souls  from  remaining  on  earth  after  death.  A  soul,  which  has  thus 
become  an  evil  spirit,  may  also  be  saved  by  performing  the  Sradh  ceremony 
At  Gaya;  immediately  this  is  done  the  spirit  loaves  the  earth,  and  is 
reborn.  Sometimes  a  spirit  thus  redeemed  announces  its  departure  by 
breaking  a  branch  of  the  tree  in  which  it  had  its  abode.  Throwing  brickbats 
and  cursing  are  the  favourite  ways  in  which  ghosts  msnifeet  their 
displeasure. 


76  A   BEIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HtTGHLl    DTSTRICT. 

There  are  a  number  of  deities  which  may  be  called  trade  deities,  each  being 
specially  worshipped  by  particular  trades.  The  following  are  some  of  the 
deities  of  this  class  worshipped  in  the  Hughli  district. 

Mahhal  is  worshipped  by  fishermen.  He  is  a  benignant  deity,  and  is 
worshipped  for  the  sake  of  success  and  profit  in  fishing.  There  is  no  image, 
and  no  Brahman  is  needed  as  priest.  The  usual  offerings  are  fruits  and 
Bweets,  which  the  worshippers  themselves  consume.  The  name  .appears  to  be 
a  contraction  of  Mahakal  (eternity). 

Vishkaram  or  Viswakarma  is  the  divine  architect,  and  the  god  of  artisans 
He  is  a  benignant  deity,  and  is  represented  as  seated  on  an  elephant,  with  an 
axe  in  one  hand  and  a  hammer  in  the  other.  When  no  image  is  available, 
j)uja  is  done  before  an  earthen  jar  filled  with  water.  The  place  of  worship 
is  the  workshop  of  the  worshipper,  who  carefully  arranges  by  the  side  of  the 
image  all  the  implements  of  his  craft.  All  artisans,  goldsmiths,  blacksmiths, 
carpenters,  &c.,  join  in  this  worship.  The  day  of  celebration  is  the  last  day 
of  Bhadon.  The  oflBciating  priest  is  a  Brahman,  who  takes  the  offerings, 
consisting  of  fruits,  rice,  sugar,  and  sweets.     No  animal  is  sacrificed  to  him. 

Panchpir  is  a  Musalman  saint  invoked  by  Musalman  boatmen  when  they 
go  on  a  voyage. 

Gohind-raj-ji  is  a  deity  invoked  by  milkmen,  gwalaSy  &c.,  at  Sripur  in  ihana 
Balagarh.  Though  ordinarily  benevolent,  it  is  said  that  he  would  kill  any 
one  who  supplied  adulterated  milk  for  his  worship. 

Kali,  the  universal  deity,  is  worshipped  by  Bagdis  and  other  low  castes 
when  about  to  set  out  on  a  dakaiti  expedition.  This  is  the  only  instance  of 
the  worship  of  Kali  being  conducted  without  a  Brahman  priest. 

Kayasths,  and  even  Brahman  clerks,  on  the  Sripamhami  festival,  in  Magh 
or  Phalgutif  worship  the  implements  of  their  calling — pen  and  ink. 

Gramdevta,  village  god,  is  a  general  term  for  local  deities.  "When  there  is 
a  local  shrine  of  repute  to  some  particular  deity,  that  deity  performs  the 
functions  of  the  local  deity.  When  there  is  not,  the  presiding  deity  is  in  some 
cases  Kali,  in  others  Yishnu  in  his  form  of  Krishna,  in  others  Siva.  Most  of 
the  gods  of  disease,  trades,  &c.,  also  in  some  instances  appear  as  local  deities. 
But  the  most  common  gramdevta  is  Kali.  A  Bael  tree,  or  other  tree  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  village,  is  dedicated  to  the  deity,  and  before  this  tree  worship 
is  performed,  but  the  divine  spirit,  and  not  the  tree  itself,  is  theoretically  the 
object  of  worship. 

Among  the  minor  deities  which  are  worshipped  in  this  district  as 
gramdevtas  are  Gandheswari,  Sasthi,  Mahkal,  Biswakarma,  Dharmraj  and 
Jalkumari,  Kalubar,  Thakur,  Lohajangh,  Bishahari,  Bishalakhi.  Several  of 
these  have  been  already  described. 

Gandheswari  is  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  Gandhabaniks  (spice-dealers  or 
grocers).     She  is  a  benevolent  deity.     The  only  visible  representation  of  this 


A   BRllF   HISTORY  OF  TIIB   HUOHLI   DISTRICT.  77 

deity  is  an  oarthon  jug,  on  which  the  image  of  tho  goddess  Durga  is  painted 
in  yermilion.  On  a  lino  wnth  tho  jug  are  placed  the  scalos  and  weights 
which  form  the  implomonts  of  the  Gaudhabanik's  trade.  Worship  is  performed 
at  the  family  residence  or  at  the  place  of  business  of  the  worshipper,  on  the 
day  of  the  fuU  moon  of  Baimhh,  and  lasts  for  a  day.  The  officiating  priest  is 
a  Brahman.  He  keeps  the  offerings,  which  oonsiat  of  rice,  fruits,  and  sweets, 
with  sometimes  goats  and  buffaloes. 

The  Sasthi  is  an  incarnation  of  Durga  or  Kali,  the  wife  of  Siva.  The 
Sasthi  is  worshipped  by  all  classes  of  Hindus.  No  image  is  ever  made 
to  her,  but  in  the  uMiUras  sung  in  her  honour  she  is  spoken  of  as  a  female 
sitting  on  a  lotus  flower  with  infants  in  her  lap.  Only  females  and 
children  join  in  the  worship,  which  is  performed  for  the  well-being  and 
health  of  the  children.  There  are  several  occasions  when  she  ia  worshipped. 
The  principal  puj'a  takes  place  on  the  sixth  day  of  the  light  half  of  Jainthat 
and  is  conducted  at  the  foot  of  a  Bar  or  a  tamarind  tree,  generally  before  a 
piece  of  stone.  The  trunk  of  the  tree  is  smeared  with  vermilion.  Puja 
is  also  done  to  this  goddess  on  the  day  when  the  mother  of  a  child 
comes  out  of  the  lying-in  room,  on  the  expiry  of  the  prescribed  days  of 
separation  after  child-birth.  A  Brahman  officiates  as  priest,  and  takes  the 
offerings,  which  consist  of  rice,  plantains  and  other  fruits,  curds,  and  sweets. 

Kalubar  is  a  deity  of  Doms  and  Haris.  He  is  supposed  to  preside 
over  the  elements,  and  his  worship  averts  calamities  by  storms,  floods,  &c.  It 
is  celebrated  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  Bakakh.  A  piece  of  stone,  smeared  with 
vermilion,  is  placed  under  a  tree,  and  serves  the  purpose  of  an  idol.  Offerings 
of  rice  and  plantains  are  made,  and  sometimes  pigs  are  sacrificed. 

The  Hmkur  is  another  name  of  the  sun  god.  He  is  benignant,  and 
grants  prosperity  to  his  worshippers.  He  is  represented  by  a  small  earthen  jar 
placed  upon  a  flat  dish  of  the  same  material ;  they  are  then  set  on  the  floor 
of  the  room,  and  allowed  to  remain  there  for  a  month  from  the  end  of 
Kartik  to  the  end  of  Agrahayan.  Worship  is  performed  on  the  four  Sundays 
of  this  month.  Flowers,  fruits,  and  sweets  form  the  offerings  to  this  god; 
they  are  kept  by  the  officiating  priest,  who  is  generally  a  Brahman,  but  in 
the  absence  of  a  Brahman  the  worshipper  may  perform  the  office  himself. 

Bishalakhi  is  a  form  of  Kali.  The  name  means  "with  widely-open  eyes." 
There  is  an  ancient  shrine  to  her  at  Senet,  in  thana  Polba.  The  idol  is  not 
painted  black,  like  the  ordinary  Kali,  but  yellowish-red.  It  is  held  in  great 
esteem,  and  people  from  distant  places,  especially  women,  come  to  worship  her 
in  the  months  of  Magh  and  Phalgun.  There  is  a  ruined  shrine  of  Bishalakhi 
at  Parul,  in  the  south-east  of  Arambagh  town. 

Lohajangh  (iron  thigh)  is  a  form  of  Siva  worshipped  at  Natagor  village 
in  thana  Balagarh.  The  deity  is  both  benign  and  malevolent;  he  represents 
the  destructive  power  of  force.    A  piece  of  ordinary  stone  under  a  Pipal  tree 


78  A    BRIEF    HISTORY   OF   THE    HUGHLI    DISTRICT. 

forms  his  image.  It  is  worshipped  on  the  second  day  of  the  new  moon  of  the 
month  of  Fmh.  The  worship  is  a  distorted  form  of  Siva  worship,  and  consists 
in  prayers  for  the  expulsion  of  devils  and  evil  spirits,  with  supplications  for 
the  grant  of  good  harvests  and  earthly  bUss.  The  officiating  priest  is  a 
Brahman,  and  usually  takes  the  offerings,  which  consist  of  rice,  fruits,  and 
sweets  ;  sometimes  goats  and  sheep  are  sacrificed.  Occasionally  the  worshipper 
himself  keeps  the  offerings. 

JBkhahari  is  a  form  in  which  the  goddess  Manasa  is  worshipped  at 
Teomai,  on  the  Q-uptipara-Tribeni  Road,  in  Balagarh  thana.  She  is  a 
benignant  deity,  and  is  represented  by  an  earthen  water-pot.  Her  worship  is 
performed  on  the^fifth  day  of  the  new  moon  in  the  month  of  Bhadon.  It  is 
performed  chiefly  by  the  lower  castes,  but  the  officiating  priest  is  a  Brahman. 
Sacrifices  of  goats,  which  are  kept  by  the  worshippers,  are  the  chief  feature  of 
her  worship. 

Satyanarain  is  a  form  of  Vishnu.  His  worship  has  received  some 
additions  from  the  faith  of  Islam,  and  it  is  considered  advantageous  that  the 
puja  should  be  performed  under  the  eyes  of  a  Musalman,  though  the  officiating 
priest  is  a  Brahman.  His  symbol  is  a  rectangular  piece  of  board,  on  which  is 
placed  a  dagger  covered  with  a  cloth.  There  is  no  fixed  date  or  place  of  his 
worship ;  it  is  held  at  times  in  every  Hindu  household,  always  in  the  early 
hours  of  the  night.  The  offerings,  which  consist  of  plantains,  a  seer  and-a- 
quarter  of  flour,  and  the  same  amount  of  milk  and  sugar  made  into  a  jelly, 
with  other  sweets,  are  distributed  among  the  worshippers.  He  is  benignant, 
|ind  blesses  his  votaries  with  abundance  and  with  immunity  from  danger. 

Satyanarain  Pir  is  a  form  of  the  same  deity,  worshipped  both  by  Hindus 
and  Musalmans  in  Arambagh  subdiyision.  The  deity  is  represented  by  a 
small  mound  of  earth  smeared  with  vermilion.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been 
a  Musalman  pir  or  saint.  Offerings  of  rice,  pice,  cowries,  and  clay  horses,  are 
made  at  the  shrine,  and  songs  sung  before  it  in  the  evenings. 

Pir  means  a  Musalman  saiat,  and  in  every  Sunni  Musalman  village  there 
is  a  dargah  or  shrine  dedicated  to  some  Pir  or  other.  Low  caste  Hindus  also 
often  worship  at  the  shrine,  and  make  the  usual  offerings  of  sweets  and  clay 
horses.  The  Musalman  mullah  in  charge  consecrates  the  offering  by  touching 
it  and  chanting  texts  from  the  Koran.  The  Musalmans  sacrifice  fowls  in 
honour  of  the  Pir.  Such  of  the  offerings  as  are  edible  are  usually  divided 
between  the  mullah  and  the  devotees.  The  best  known  Pirs  in  the  district  are 
Shah  Sufi  of  Pandua,  above  described,  and  the  three   following : — 

8aichand  Pir^  a  corruption  of  Shah  Chand  Pir,  whose  shrine  stands 
on  the  site  of  his  tomb  in  Hughli,  near  the  old  Court-houses' 
He  is  benignant,  and  is  supposed  to  have  the  power  to  cure 
illness  and  confer  other  blessings.  When  the  Courts  were  at 
Hughli,  litigants  used  often   to  promise  and  make  offerings  at 


A    BRIEF    HISTURT  OP  THB   HUOHLI    DISTRICT.  79 


his  shrine,  Tvhen  they  won  their  oases  with  his  aid.  Both 
Hindus  and  Musalnians  adoro  him  with   the  usual   offerings. 

Almtm  Sahib,  a  contraction  of  Ali  Imam  Sahib,  is  a  deified  Musalman 
saint,  who  has  a  shrine  at  Birpur  near  Bainohi.  He  is  benignant, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  the  power  to  oure  diseases,  eepeoially 
rheumatism,  by  the  dust  of  his  shrine  smeared  on  the  body. 
Hindus  of  all  oastes  join  with  Musalmans  in  his  worship,  which 
is  usually  performed  on  Thursday  forenoons.  The  officiating 
priest  is  a  Musalman  fakir,  but  formerly  a  Hindu  held  the  post. 
The  priest  takes  the  offerings,  which  consist  of  clay  horses, 
fruits,  and  milk. 

Shayamba  Pir  is  another  deified  Musalman  saint,  who  has  a  shrine 
at  Kochmali  near  Bainohi.  Both  Hindus  and  Musalmans  worship 
him  in  the  same  manner  as  Almon  Sahib. 

Nature  Worship  is  comprised  under  three  chief  heads — the  Sun,  the  Earth, 
and  the  Ganges. 

The  sun  ia  worshipped  by  all  classes  of  Hindus,  but  no  temple  or  shrine 
to  him  exists  in  this  district,  or  indeed  anywhere  in  Lower  Bengal.  But 
daily  an  oblation  to  the  sun  is  offered,  the  offering  being  called  the  Surjya 
Arghya.  When  Siva  or  Vishnu  is  worshipped  with  flowers  and  other  offerings, 
an  Arghya  is  always  offered  to  the  sun.  It  is  composed  of  Durba  grass, 
imboiled  rice,  red  sandalwood  powder  saturated  with  water,  a  flower,  by  choice 
a  red  flower,  some  leaves  of  the  Bael  tree,  and  water.  When  this  offering  is 
made,  a  mantra  is  addressed  to  the  sun  as  the  creator  of  the  universe.  All 
classes  of  Hindu  shopkeepers  paint  the  Sicasiika*  on  their  account-books  in 
honour  of  the  sun.  In  kacha  houses  a  patch  of  ground  in  front  of  the  main 
entrance  to  the  courtyard  is  washed  with  a  mixture  of  cowdung,  earth,  and 
water,  early  every  morning,  to  receive  the  first  ray  of  the  sun.  The  worship 
of  the  sun,  as  the  Thakur,  has  already  been  described,  among  the  minor  gods. 

The  planets,  nine  in  number,  according  to  Hindu  astronomy,  are  worshipped, 
as  well  as  the  sun.  The  nine  planets  are  the  Sun,  the  Moon,  Mercury,  Venus, 
Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn,  with  Rahu  and  K!hetu;  the  two  last  being 
supposed  to  be  the  umbra  and  penumbra  of  the  earth's  shadow.  There  are 
fixed  mantras  to  these  planets,  called  the  Navagra  Stotram.  The  aid  of  all 
these  planets  is  invoked  by   Hindus  when  they  rise  from  bed  in  the  morning. 

The  JSarth  Goddess  is  worshipped  by  all  pious  Hindus,  before  beginning  the 
worship  of  any  of  the  great  gods,  by  chanting  in  her  honour  a  mantra,  which 
is  called  Asan  Suddhi.  No  offerings  are  made.  In  honour  of  this  goddess,  a 
dying  man  is  laid  on   the  earth,  so  is  the  mother  at  the  time  of  child-birth, 

*  The  Swastika  is    an  invucation  of  the  deity,    made  by  painting   a    rough  figure,  intended    to 
xvprtMut  a  hofaaD  form,  on  the  outside  of  the  account  book. 


80  A  BRIEF   HISTORY  OP  THE   HUOHLI   DISTRICT. 

and  the  first  stream  of  milk,  when  milking,  is  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground. 
Chandals  and  other  low  castes  worship  her  at  the  Bastu  puja. 

The  Ganges,  and  the  Hughli  is  considered  to  be  the  Granges,  is  worshipped 
by  Hindus  of  all  castes,  especially  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  bright  fortnight  of 
the  month  of  Jaistha,  when,  besides  offerings  of  raw  rice,  fruits,  and  sweet- 
meats, goats  are  sacrificed.  A  Brahman  officiates  as  priest,  and  keeps  the 
off^ings,  except  the  goat,  which  is  returned  to  the  worshipper.  It  is  considered 
especially  meritorious  to  bathe  in  the  Ganges  on  the  occasion  of  eclipses,  and 
some  special  Jogs,   or  devotions. 

One  such  festival,  the  Ardhodoyo  Jog,  on  the  28th  of  February  1891,  was 
responsible  for  one  of  the  greatest  epidemics  of  cholera  which  have  ever  been 
known  in  Bengal.  The  disease  broke  out  among  the  crowds  of  pilgrims  bathing 
in  the  river,  almost  simultaneously,  at  many  widely  separated  places,  and  was 
carried  all  over  the  province  by  the  pilgrims  returning  to  their  homes.  This 
particular  festival  takes  place  only  once  in  thirty  years,  and  it  was  said  at  the 
time  that  this  would  be  the  last  occasion  on  which  it  would  be  celebrated  in 
Bengal,  as  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  sanctity  of  the  Ganges 
would  come  to  an  end,  and  the  Narbada  would  become  the  sacred  river  of  the 
Hindus.  The  nineteenth  century,  however,  has  gone,  and  the  twentieth  has 
come;  but  there  are  no  signs  of  any  diminution  in  the  sanctity  of  the 
Ganges.  According  to  one  calculation,  it  was  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century  of  the  Bengali  era,  which  came  to  an  end  in  April  1893,  that  this 
change  was  to  take  place.  The  matter  was  discussed,  and  roused  some  interest 
at  the  time.  I  believe  it  was  decided  that  the  sanctity  of  the  Ganges  would 
not  pass  away.  Another  calculation  fixed  the  date  of  the  change  as  1909. 
In  the  Hughli  district  the  most  sacred,  and  hence  the  most  auspicious,  spot 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  is  Tribeni.  An  account  of  the  mehs  held  at  Tribeni 
is  given  in  the  description  of  that  place,  in  Chapter  VII  of  the  Hughli 
Medical  Gazetteer. 

Sacred  trees. — ^Belief  in  sacred  groves  forms  no  part  of  the  Hindu 
religion,  but  many  trees  are  held  sacred,  especially  the  Bar  or  Banyan,  the 
Bael,  the  Astcatha,   or  Pipal,  and  the   Tuki  plant. 

The  Tuki  (Ocimum  sanctum)  is  addressed  as  the  wife  of  Yishnu,  in 
whose  worship  its  leaves  are  used.  When  plucking  the  leaves  mantras  are 
sung,  and  the  plant  is  worshipped.  This  can  only  be  done  on  certain  fixed 
days.  In  every  Hindu  household  there  must  be  a  Tulsi  tree,  a  lighted  lamp 
is  set  at  its  foot  for  a  time  in  the  evenings,  and  songs  are  sung  in  honour 
of  Yishnu.  In  the  month  of  Baisahh  the  plant  is  watered  by  means  of  a  pot, 
with  a  small  hole  in  the  bottom,  filled  with  water,  and  suspended  over  the 
plants.  Only  Vaisnabs  and  specially  pious  Hindus  go  through  these  ceremonies. 
The  stem  of  the  Tulsi  is  made  into  beads,  which  are  worn  by  Vaisnabs. 

The  Aswatha,  or  Pipal,  is  regarded  as  Narayan,  and  as  such  bowed  down 
to  and  worshipped. 


A    BRIBF   HISTORY  OF  TIIE   HTJOHLI    DISTRICT.  81 

The  Bar,  or  Ban3ran  tree,  has  always  been  held  saered  by  the  Hindus. 
•  The  Bael  leaves  are  required  in  tho  worship  of  Siva  ;  there  are  special 
mantras  for  repetition  when  plucking  thorn.  When  a  Baei  tree  dies,  only  a 
Brahman  can  use  its  wood  as  fuel. 

The  Aswatha  and  tho  Bar  aro  tho  host  shade  trees,  possibly  their  sacred 
character  may  have  originated  in  this  fact.  It  is  considered  very  meritorious 
to  plant  these  trees  by  the  road-sido  or  near  bathing  ghals.  They  are 
consecrated  with  a  Bpocial  form  of  worship  called  Pratirtlta.  Pious  Hindu 
ladies  make  such  rratirtlms  through  their  Brahman  priests,  under  the  belief 
that,  in  their  next  birth,  tho  trees   so  consecrated  will  bo  bom  as  their  sons. 

Some  other  plants  and  trees  are  worshipped  at  the  time  of  the  Durga 
Pt{fa,  the  rioo  and  turmeric  plants,  the  bael,  pomegranate,  asok,  and  plantain 
trees.    The  Durba  and  Kmha  grasses  aro  also  much   used  in  puj'as. 

The  Lingam*  which  represents  Mahadeva  or  Siva,  and  the  Sakti,  or  Yoni, 
which  represents  his  wife.  Kali,  are  worshipped  more  or  less  everywhere; 
they  are  usually  seen  in  conjunction,  though  I  think  that  they  are  not  such 
common  objects  here  as  in  Bihar.  The  Lingam  occupies  the  chief  place  in 
the  temples  of  Tribeni  and  Tarakeswar. 

While  belief  in  evil  spirits  is  universal  throughout  Bengal,  and  indeed 
throughout  India,  I  have  never  heard  of  any  such  beings  as  fairies  in  any 
Indian  folklore. 

*  Linga  in  Bengali,  Lingam  in  Sanskrit. 


B.  S.  Pi«M— 6061 C— 300— 11-12.1902— C.  W.  and  othert. 


INDEX 


A. 

Aehal  Rai,  74. 

Akbar.  4. 

Akns,  60. 

Aknapur,  61. 

Alivardi  Khan,  24,  50. 

Almon  Sahib,  79. 

Ambooab,.&6. 

AmpU.  59. 

Arambagh  lubdivision,  62,  63. 

Ardhodo^o  Jog,  80. 

AurangMb,  14,  21. 

Asioiaah-Shau,  19,  21,  50. 


B. 

Bahula,  Goddesa,  73. 
Bahula,  river,  70. 
Baidyabati  Municipality,  58. 
Balagarh,  63. 
Bali,  Diwanganj,  61. 
Bandel,  3. 

,  Church,  10. 

Bandipur,  64. 

Banki  Bazar,  55. 

Bardwan  Commiasionerthip,  62. 

Bhagirathi,  river,  69. 

Bhola,  61. 

Bidderra,  29.  33. 

Biflhahari,  78. 

Bishalakhi,  77. 

Black  Hole,  25,  30. 

B<«a,61. 

Boughton,  Gabriel,  13. 

Bridgman,  Jamea,  13. 

Broome's  History,  33. 

Bruce,  C  A.,  58. 


c. 

Capital  punishment,  48. 
Carey,  William,  63. 
Chandamagar,  27,  40. 
Chanditola,  68. 
Cbarnock,  Job,  17,  20. 
Chinsura,   27,  86. 
Clavell,  Walter,  16. 
Clive,  25,  30,  43. 
Commissiunership,  Bardwao,  62. 
Coote,  Eyre,  25. 

D. 

Donemardanga,  4iT,  50. 
Danea,  The,  41,  50. 
Dhaniakhali,  63. 
Dharmraj,  74. 
Dilakhas,  60. 
Dupleix,  1,  29,  41,  47. 
DuUh,  The,  26. 
Dwarbasini,  70. 
Dwarhata,  63,  61. 

E. 

Earth  Goddess,  79. 
East  India  Company,  11. 
Ethnology,  68. 
Executions,  48. 
Exorcism,  75. 

F. 

Famine,  37. 

Farakh  Siyar,  21,  23. 

Folklore,  68. 

Forde,  Colonel,  31,  33. 

Fort  Orleans,  41. 

Forth,  William,  29. 

French,  The,  40. 


u 


G. 

Gracin,  Laurent,  28,  41. 

Oandhetwari,  76. 

Garh  Mandaran,  63. 

Ghantakarna,  74. 

Ghatal,  62. 

Ghireti,  45,  46,  47,  61. 

Ghosta,  75. 

Gobindrajji,  76. 

Goghat,  63. 

Golghat,  16. 

Qolin,  4. 

Gondalpara,  47,  60. 

Gramdeotcu,  76. 

Grand  Pr^,  39. 

Great  Trigonometrical  Survey,  60.- 

Gaptipara,  66. 

H. 

Haiathpur,  60. 

Hamilton,  Capt  Alex.,  9,  27,  41,  60. 

,  William,  20,  23. 

Haripal,  68. 

Hedgei,  Sir  William,  17. 

History,  1. 

Hodges,  38. 

Hughli  CoUege,  61. 

,  Municipality,  4,  26. 


Lingam,  81. 
Lobajangh,  77. 


L. 


M. 


Mahkal,  76. 

Mahanad,  61. 

Malleson,  G.  B.,  33,  44. 

Manaaa,  73. 

Marshman,  Joshua,  68. 

Martin,  Claude,  47. 

Master  Streynsham,  15,  27,  40 . 

Mission,  Serampur,  68. 

Mohesh,  69. 

Mosses,  The,  3(). 

Mabarakpur,  60. 

Muhamad,  65. 

Muntifft,  61,  63. 

Murshid  Kuli  Khan.  24,  65, 

Musalmans,  63. 

Mutiny,  64. 


N. 


Nature  Worship,  79> 
KavasaD,  60. 
Naya  Saru,  61. 
Niala,  61. 


I. 

Ives,  Edward,  Surgeon,  25,  43. 

J. 

Jagat  Gauri,  72. 
Jalkutnari,  75. 
Jibat  Kund,  71. 
Joff,  Ardhodoyo,  80. 
Judgeship,  68. 

K. 

Kali,  72,  76. 

Kalna,  63. 

Kaluhar,  77. 

Khadai,  73. 

Khanakul,  62. 

Khirpai,  61. 

EUpatrick,  Major,  25. 

Erishnanagar  or  Eristonagar,  68. 


0. 

Ola  Bibi,  72. 

Old  Benares  Boad,  67. 

Ostend  Company,  55. 

P. 

Palasi,  25. 
Fauchpir,  76. 
Pandua,  8,  63,  68. 
Phurphura,  63. 
Pipal,  80. 
Pirt.  66,  78. 
Pitt,  Thomas,  20. 
Pl«ie(a,79. 
Plaasey,  25. 
Polba,  63. 
Portugoese,  The,  8. 
Prussian  Company,  65. 
Punishment,  Capital,  48. 


ttl 


R. 

4teib%«  Kali,  72. 

Raujit  Rai'i  tank.  68. 
Baiui«ll'i  map.  66. 

s. 

Saiekand  Pir,  78. 
Saiya<U,  or  SyotU,  67. 
SakH,  81. 

Saruwati,  rivar,  8,  67. 
Sattii,  77. 
Satgaon,  2. 
Sathan,  61. 
Sail,  or  Suttee,  69. 
Satifanarayan,  78. 
Scottish  Company,  64. 
Semaphore  Towers,  60. 
Serampur  Mission,  63. 

,  Municipality,  60. 

Shah  Qanj,  21. 

Jahan,  4,  13. 

Safi,  3,  64,  78. 

Shuja,  13. 

Shayamba,  Pir,  79. 
Sheikht,  67. 
Skiah*,  64. 

Siraj-al-daulat,  24,  29,  42,  61. 
Sitapur,  63. 

Sitla,  72. 
Small-pox,  37,  72. 
Snakes,  73. 


Soetman,  60. 

StavorinuB,  86.  4i,  62. 

Subha  Sinh's  RebllHon,  20. 

San  Ood,  79. 

Smnmu,  64. 

Survey,  Great  Trigonometrical,  60. 

Suttee,  69. 

Swedish  Company,  66. 

<%«^,«7. 


T. 

Tarakeiwar,  69,  81. 

Thakur^  77. 

Towers,  Semaphore,  60. 

Toynbee,  O.,  88. 

Tribeni,  81. 

Trigonometrical  Survey,  Oroat,  60. 

Tvlti,  80. 


V. 

Vitwakarma,  76. 
Voight,  J.  A.,  64. 


w. 

Wahabie,  66. 
Wallich,  Nathaniel,  54. 
Ward,  William,  53. 
Watwn,  Admiral,  42. 


YD076081 


A    BRIEF  HISTORY 


UF   THE 


HUGHLI  DISTRICT. 


BY 


LiEUT.-CoL.  D.  Q.  CRAWFORD,  m.b., 

INOIAN     MKlM('4f.     SKWVUF       lIVH      v;17|J(JK1\        IIITntlTf 


|!ublisl)cb  bu  ^utfeoritg. 


Calcutta: 
BENGAL  SECRETARIAT  PRESS. 
1903. 
IPrice— Indian,  Us.  14;  English,  h.  10(L']