79-554: The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the Black Hole in the old fort – where the GPO (General Post Office) stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce coins with the mint name Murshidabad . The second Calcutta Mint was established with the modern machinery brought in 1790 from England. It was located at
158-564: A cell he and his fellow passengers were put into by police in Bellagio, Italy as "...the Black Hole of Calcutta on a small scale." Later, in chapter 54 of his Following the Equator (1897), he visits Calcutta and describes the history of the place, quoting an excerpt from Holwell. He also mentions the destruction of the site: "the mention of Calcutta infallibly brings up the Black Hole...and yet within
237-402: A larger room. He went away, but returned saying it was impossible. The bribe was then doubled, and he made a second attempt with a like result; the nawab was asleep, and no one dared wake him. By nine o'clock several had died, and many more were delirious. A frantic cry for water now became general, and one of the guards, more compassionate than his fellows, caused some water to be brought to
316-545: A mad Brahmin in the Black Hole made a stone because he wanted revenge. The stone causes one to have insane thoughts and hallucinations. In The Other Side of Morning by Stephen Goss (2022), the events of the Black Hole of Calcutta are described from the perspective of John Holwell. The book is the story of Holwell's life leading up to the incident. The Black Hole of Calcutta is also mentioned in Chapter IV of Sara Jane Lippincott's book titled "History of my Pets," in reference to
395-539: A period of proto-industrialization . The Bengal-Bihar-Orissa triangle was a major production center for cotton muslin cloth, silk cloth, shipbuilding, gunpowder, saltpetre, and metalworks. Factories were set up in Murshidabad, Dhaka, Patna, Sonargaon, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Cossimbazar, Balasore, Pipeli, and Hugli among other cities, towns, and ports. The region became a base for the British East India Company ,
474-770: A period of economic and political consolidation. The third Nawab Sarfaraz Khan was preoccupied with military engagements, including Nader Shah's invasion of India . Sarfaraz Khan was killed at the Battle of Giria by his deputy Alivardi Khan . The coup by Alivardi Khan led to the creation of a new dynasty. Nawab Alivardi Khan endured brutal raids by the Maratha Empire . The Marathas undertook six expeditions in Bengal from 1741 to 1748. The Maratha general Raghoji I of Nagpur conquered large parts of Orissa. Nawab Alivardi Khan made peace with Raghoji in 1751, ceding large parts of Orissa up to
553-417: A pet toad (named Phibby) she had left locked in the cabin of a wooden ship. The poor toad was later found suffocated as a result. Upon telling her sympathetic father, he compared the unfortunate blunder to the Black Hole of Calcutta. The Black Hole of Calcutta is referenced early in the film Albert R.N. , a 1953 British film dealing with a German prisoner-of-war camp for allied naval officers. There's also
632-479: A public-private partnership between the Security Printing and Minting Corporation, under the finance ministry, owner of the mint, and the winning bidder. In the late 1930s, foundation work for a new mint was completed at Taratala , close to Alipore and construction was to have completed by early 1942. However World War II brought all construction to a halt. It was completed in early 1950s. The Alipore Mint
711-482: A reference in the 1987 film Hiding Out, where the protagonist's aunt criticizes her teenage son's messy room by comparing it to the Black Hole. It is mentioned in the 1988 animated film [Scooby Doo and the reluctant werewolf] as a month long stay there for the winner of the monster road race. It is also referenced in the 1991 film The Addams Family as one of the locations visited by Gomez and Morticia Addams during their second honeymoon. Jeremy Clarkson refers to
790-564: A reference to the Black Hole of Calcutta when describing the Anglo-Indian district in London (Chapter LX). Swami Vivekananda makes a mention of the Black Hole of Calcutta in connection with describing Holwell 's journey to Murshidabad . When discussing deep unconsciousness in her book How to be Human , Ruby Wax describes this as: "It's like the black hole of Calcutta of our souls." In Hellblazer : Event Horizon , John Constantine says that
869-519: A result of the disputes. After the viceroy's exit, the provincial premier Murshid Quli Khan emerged as the de facto ruler of Bengal. His administrative coup merged the offices of the diwan (prime minister) and subedar (viceroy). In 1716, Khan shifted Bengal's capital from Dhaka to a new city named after himself. In 1717, Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar recognized Khan as the hereditary Nawab Nazim. The Nawab's jurisdiction covered districts in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. The Nawab's territory stretched from
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#1733084983822948-513: A result, Abdul Wasek Mia of Nawabganj thana, a student leader of that time, led the removal of the monument from Dalhousie Square in July 1940. The monument was re-erected in the graveyard of St John's Church in Calcutta , where it remains. The 'Black Hole' itself, being merely the guardroom in the old Fort William, disappeared shortly after the incident when the fort itself was taken down to be replaced by
1027-671: A secret treaty with the Dutch East India Company. This caused the British to replace Mir Jafar with his son-in-law Mir Qasim in October 1760. In one of his first acts, Mir Qasim ceded Chittagong, Burdwan and Midnapore to the East India Company. Mir Qasim also proved to be a popular ruler. But Mir Qasim's independent spirit eventually raised British suspicions. Mir Jafar was reinstalled as Nawab in 1763. Mir Qasim continued opposing
1106-490: Is a semi government and semi private sector organization at present. Alipore Mint Colony is located in few minutes distance from Alipore Mint. It is a closed boundary government protected area. It has a huge land for the residence and relaxation for all the employees of India Government Mint. The employees are facilitated High end Central Government Security, 24hrs water supply, cooperative store and other all such facility. Ample amount of space of ground for sports and play ground
1185-414: Is in the graveyard of (Anglican) St. John's Church, Calcutta. Holwell had erected a tablet on the site of the 'Black Hole' to commemorate the victims but, at some point (the precise date is uncertain), it disappeared. Lord Curzon , on becoming Viceroy in 1899, noticed that there was nothing to mark the spot and commissioned a new monument, mentioning the prior existence of Holwell's; it was erected in 1901 at
1264-512: Is mentioned for the suffocating properties of Carbonic-Oxide ( Carbon Monoxide ) upon the British soldiers imprisoned in that dungeon. Eugene O'Neill , in Long Day's Journey into Night , Act 4, Jamie says, "Can't expect us to live in the Black Hole of Calcutta." Patrick O'Brian in The Mauritius Command (1977) compared Jack Aubrey's house to the black hole of Calcutta "except that whereas
1343-539: Is provided for enjoyment and relaxation and entertainment. Apart from that inside the closed premises, Central Government School is provided for children education till 10+2 standard. Medical facilities are also provide by the Central Government Health Scheme authority. 22°30′56.49″N 88°19′11.03″E / 22.5156917°N 88.3197306°E / 22.5156917; 88.3197306 Black Hole of Calcutta The Black Hole of Calcutta
1422-464: The Battle of Buxar in 1764, which was the last real chance of resisting British expansion across the northern Indian subcontinent. The South Indian Kingdom of Mysore under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan briefly eclipsed the dominant position of Bengal in the subcontinent. Tipu Sultan pursued aggressive military modernization; and set up a company to trade with communities around the Persian Gulf and
1501-839: The French East India Company , the Danish East India Company , the Austrian East India Company , the Ostend Company , and the Dutch East India Company . The British company eventually rivaled the authority of the Nawabs. In the aftermath of the siege of Calcutta in 1756, in which the Nawab's forces overran the main British base, the East India Company dispatched a fleet led by Robert Clive who defeated
1580-591: The Hawk's Nest Tunnel tragedy and referenced to Marcantonio's speech to compare the silicate tunnels to the Black Holes of Calcutta, writing "This is the place. Away from this my life I am indeed Adam unparadiz'd. Some fools call this the Black Hole of Calcutta. I don't know how they ever get to Congress." Thomas Pynchon refers to the Black Hole of Calcutta in the historical novel Mason & Dixon (1997). The character Charles Mason spends much time on Saint Helena with
1659-950: The Katra Masjid in Murshidabad; and the Bara Katra and Choto Katra in Dhaka. Dutch Bengali trading posts included the main Dutch port of Pipeli in Orissa; the Dutch settlement in Rajshahi ; and the towns of Cossimbazar and Hugli . The Danes built trading posts in Bankipur and on islands of the Bay of Bengal . Balasore in Orissa was a prominent Austrian trading post. Bengali cities were full of brokers, workers, peons, naibs, wakils, and ordinary traders. The Nawabs were patrons of
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#17330849838221738-585: The Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa ( Bengali : বাংলা, বিহার ও উড়িষ্যার নবাব ). The Nawabs were based in Murshidabad which was centrally located within Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. Their chief, a former prime minister, became the first Nawab. The Nawabs continued to issue coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor, but for all practical purposes, the Nawabs governed as independent monarchs. Bengal continued to contribute
1817-511: The "Copper Mint" was built to the north of the Silver Mint for the exclusive production of copper coins. The silver and copper mints both used to function and produce coins of bronze , silver and gold. Both these mints were well equipped with the coining presses supplied by Boulton and Watt of Soho, Birmingham, England. Apart from minting of coins another important function of the Kolkata Mint
1896-735: The Arabian Sea. Mysore's military technology at one point rivaled European technology. However, the Anglo-Mysore War ended Tipu Sultan's ascendancy. In 1765, Robert Clive , as the representative of the East India Company , was given the Diwani of Bengal by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II . With this a system of dual governance was established, with the Nawabs responsible for the Nizamat of Bengal and
1975-449: The Black Hole prison exclusive of sixty-nine, consisting of Dutch and British sergeants, corporals, soldiers, topazes, militia, whites, and Portuguese, (whose names I am unacquainted with), making on the whole one hundred and twenty-three persons." Holwell's list of the victims of the Black Hole of Calcutta: Of Counsel – E. Eyre, Esqr., Wm. Baillie, Esqr., the Rev. Jervas Bellamy. Gentlemen in
2054-620: The British and his father-in-law. He set up his capital in Munger and raised an independent army. Mir Qasim attacked British positions in Patna, overrunning the company's offices and killing its Resident. Mir Qasim also attacked the British-allied Gorkha Kingdom . Mir Qasim allied with Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II . However, the Mughal allies were defeated at
2133-515: The British government abolished the symbolic authority of the Mughal court. After 1880, the descendants of the Nawabs of Bengal were recognised simply as Nawabs of Murshidabad with the mere status of a peerage . The Bengal Subah was the wealthiest subah of the Mughal Empire . There were several posts under the Mughal administrative system of Bengal since Akbar 's conquest in the 1500s. Nizamat (governornership) and diwani (premiership) were
2212-518: The British presence in Bengal. He also feared invasions by the Durrani Empire from the north and Marathas from the west. On 20 June 1756, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah launched the siege of Calcutta , in which he won a decisive victory. The British were briefly expelled from Fort William, which came under the occupation of the Nawab's forces. The East India Company dispatched a naval fleet led by Robert Clive to regain control of Fort William. By January 1757,
2291-575: The British retook Fort William. The stalemate with the Nawab continued into June. The Nawab also began cooperating with the French East India Company, raising the ire of the British further. Britain and France were at the time pitted against each other in the Seven Years' War . On 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey brought an end to the independence of the Nawabs of Bengal. Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and his French allies were caught off guard by
2370-628: The Company responsible for the Diwani of Bengal. In 1772, this arrangement came to be abolished and Bengal was brought under direct control of the British. In 1793, the Mughal emperor also ceded the Nizamat of Bengal to the Company and the Nawab of Bengal was reduced to a mere titular position and pensioners of the Company. After the Revolt of 1857 , Company rule in India ended, and the British Crown , in 1858, took over
2449-467: The Fort-William garrison were either missing or dead, for reasons other than suffocation and shock . Busteed suggests that the many non-combatants present in the fort when it was captured make infeasible a precise number of people killed. Regarding responsibility for the maltreatment and the deaths in the Black Hole of Calcutta, Holwell said, "it was the result of revenge and resentment, in the breasts of
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2528-551: The Hole was hot, dry, and airless", Aubrey's cottage "let in draughts from all sides". In Chapter VII of Pearl S. Buck 's biography of her father, Fighting Angel (1936), she compares the brutality of China's 1899-1901 Boxer Rebellion (which she and her family survived while living in China) to that of the Black Hole of Calcutta: "The story of the Boxer Rebellion ... remains, like
2607-511: The Hole, and that 43 died there. Some historians put the figure even lower, to about 18 dead, while questioning the veracity of Holwell's account itself. 22°34′24″N 88°20′53″E / 22.573357°N 88.347979°E / 22.573357; 88.347979 Fort William was established to protect the East India Company 's trade in the city of Calcutta , the principal city of the Bengal Presidency . In 1756 India, there existed
2686-474: The Mughal Empire began to decline, the Nawabs rose in power. By the early 1700s, the Nawabs were practically independent, despite a nominal tribute to the Mughal court. The Mughal court heavily relied on Bengal for revenue. Azim-us-Shan , the Mughal viceroy of Bengal, had a bitter power struggle with his prime minister ( diwan ) Murshid Quli Khan. Emperor Aurangzeb transferred Azim-us-Shan out of Bengal as
2765-461: The Nawab Nazims following Nawab Mansur Ali Khan's abdication, The Nawab Bahadurs had ceased to exercise any significant power. but were relegated to the status of a zamindar and continued to be a wealthy family, producing bureaucrats and army officers. The Zamindars of Bihar maintained a tenuous loyalty to the Nawabs of Bengal. Rebellion and the withholding of revenue was a common feature of
2844-540: The Nawab of Bengal as the subcontinent's wealthiest monarchy; but this was short-lived and ended with the Anglo-Mysore War . The British then turned their sights on defeating the Marathas and Sikhs . In 1772, Governor-General Warren Hastings shifted administrative and judicial offices from Murshidabad to Calcutta , the capital of the newly formed Bengal Presidency , and the de facto capital of British India. The Nawabs had lost all independent authority since 1757. In 1858,
2923-457: The Nawab period in Bihar. Although Bihar had the potential to provide a large amount of revenue and tax, records show that the Nawabs were unable to extract any money from the chiefs of Bihar until 1748. And even following this, the amount gained was very low. This was again due to the rebellious nature of the zamindars who were "continually in arms". Eventually when tax revenue started being collected
3002-547: The Private Matter (2003). The Black Hole is also compared with the evil miasma of Calcutta as a whole in Dan Simmons's novel The Song of Kali . Stephen King makes a reference to the Black Hole of Calcutta in his 1983 novel Christine , and his 2004 novel Song of Susannah . In Chapter V of King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (1885) the Black Hole of Calcutta is mentioned: "This gave us some slight shelter from
3081-627: The Service – Messrs. Jenks, Revely, Law, Coales, Valicourt, Jeb, Torriano, E. Page, S. Page, Grub, Street, Harod, P. Johnstone, Ballard, N. Drake, Carse, Knapton, Gosling, Robert Byng, Dod, Dalrymple, V. Ament Theme. Military Captains – Clayton, Buchanan, Witherington. Lieutenants – Bishop, Ifays, Blagg, Simson, Bellamy. Ensigns – Paccard, Scot, Hastings, C. Wedderburn, Dumbleton. Sergeants, &c. – Sergeant-Major Abraham, Quartermaster Cartwright, Sergeant Bleau (these were sergeants of militia). Sea Captains – Hunt, Osburne, Purnell (survived
3160-506: The State, to such an extent that the people will rise up and demand a Called Session of the Legislature of this State in order that legislation may be enacted whereby this organized hell and "Black Hole of Calcutta" will be in the course of a few months only a ghastly memory in the minds of the people. Nawabs of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal ( Bengali : বাংলার নবাব , bāṅglār nôbāb )
3239-562: The arts , including the Murshidabad style of Mughal painting , Hindustani classical music , the Baul tradition, and local craftsmanship. The second Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan developed Murshidabad's royal palace, military base, city gates, revenue office, public audience hall ( durbar ), and mosques in an extensive compound called Farrabagh (Garden of Joy) which included canals, fountains, flowers, and fruit trees. The second Nawab's reign saw
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3318-479: The astronomer Nevil Maskelyne , the brother-in-law of Lord Robert Clive of India. Later in the story, Jeremiah Dixon visits New York City, and attends a secret "Broad-Way" production of the "musical drama", The Black Hole of Calcutta, or, the Peevish Wazir , "executed with such a fine respect for detail ...". Kenneth Tynan satirically refers to it in the long-running musical revue Oh! Calcutta! , which
3397-484: The bars, where Mr. Holwell and two or three others received it in their hats and passed it on to the men behind. In their impatience to secure it nearly all was spilled, and the little they drank seemed only to increase their thirst. Self-control was soon lost; those in remote parts of the room struggled to reach the window, and a fearful tumult ensued, in which the weakest were trampled or pressed to death. They raved, fought, prayed, blasphemed, and many then fell exhausted on
3476-806: The battle, the British commander ordered the surviving soldiers of the garrison to escape, yet left behind 146 soldiers under the civilian command of John Zephaniah Holwell , a senior bureaucrat of the East India Company who had been once a military surgeon . The desertions of Indian sepoys made the British defence of Fort William ineffective and it fell to the siege of Bengali forces on 20 June 1756. The surviving defenders who were captured and made prisoners of war numbered between 64 and 69, along with an unknown number of Anglo-Indian soldiers and civilians who earlier had been sheltered in Fort William. The British officers and merchants based in Kolkata were rounded up by
3555-528: The border with Oudh in the west to the border with Arakan in the east. The chief deputy of the Nawab was the Naib Nazim of Dhaka, the mayor of the former provincial capital whose own wealth was considerable; the Naib Nazim of Dhaka also governed much of eastern Bengal. Other important officials were stationed in Patna, Cuttack , and Chittagong. The aristocracy was composed of the Zamindars of Bengal . The Nawab
3634-607: The building of the third Mint was based on a design of the Temple of Athena in Athens , Greece, usually known as the Parthenon . The operative blocks were hidden out of view by the magnificent frontage. This mint was named as "Old Silver Mint". The foundation for this mint was laid March 1824, and production began 1 August 1829. The coinage production capacity then was varying between 300,000 and 600,000 pieces per day. In 1860, an annexe known as
3713-400: The burning rays of the sun, but the atmosphere in that amateur grave can be better imagined than described. The Black Hole of Calcutta must have been a fool to it". In John Fante 's novel The Road to Los Angeles (1985), the main character Arturo Bandini recalls when seeing his place of work: "I thought about the Black Hole of Calcutta." In Vanity Fair , William Makepeace Thackeray makes
3792-466: The commander was then taken before the nawab , who expressed no regret for what had occurred, and gave no other sign of sympathy than ordering the Englishman a chair and a glass of water. Notwithstanding this indifference, Mr. Holwell and some others acquit him of any intention of causing the catastrophe and ascribe it to the malice of certain officers, but many think this opinion unfounded. Afterward, when
3871-449: The confinement of more than two or three men at a time. There were only two windows, and a projecting veranda outside, and thick iron bars within impeded the ventilation, while fires, raging in different parts of the fort, suggested an atmosphere of further oppressiveness. The prisoners were packed so tightly that the door was difficult to close. One of the soldiers stationed in the veranda was offered 1,000 rupees to have them removed to
3950-581: The corner of Dalhousie Square (now B. B. D. Bagh ), which is said to be the site of the 'Black Hole'. At the apex of the Indian independence movement , the presence of this monument in Calcutta was turned into a nationalist cause célèbre . Nationalist leaders, including Subhas Chandra Bose , lobbied energetically for its removal. The Congress and the Muslim League joined forces in the anti-monument movement. As
4029-418: The defection of the Nawab's Commander-in-Chief Mir Jafar to the British side. The British, under the leadership of Robert Clive, gained enormous influence over Bengal Subah as a result of the battle. The last independent Nawab was arrested by his former officers and killed in revenge for the brutality against his courtiers. Mir Jafar was installed as the puppet Nawab by the British. However, Jafar entered into
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#17330849838224108-545: The early 1960s compare such gravitationally collapsed objects to the prison. A minority opinion in the August 1910 report of the Penitentiary Investigating Committee of the State of Texas (USA) referred to the prison conditions in this way: I trust that this report will sufficiently arouse the people of Texas to the atrocities daily heaped upon this mass of thirty-six hundred breathing, human souls, wards of
4187-533: The floor, where suffocation put an end to their torments. About 11 o'clock the prisoners began to drop off, fast. At length, at six in the morning, Siraj-ud-Daulah awoke and ordered the door to be opened. Of the 146 only 23, including Mr. Holwell [from whose narrative, published in the Annual Register and The Gentleman's Magazine for 1758, this account is partly derived], remained alive, and they were either stupefied or raving. Fresh air soon revived them, and
4266-433: The forces loyal to Siraj ud-Daulah and forced into a dungeon known as the "Black Hole". Holwell wrote about the events that occurred after the fall of Fort William. He met with Siraj-ud-Daulah, who assured him: "On the word of a soldier; that no harm should come to us". After seeking a place in the fort to confine the prisoners (including Holwell), at 8.00 p.m. , the jailers stripped the prisoners of their clothes and locked
4345-404: The heat in his Lancia Montecarlo car as "like being in the Black Hole of Calcutta" during The Grand Tour : One For The Road. According to Hong-Yee Chiu , an astrophysicist at NASA , the Black Hole of Calcutta was the inspiration for the term black hole referring to objects resulting from the gravitational collapse of very heavy stars . He recalled hearing physicist Robert Dicke in
4424-562: The largest share of funds to the imperial treasury in Delhi. The Nawabs, backed by bankers such as the Jagat Seth , became the financial backbone of the Mughal court. The Nawabs, especially under the rule of Alivardi Khan of 16 years, were heavily engaged in various wars against the Marathas. Towards the end, he turned his attention to rebuilding and restoring Bengal . The Nawabs of Bengal oversaw
4503-455: The last independent Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Mir Jafar was installed as the puppet Nawab. His successor Mir Qasim attempted in vain to dislodge the British. The defeat of Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Oudh , and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II at the Battle of Buxar in 1764 paved the way for British expansion across India. The South Indian Kingdom of Mysore led by Tipu Sultan overtook
4582-417: The lower Jemadars (sergeants), to whose custody we were delivered, for the number of their order killed during the siege." Concurring with Holwell, Wolpert said that Siraj-ud-Daulah did not order the imprisonment and was not informed of it. The physical description of the Black Hole of Calcutta corresponds with Holwell's point of view: The dungeon was a strongly barred room and it was not intended for
4661-415: The narrator Shyama describes Ranga's house as 'the Black Hole of Calcutta' because of the large crowd that had gathered to see Ranga when he came home after completing his studies. If all the people had gone inside, the house would have become as crowded as the Black Hole of Calcutta. In the science-fiction novel Omega: The Last Days of the World (1894), by Camille Flammarion , the Black Hole of Calcutta
4740-411: The new Fort William which still stands today in the Maidan to the south of B.B.D. Bagh. The precise location of that guardroom is in an alleyway between the General Post Office and the adjacent building to the north, in the north west corner of B.B.D. Bagh. The memorial tablet which was once on the wall of that building beside the GPO can now be found in the nearby postal museum. "List of the smothered in
4819-534: The night; died on the morn), Messrs. Carey, Stephenson, Guy, Porter, W. Parker, Caulker, Bendall, Atkinson, Leech, &c., &c. The list of the men and women who survived their imprisonment in the Black Hole of Calcutta: Messrs. John Zephaniah Holwell, Court, Secretary Cooke, Lushington, Burdett, Ensign Walcott, Mrs. Carey, Captain Mills, Captain Dickson, Mr. Moran, John Meadows, and twelve military and militia (blacks & whites). Mark Twain , on Chapter 20 in his travelogue Innocents Abroad (1867), describes
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#17330849838224898-431: The possibility of a battle with the military forces of the French East India Company , so the British reinforced the fort. Siraj ud-Daulah ordered the fortification construction to be stopped by the French and British, and the French complied while the British demurred. In consequence to that British indifference to his authority, Siraj ud-Daulah organised his army and laid siege to Fort William . In an effort to survive
4977-464: The prison of Fort William was opened, the corpses of the dead men were thrown into a ditch. As prisoners of war, Holwell and three other men were transferred to Murshidabad . The remaining survivors of the Black Hole of Calcutta were freed the next morning on the orders of the Nawab, who learned only that morning of their sufferings. After news of Calcutta's capture was received by the British in Madras in August 1756, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clive
5056-444: The prisoners in the fort's prison—"the black hole" in soldiers' slang—a small room that measured 14 by 18 feet (4.3 m × 5.5 m). The next morning, when the black hole was opened, at 6.00 a.m. , only about 23 of the prisoners remained alive. Historians offer different numbers of prisoners and casualties of war; Stanley Wolpert estimated that 64 people were imprisoned and 21 survived. D. L. Prior estimated that 43 men of
5135-452: The river Subarnarekha. The Marathas demanded an annual tribute payment. The Marathas also promised to never to cross the boundary of the Nawab's territory. European trading companies also grew more influential in Bengal. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan was notorious for his repressive tax collection tactics, including torture for non-payment. Nawab Alivardi Khan's successor was Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah . Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah grew increasingly wary of
5214-442: The site of Gillet Ship building Establishment, which had been taken over by the Stamp and Stationary Committee in 1833. The coins issued from this mint continued to bear mint name Murshidabad. In March 1824, the foundation of the third Calcutta Mint was laid on Strand Road and was opened for production from 1 August 1829. Until 1835, coins issued at this mint continued to be in the name of the Murshidabad Mint. The imposing frontage of
5293-400: The tale of the Black Hole of Calcutta, one of the festering spots of history. If the number of people actually dead was small, as such numbers go in these days of wholesale death by accidents and wars, it was the manner of death ... that makes the heart shudder and condemn even while the mind can reason and weigh." Diana Gabaldon mentions briefly the incident in her novel Lord John and
5372-444: The territories which were under direct rule of the company. This marked the beginning of Crown rule in India , and the Nawabs had no political or any other kind of control over the territory. Mir Jafar's descendants continued to live in Murshidabad. The Hazarduari Palace ( Palace of a Thousand Doors ) was built as the residence of the Nawabs in the 1830s. The palace was also used by British colonial officials. Nawab Mansur Ali Khan
5451-406: The time of men who still live, the Black Hole was torn down and thrown away as carelessly as if its bricks were common clay, not ingots of historic gold. There is no accounting for human beings." Muriel Rukeyser , in The Book of the Dead , originally published as a group of poems in U.S. 1: Poems (1938) , quotes from Vito Marcantonio 's speech "Dusty Death" (1936). Rukeyser was writing about
5530-399: The two main branches of provincial government under the Mughals. The Subahdar was in-charge of the nizamat and had a chain of subordinate officials on the executive side, including diwans (prime ministers) responsible for revenue and legal affairs. The regional decentralization of the Mughal Empire led to the creation of numerous semi-independent strongholds in the Mughal provinces. As
5609-683: Was a dungeon in Fort William, Calcutta , measuring 14 by 18 feet (4.3 m × 5.5 m), in which troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah , the Nawab of Bengal , held British prisoners of war on the night of 20 June 1756. John Zephaniah Holwell , one of the British prisoners and an employee of the East India Company , said that, after the fall of Fort William, the surviving British soldiers, Indian sepoys , and Indian civilians were imprisoned overnight in conditions so cramped that many people died from suffocation and heat exhaustion , and that 123 of 146 prisoners of war imprisoned there died. Some modern historians believe that 64 prisoners were sent into
5688-513: Was a major center of silk production. Shipbuilding in Chittagong enjoyed Ottoman and European demand. Patna was a center of metalworks and the military-industrial complex. The Bengal-Bihar region was a major exporter of gunpowder and saltpetre . The Nawabs presided over an era of growing organization in banking, handicrafts , and other trades. Bengal attracted traders from across Eurasia . Traders were lodged at caravanserais , including
5767-421: Was backed up by the powerful Jagat Seth family of bankers and money lenders. The Jagat Seth controlled the flow of Bengali revenue into the imperial treasury in Delhi. They served as financiers to both the Nawabs and European companies operating in the region. The Nawabs profited from the revenue generated by the worldwide demand of muslin trade in Bengal , which was centered in Dhaka and Sonargaon . Murshidabad
5846-467: Was opened by Finance Minister of Government of India Shree C. D. Deshmukh on 19 March 1952. The full operation for the coinage and preparation of medals, decorations and badges started in Alipore Mint from this date. In addition to production of coins for domestic use also produces coins for other nations. Alipore Mint has merged as cooperation and not a totally Government controlling body since 2008. It
5925-467: Was played on Broadway for more than 7,000 performances. Edgar Allan Poe makes reference to the "stifling" of the prisoners in the introduction to " The Premature Burial " (1844). The Black Hole is mentioned in Looking Backward (1888) by Edward Bellamy as an example of the depravity of the past. In a story written by Indian author Masti Venkatesha Iyengar , "Rangana Maduve" ("Ranga's Marriage"),
6004-504: Was sent to retaliate against the Nawab. With his troops and local Indian allies, Clive recaptured Calcutta in January 1757, and defeated Siraj ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey , which resulted in Siraj being overthrown as Nawab of Bengal and executed. The Black Hole of Calcutta was later used as a warehouse. In memoriam of the dead, the British erected a 15-metre (50') high obelisk ; it now
6083-508: Was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India . In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the de facto independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal , Bihar and Orissa which constitute the modern-day sovereign country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal , Bihar and Odisha . The Bengal Subah reached its peak during the reign of Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan . They are often referred to as
6162-620: Was the last titular Nawab Nazim of Bengal. During his reign the nizamat at Murshidabad came to be debt-ridden. The Nawab left Murshidabad in February 1869, and had started living in England. The title of the Nawab of Bengal stood abolished in 1880. He returned to Bombay in October 1880 and pleaded his case against the orders of the government, but as it stood unresolved the Nawab renounced his styles and titles, abdicating in favour of his eldest son on 1 November 1880. The Nawabs of Murshidabad succeeded
6241-491: Was the manufacturing of medals and decorations during the British regime. The production of medals continues to this day. After the closure of this mint in 1952 the building fell into disrepair, after years of neglect. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation declared this building a heritage building. A proposal to restore this building and convert its vast spaces into a museum was put up, and on 10 July 2008 pre-qualification bids were received from eight developers. The project will be
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