Portuguese traders and missionaries were the first Europeans to reach Bengal in the latter part of the 15th century. They established themselves in Chittagong and Hoogly. In 1632, the Mughal Subahdar of Bengal Kasim Khan Mashadi expelled the Portuguese in the Battle of Hoogly.
Dutch, French, and British East India Companies and representatives from Denmark soon followed contact with Bengal.
During Aurangzeb's reign, the local Nawab sold three villages, including one then known as Calcutta, to the British. Calcutta was Britain's first foothold in Bengal and remained a focal point of their economic activity. The British gradually extended their commercial contacts and administrative control beyond Calcutta to the rest of Bengal. Job Charnock was one of the first dreamers of a British empire in Bengal. He waged war against the Mughal authority of Bengal which led to the Anglo-Mughal war for Bengal (1686–1690). Shaista Khan, the Nawab of Bengal, defeated the British in the battles of Hoogly as well as Baleshwar and expelled the British from Bengal. Captain William Heath with a naval fleet moved towards Chittagong but it was a failure and he had to retreat to Madras
info: https://en.wikipedia.org
No comments:
Post a Comment