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| rebuilt Ft. William Calcutta in 1807 en.wikipedia.org |
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| rebuilt Ft. William Calcutta 1807. en.wikipedia. org |
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| Plan of Ft. William, Calcutta C.1844 en.wikipedia.org |
The Fort William is a famous historical and heritage site in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) rebuilt by the East India Company in the place called Maidan, a British legacy that still survives and has surprised many historians and high ranking army men. Many of us are not aware of the fact that this fort that came up during 1780-1781 in the early stages of the English company's growth, is one the few forts in India, perhaps in the world that never faced an attack. In this respect, it differs from other forts across the globe for the simple but historical fact that it had never fired a single shot in its defense in its long history. Nor was it under siege or had experienced any violent act with in the fort. Perhaps, you may call this early colonial fort as one of its kind in the world for which the British must be proud. We 've hardly ever heard or read about a fort of bygone era where the cannons were on the silent mode and had been never used by the ever watchful gunners.
The reasons for the absence of threats to the fort are: 01. By that time EIC had gained military supremacy in this region backed by the British government in London, 02. There was no strong and worthy enemy with a powerful army to challenge their military superiority, 03. Gradual decline of other European powers in that region and other powerful Indian rulers, 04. The family members of the local ruler became powerless. like a venomous serpent without flanges and pointed teeth.
Unethical or not, Robert Clive gets the credit for causing instability in the rulers family by fomenting mischief and enticement. Being diabolical, as he was as the head of the ESI's operations in Bengal Lord Robert Clive had the ruler Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah killed by his own relatives soon after the battle of Plassey (1757). Nawab Siraj never toed their line and was up against them with arms. Calcutta was purchased by the English in 1698 and declared a Presidency Town of the East India Company in 1699.
That the Nawab was angry with the English company for their dishonesty and breach of trade agreement between them is quite natural. The unethical English company never paid the customs duty for a few years and it caused a drain on the Nawab's treasury. Further, EIC, in collusion with decedent Amirs like Mir Jaffer, et al in his court, worked against the ruler to topple him. This row led him with his huge army to capture their old Ft. William where the black-hole incident took place. The Nawab had nothing to do with this tragedy and the English made him a scapegoat to get sympathy at home.
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| early founder of the brutish empire, Robert Clive.wordpress.com |
Above image: Robert Clive, (1725-1774) was an architect of British rule in Bengal after his decisive win in the battle of Plassey ( also Palashi in West Bengal) Native of Ireland from a modest family, he was not a distinguished student at school, He entered the East India Company‘s service (1743) in Madras (now Chennai, Tamil Nadu) at the age of eighteen. As a cadet he used to lead a very forlorn and solitary life and suffered periodically from melancholia. His victories in the Carnatic war, S. India won him laurels. and they brought to light his daredevil disposition. Back in Madras in 1755, he was made a lieutenant colonel by the British crown. Soon in status and fortune, he soared high and never turned back on his old hardscrabble days in Madras............
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| Ft. William a room called black hole, Kolkata. en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: A fenced display of the Black Hole of Calcutta, old Ft. William (1908), The black hole was a dungeon in the Fort measuring 4.30 × 5.50 meters (14 × 18 feet), in which troops of Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war on the night of 20 June 1756. The Nawab was held a scapegoat and the modern historians believe that 64 prisoners were sent into the Hole, and that 43 died there and not more than 120 as reported by the British. Cause of death: Heat and suffocation
Robert Clive with his enforcement army arrived from the EIC's settlement in Madras and successfully liberated the old fort and later over a period of time using his administrative skill and political maneuvers made a dissident Amir the Nawab of Bengal, a puppet in his hand. After the battle at Buxar
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| The battle of Buxar, Bengal 1764,slideserve.com |
(October 1764) the English company took control of the huge province of Bengal with vast natural resources and revenue. Thus the English company with amazing fire power and administrative acumen coupled with intrigues had begun to expand their empire and rule over other parts of the subcontinent. with money generated from Bengal. Obviously, in the light of the British Crown allowing them to operate as a proxy government with ample support from the British government, they needed a strong fort to establish their authority and guard their interest . Thus the new Ft. William was better planned and executed as a strong structure against the invading enemy. It was Robert Clive who started rebuilding the fort in 1758, soon after the Battle of Plassey (1757), but the construction was completed only in 1781. It was built at a cost of approximately two million pounds. The area around the Fort was cleared, to have a clear view of any enemy movements and the Maidan became "the Lungs of Kolkata". It is a big chunk of land stretching 3 km in the north–south direction and is around 1 km wide.
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| Calcutta, Ft. William, Rampart and Barrack.puronokolkata.com |
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| original Ft. William Calcutta 1696. en.wikipedia.org |
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| Location map. Ft. William, Kolkata, W.Bengal.wikiwand.com |
In the shape of an irregular octagon, the rebuilt Ft William covers an an area of 5 sq. km km with five of its sides facing toward the land, and three toward the Hooghly River, a branch of the Ganges river and has an access to the sea. The addition of a dry moat 9 meters (30 ft) deep and 15 m (49 ft) wide all around the fort gives it extra protection. Strategically located and provided with six gates, the reason for the peculiar design - that of a star is to defend itself against the cannon firing from near-by enemies. The design of the moat is that it can be flooded and it serves as an area to use enfilade fire (a gunfire directed against an enfiladed formation or position, is also commonly known as "flanking fire; see the accompanying image) against any soldiers accessing the walls.
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| in enfilade. en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Diagram showing units "in enfilade" (red) and "in defilade" (blue) with another unit (green) providing enfilading fire ..............
There is a non-functional Anglican Church - St. Peter's within the fort. and it is turned into a library. During the early colonial rule, it used to serve as a chaplaincy center for the British citizens of Kolkata, Going through the museum there and various war weapons, etc., the visitors both foreign and India are quite surprised by the operational mechanism used in the past to lift cannon balls from the magazine to higher ground overlooking the rampart for firing purpose. The 329 year old fort is serving as the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, the largest one in India. Considered as one of Kolkata's most enduring colonial-era structures, it extends over an area of 70.9 hectares. There is a war memorial at the entrance of the fort, and the fort also houses a museum. On display there are artifacts from the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 that liberated East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from treacherous and war mongering Pakistan, now a breeding ground for hard terrorists who kill innocent people across the globe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William,_India
http://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2015/12/formidable-ftwilliam-1781-calcutta_21.html
https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2020/08/13/thug-of-hindustan.html
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