Book Excerptise: History of Bengal (v.II) (original) (raw)
<font-size="5">book excerptise: a book unexamined is wasting trees </font-size="5">
History of Bengal (v.II) - Muslim Period 1200-1757 AD
Sir Jadunath Sarkar and Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (ed)
Sarkar, Sir Jadunath; Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (ed);
History of Bengal (v.II) - Muslim Period 1200-1757 AD
University of Dacca, Ramna Dacca, 1948, 532 pages
ISBN 817646239X
topics: | bengal | history |
murshid quli (d.1727) AlivardI (1671-1756) sirAj-ud-daulAh (1733-1757)
#### how little we know our own history
most bengalis know little of the history of bengal. many of us know the nitti-gritties of oliver cromwell's machinations or paul revere's ride, but we know little about how AlivardI came to power or how murshidAbAd got its name. we care little for our own history.
even what little we know of bengal history is seen through the colonizer's eye. we vaguely know about "the black hole of calcutta", and that there is some dispute, but the 1756 sack of the older fort william by sirAj-ud-daulAh and the events that caused it (and eventually led to palashi war) are little known.
there is a general perception that the english became rulers of india almost unwillingly after the battle of plassey, but it is little known that in 1685, well before that battle and even before charnock's landing in sutAnuTi, the-then governor of the company, sir josiah child convinced the directors (and king james II) to raise an army from england, with the objective of conquering chittagong and dacca.
a twelve-ship fleet, 600 men and 200 cannon, sailed under admiral nicholson. they proclaimed war on the mughal empire, and plundered some mughal ships carrying haj pilgrims in the west coast. in bengal, most of the army perished of malaria on a swampy island in the river delta (downstream of today's haldia). in the west, a mughal fleet under sidi yaqub from the island port of murud-janjira blockaded bombay, engaging the british navy for over a year. the british sued for peace, and agreed to pay reparations, and to expel their governor john child (unrelated to josiah child).
the company had been engaged in conquest (and the consequent large-scale depredations) in other parts of india (and africa) since much earlier times. as for bengal, there was a second naval expedition, sent under captain heath, but this was also ineffective. however, the european trade was lucrative to the crown, and the traders were invited back. subsequently, europeans were again invited to open up their trade factories, and in 1690 the english landed at sutAnuTi and the french at chandernagar.
while palAshI (plassey) is remembered, whereas the battle of guria, by which AlivardI came to power, or the defeat of the magh and portuguese navy at the mouth of the ganga by shAista khan's navy, or even the naval defeat inflicted on the british at bombay in 1689, is largely forgotten.
the arrival of the british into bengal is commonly thought of as coinciding with job charnock's landing at sutAnuTi in august 1690. however, the east india company (and charnock himself) had been in bengal for many decades before this. if they managed to obtain some trade rights for export, they would invariably abuse this, particularly by indulging in within-India trade - their boats would often carry salt upstream; a huge quantity of salt was offloaded in 1727-28, and the english were forced to pay a penalty for recovering it.
#### virgin scholarship; nationalist views
the labours that made this volume possible are revealed by sarkar in the introduction. writing about his own chapters - about half the pages in the work - he discusses how he
**had to clear the jungle and break virgin soil in respect of certain**
**periods, such as the viceroyalties of prince muhammad shuja, shAista**
**khan, and murshid quli khan. in these, my predecessors, the**
**riyAz-us-salAtin and its english version, stewart's _history of_**
**_bengal_, had merely left to us an uncharted wilderness, and i had to**
**construct their true story by piecing together a large number of**
**stray hints in persian manuscripts and letters and european traders'**
**reports p.ix**#### poor reception in british history circles
it seems this book was largely ignored by orientalist scholars. the cambridge historian peter hardy reviewed it ten years after publication, in the bulletin of the school of oriental and african studies (february 1957, pp 207-207). hardy has little positive to say of the work, deprecating it as a mere political history that does not ask deeper questions of the social and cultural forces at play. "it is a chronicle of chronicles, and very dull."
it is a political history, true, but it is also one of the first to compile many aspects from a close reading of the original indian sources in persian, urdu and other languages. also, the sheer details incorporated make the writing far from dull.
#### nationalist undercurrents
looking at it today, this disparagement may be partly owing to its indian point of view, often bordering on the nationalist. for example, in the discussing the marAThA raids in bengal, 1745-1752, sarkar laments:
**then was seen a spectacle which no indian can remember without shame:**
**the sovereign of the country could not protect his subjects, and**
**every indian of wealth and every government official of the**
**neighbourhood who could, took refuge in these forts of**
**foreigers... 396**#### narratives of battles, blood splashed on every page
to me, reading it in the 21st century, it is far from being "very dull", especially in its detailed description of the battles and other machinations for power. one can hear the bullets shot that kills sirAj-ud-daulah's cousin shaukat jang, his turban falling to the ground, encrusted with diamonds and emeralds; one can feel the dagger of the daughter of the panjabi khatri king of bardwan, who drives it into the usurper shambho singh when he tries to molest her.
also deeper questions of social forces can be asked only against the backdrop of the initial spadework of political history, and at the time this was written, there was little cross-reference to establish a solid political history for this turbulent period in the history of bengal. undoubtedly, later historians consulted this work widely, focusing more on its defects than its positives.
thanks to the digital library of india for making this long out-of-print book widely available for browsing...
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### Excerpts
### from ch. XX: bengal under shAista khan and ibrahim khan
**[by jadunath sarkar]**#### the english in bengal before calcutta 1642-1680
the english east india company had established their first factory in bengal at hugli in 1651. for some years before it they had been making their purchases and sales in bengal from their agency or head factory at balesore in orissa (founded in 1642), through subordmates who used to visit a few centres in bihar and bengal periodically every year.
at first their transactions in bengal were on a very limited scale and unprofitable. before 1651, their annual investment in this province was less than one-tenth of the value of the dutch company's.
the civil war in england (1642-1648) and the war between holland and england under the protectorate (1652-54), ruined the business, and the london directors of the latter company at one time issued orders for abandoning the trade in bengal and "the bay" altogether.
but after 1660, after aurangzib's final accession to the throne restored peace in india and the restoration of charles II settled affairs in great britain, the english trade with bengal began to improve rapidly. by 1680 the company's exports from bengal had risen to £150,000, and next year to £280,000.
#### deprivations by shAista khAn's officials
but in august 1682, when william hedges arrived at hugli as the first governor and agent of the english company in bengal (which was now removed from the control of madras), he found the trade almost brought to a standstill by the lawlessness and greed of the mughal officials.
**the several affronts, insolences, and abuses daily put upon us by**
**bAlchAnd (the customs-collector at hugli and shAista khan's favoured**
**instrument of extortion), being grown insufferable, the agent and**
**council made use of diverse expedients for redress of their**
**grievances, but all means proving ineffectual, it was agreed that the**
**only expedient now left was for the agent to go himself in person to**
**the nawAb and diwAn at dacca... to make some settled adjustment**
**concerning the customs.**hedges spent six weeks in dacca, and his diary, which has been edited by sir h yule (1888), gives a graphic account of the life and court of shAista khan and the condition of the country and the people as observed by him. but nothing resulted from this mission, shAista merely promised that he would request the emperor to give the english a farmAn, and the local officials at hugli continued to stop the company's boats and seize their goods.
at last the english traders lost all patience with the corrupt and lawless mughal government. "hedges and others urged upon the (directors of the) company that trade in bengal would never prosper till they came to a quarrel with the native authorities, got rid of the growing exactions, and were established in a defensive settlement with ready access to the sea." this resolve was to bear fruit in the foundation and fortification of calcutta before the 17th century was over.
#### the company launches war against the mughals 1686
the court of directors obtained from king james II permission to retaliate their injuries by hostilities against shAista khan and aurangzib, and in 1686 ships with troops were sent to india from england for making a vigorous attack upon both sides of the indian peninsula. only three of these ships reached bengal. the english troops arrived by driblets towards the end of 1686, and were quartered in hugli and near it. these preparations for war could not be concealed from shAista khan, who concentrated 3,000 foot and 800 horse at hugli to guard the town (wilson, I 90-96) .
[hostilities started on 28 october 1686... much of hughli was burned down.] the english lost two men killed and several wounded, and their old factory and its godown were burnt. but on the mughal side about 60 men were killed and a great number wounded, while four to five hundred houses and a great number of boats were burnt down (lbid, i 97)
shAista khan on hearing of the sack of hugli sent vast detachments of cavalry there and ordered the english to be seized. the english used the respite to pack their stores and evacuated hugli with all their property and sailed down the river with a halt at sutAnuTi, from where their agent job charnock continued the negotiations with shAista khan...
#### burning of balasore - 1687, 1688
on 9th february charnock left sutanuti and captured the imperial forts at thAnA (modern garden reach, facing mAtiA burj), a few miles west of calcutta and down the ganges, and seized the island of hijli, on the east coast of the medimpur district (contai subdivision; at confl. of rasulpur on ganga), where the english established themselves after landing their men and guns. next month (march) a detachment of 170 english soldiers and sailors landed at balasore, took the mughal fort and burnt down the two towns, called old and new balesore.
about the middle of may 1687, abdus samad, a lieutenant (bakShi) of shAista khan arrived before hijli with 12,000 men, to expel the english... [most of the english - about 200 (2/3ds) had died of malaria, but the remaining fought and managed to sue for peace, and were able to evacuate with their guns and munitions.]
on 16 august, 1687, shAista khan issued a letter to the english permitting them to build a fort at uluberiA (20 miles S of calcutta) and renew their trade at hughli. so charnock with his ships returned, and halted at sutAnuTi (september)...
but a new difficulty arose on account of the english war on the mughal shipping on the bombay coast (by sir john child) and shAista khan withdrew his concessions... a year was wasted in this way, and on 8th november 1688 the english evacuated calcutta a second time, abandoning all their stations and business in bengal.
their new agent, the naval captain heath (who had superseded job charnock), now sailed to balesore, stormed the mughal fort (29th november). and seized new balesore town, committing unspeakable atrocities on the inhabitants, christians and non-christians, men and women alike. on 23rd december, he made sailed away to chatgaon, wishing to seize that town and make it an independent fortified base of the english in the bay of bengal.
[however, he found the fortifications at chittagong too strong] and at last giving up this idea, he sailed away for madras (17th february 1689), abandoning all his bengal projects.
#### aurangzeb invites the english to return to bengal, 1689
by this time shAista khan had left bengal (june 1688), and aurangzib had issued orders for conclliating the english and restoring their trade in his dominions, which made a fair addition to his customs revenue.
on 2nd july ibrAhim khan, immediately after coming to bengal as viceroy (in the place of khan-i-jahAn kokah, dismissed after eleven months' tenure), wrote to the madras council inviting the english to return to bengal and promising them fair treatment, and this letter was received on 7th october
in february 1690, peace was finally concluded between the mughal government and the english on the west coast, and on 23rd april the emperor wrote to ibrahim khan to let the english trade freely in bengal as before. (stewart's bengal, app vii and vi)
so, the madras council decided to send job charnock back to bengal as agent. he arrived at sutAnuTi on 24th august 1690. this was the foundation of calcutta in the same year the french made a humble but independent settlement of their own at chandernagore, in a purchased village. 385
#### ibrAhim khan, subahdar of bengal, 1689
[ibrAhim khan was a son of the famous ali mardAn khan of shah jahAn's reign.] he was a pure persian by birth and breeding, and had held the subahdAri of one province after another since 1662. when he reached bengal (1689) he was already a weak old man. his disposition was mild, his habits sedentary, and his sole passion was to read persian books. without military abilities, he desired to administer justice with strict impartiality and to encourage agriculture and commerce. the english traders called him "the most famously just and good nabob", and the muslim historian records that "he did not allow even an ant to be oppressed". (riyAz, 223 ) 392
immediately after reaching dacca, he released the english merchants who had been confined there, by the emperor's orders, and wrote letters to job charnock then at madras, inviting him to return to bengal and resume the english trade in this province. p.392
#### english and french settlements, 1690
at last, on 24th august 1690, agent charnock with his council and factors, landed at sutAnuti, and was well received by the mughal officers of the district (hughli). on 10th february 1691, an imperial order (i e, hasb-ul-hukm) was issued under the seal of Asad khAn the wazir, allowing the english to continue their trade in bengal in composure of mind, on payment of rs 3,000 yearly in lieu of all dues. thus was founded the english settlement of calcutta, destined in time to be the centre of a british indian empire.
the french establishment of chandernagar, too, was legally constituted at exactly the same time. du plessis had bought a piece of land, on the bank of the ganges, four miles south of hughli, at the village of chandernagar, in 1674; but the dutch out of jealousy influenced the subahdar to forbid the french to build any residence there.
in april 1690 however, the agent deslandes, by bribing the nawab's court at dacca, secured full rights, and at once began to erect enclosing walls, brick houses, and large warehouses, of which the architect was the jesuit duchatz, and the estimated cost rs 26,000. by july 1692, most of the work had been completed.
by promising to pay the emperor rs 40,000 (one-fourth of it cash down and the balance in six yearly instalments of 5,000), deslandes obtained (in january 1693) an imperial order giving the french the right to trade freely in bengal, bihar and orissa, with the same privileges as the dutch, and paying like the latter 3½ p c. custom duty. (kaeppelin, 321-322). p.392
#### the bardwan rebellion and zabardast khan
[in 1695-98, a local landlord shobhA singh rebelled and killed the rajah of bardwan. he was joined by the afghan rahim khan from orissa, and together they plundered the west bank of the ganges, with their base in bardwan. their only resistance came from the dutch, who dislodged them from hughli.
hearing of these events, aurangzeb dismissed the ineffective ibrAhim khan, and sent his grandson, the prince azim-ud-din as subahdar of bengal. in the interim, shobhA singh had been stabbed and killed by the daughter of the ex-rAjA when he tried to molest her; she killed herself thereafter, with the same dagger.
[Aniruddha Ray, banglapedia: The historian Salimulla, writing 67 years after the event, narrated the romantic story of Sobha Singh's death caused by stabbing by Krishnaram's daughter, when Sobha Singh tried to molest her. jadunath sarkar believed it in his History of Bengal, but discounted it in favour of the report (Akhbarat) that Prince Azimuddin had killed Sobha Singh in 1698. Both these accounts are found to be inaccurate. The farman of 1734 and the contemporary European documents clearly mention that, excepting a son, who was given back the zamindari later, all family members of Krishnaram were killed. The contemporary French letters of 21 November 1696 and 15 January 1697 clearly mention that while Sobha Singh was regaling with ladies, he died of a fall from a high terrace. The despatch of Prince Azimuddin (Akhbarat) is suspect since the rebels held out till 1703-04 and were finally flushed out by murshid quli khan for which he was rewarded by the emperor. ]
before the prince's arrival, ibrAhim's son zabardast khan was asked to raise an army and counter the rebels. in may 1697 forces under this young general, aided by an artillery manned with feringhi gunners, routed the rebels under rahim khan at bhagwangola. however, zabardast was mistreated by the prince when he arrived after the monsoons, and left bengal to join aurangzeb in the deccan.
rahim khan had fled, and was finally defeated by imperial forces at chandrakonA and rahim was beheaded by hamid khan qureshi. [this JS version, based on the Akhbarat, is suspect, see banglapedia note above.] (akhbarat'i-darbar-i-mu'ala, or reports of everything that was done or said in public at the Court or camp where the Emperor was present in person. These were written daily, — sometimes twice a day, when (as usual) there were morning levees and evening Courts held by His Majesty. - Maasir-i-Alamgiri, A History of the Emperor Aurangzib-'Alamgir ]
#### fortresses at the european settlements
in this period, public order disappeared and the mughal administration had collapsed. the three european settlements in bengal - calcutta, chandernagar and chinsura applied to ibrAhim khan at dacca for permission to fortify their factories. the viceroy in general terms ordered them to defend themselves.
this was the beginning of fort william. fort d,orleans, and chinsura ramparts. at calcutta the english merchants built walls and bastions round their factory (in the modern dalhousie square) and certain works which were dignified with the name of a fort, mounted guns on the ramparts, and substituted a structure of brick and mud for the old thatched house which used to contain the company's stores and provisions. 395
**in july 1698, for the sum of rs 18,000 the english procured letters**
**patent from the prince, allowing them to purchase from the existing**
**holders the right of renting the three villages of sutAnuti (north),**
**calcutta (centre) and govindpur (south), and thus the security of**
**calcutta was completely assured"· (wilson, i. 147-150).**at chandernagar, francois martin in november 1696 raised palisades around the french loge and also a bastion of earth on the side facing the river; and in april 1697, he built a second bastion for flanking the four curtains of chandernagar "which thus assumed the aspect of a small fortress". (kaeppelin. 339-340). similarly, the dutch fortified their factory in chinsurA. with walls. all three nations enlisted temporary bands of indian soldiers -- rajputs and "baksarias", to augment their handful of white soldiers and sailors.
#### fortresses shelter traders during marAThA bargI raids
then was seen a spectacle which no indian can remember without shame : the sovereign of the country could not protect his subjects, and every indian of wealth and every government official of the neighbourhood who could, took refuge in these forts of foreigners to save their lives and honour. the same thing was witnessed about the same time in madras and pondicherry during the anarchical wars between the mughals and the marathas in the eastern carnatic. 396
[for the half century in the early 1700s, bengal was ably ruled by the nawabs murshid quli khan (1700-1727) [ch.xxi], and alivardi khan (1740-1756) [ch.xxiii]. ]
murshid quli and alivardi between them gave this province a peace unknown in that age elsewhere in India. no repercussion of the dynastic revolutions at delhi reached bengal except in the change of the name on the coin. maratha incursion which convulsed and transformed the face of malwa and gujrat, khandesh and berar, was felt in bengal as merely a passing blast (1743-'52); 1t touched the fringe of the province and at the very end (1752) only tore away orissa from bengal. 396
### XXI. bengal under murshid quli khan: jadunath sarkar
#### tributes to delhi in murshid quli khan's time
the unceasing drain of silver from bengal, amounting on an average to one kror of rupees very year, kept the volume of true money in circulation here extremely small, and the price of local produce very low. (kaeppelin, 462 and 524, french reports from chandernagar). hence, it is no wonder that while sebastien manrique about 1632 found rice selling at murshidabad at four to five maunds a rupee, ninety years later, in murshid quli's time, the "price of rice there was still commonly four maunds" (salimullah). this fact proves that the circulating medium had not increased in a century's time, in spite of the growth of production and trade. the common people had no capital...
The land revenue was forced up so high only by the heartless squeezing of the peasantry and inhuman torture of the contractor collectors. the pressure applied by the nawab at the top naturally passed through the intermediate grades finally on to the actual cultivators, who were left with the bare means of existence. [meanwhile] the gold, pearls and gems piled up in the treasure chamber of the murshidabad palace, which dazzled the eyes of colonel clive after plassey.. [p.417]
#### after plassey : looting the national surplus of bengal
[FN: robert clive, became one of the richest men in england... he had to face an inquiry by parliament, where he stated in his defence:
**consider the situation in which the victory of plassey placed me. a**
**great prince was dependent on my pleasure; an opulent city lay at my**
**mercy; its richest bankers bid against each other for my smiles, i**
**walked through vaults which were thrown open to me alone, piled on**
**either hand with gold and jewels. mr. chairman, at this moment i**
**stand astonished at my own moderation.”**sarkar dryly comments that clive [officially] took only 40 lakhs rupees, at a time when one rupee bought four maunds of rice. 419] [considering one kilo of rice today (2010s) to be 30 rs. , one clive rupee = 4x40x30 = 1200rs; 40 L = 4 x 1.2 x 109 rs = 480 cr. ]
the whole of the surplus national stock [of bengal] for sixty years was whisked away to britain in the days of mir Jafar and mir qAsim, and a generation later the gilded pauper in the murshidabad palace had to beg the calcutta government for relief from insolvency. 418
#### austrian settlement in bAnkibAzAr
the ostend company, formed in austrian netherlands, received a charter from their emperor in 1723, but in 1727 diplomatic pressure by rival European powers, forced the austrian monarch to suspend its privileges for seven years.
its chief settlement in india, at bAnkibAzAr, three miles north of barrackpur, hoisted the austrian flag and continued to trade under 1ts protection (hence it was called the german company). but in 1744 the faujdAr of hugli (instigated by the english and the dutch traders) besieged bAnkibAzAr.
the small garrison fought well, and at last its handful of survivors evacuated the place and sailed away in their ship, taking to a life of piracy in the Indian waters (cambridge hist of india, V, 115). 420
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### XXV. sirAj-ud-daulah
**jadunath sarkar**alivardi sank into the grave in the midst of darkness and despair. his long years of striving with the marathas had ended in his admission of utter defeat. and now as he entered his eighty~second year, death dealt a quick succession of blows at his heart; in the course of one year he lost two sons-in-law and one grandson, leaving two immature youths as his only possible successors. p.468
alivardI had no son, but three daughters only. they had been married to the three sons of his brother the hAji, who were known from their seats of governorship. as the dacca nawab, the purnia nawab, and the patna nawab. all his three daughters had been widowed in his life time. the eldest mihir-un-nisa (ghasiti begam) was childless. the second (she of purnia) had a grown up son named shaukat jang and a boy named mirza ramzani. the third (aminA begam) had two sons left, sirAj-ud-daulah, and mirza mahdi.
sirAj was his grandfather's darling, because he was born just before AlivardI gained the deputy governorship of bihar (1733) which was for him the stepping-stone to the throne of these three eastern subahs. his family regarded this new-born child as the bringer of good fortune to the beggarly adventurer from persia who had started life in orissa on a monthly pay of rs. 100 and ended by becoming the master of three kingdoms.
his grandfather's superstitious affection proved a fatal boon for sirAj-ud-daulah; it led him through a riotous life to a tragic and dishonoured end. he was given no education for his future duties, he never learnt to curb his passionate impulses; none durst correct his vices; and he was kept away from manly and martial exercises as dangerous to such a precious life. thus the apple of old alivardi's eye grew up into a most dissolute, haughty, reckless and cowardly youth, and the prospect of his succession to the government of bengal, filled all people with alarm.
about the character of sirAj-ud-daulah the evidence of the english merchants of calcutta or that of the famous patna historian sayyid ghulam husain (the tutor of his rival shaukat jang) might be suspected as prejudiced. i shall therefore give here the opinion of monsieur jean law, the chief of the french factory at qasimbazar, a gentleman who was prepared to risk his own life in order to defend sirAj against the english troops. law writes in his memoirs,
**"the character of sirAj-ud-daulah was reputed to be one of the worst**
**ever known. in fact he had distinguished himself not only by all**
**sorts of debaucheries. but by a revolting cruelty. the hindu women**
**are accustomed to bathe on the bank of the ganges. sirAj-ud-daulah,**
**who was informed by his spies which of them were beautiful, sent his**
**satellites in little boats to carry them off. he was often seen, in**
**the season when the river overflows, causing the ferry boats to be**
**upset or sunk, in order to have the cruel pleasure of seeing the**
**confusion of a hundred people at a time, men, women and children, of**
**whom many, not being able to swim. were sure to perish. every one**
**trembled at the name of sirAj-ud-daulah ".**on the eve of alivardi's death sirAj and his cousin shaukat jang stood face to face as rivals for the throne of bengal, bihar and orissa. but shaukat jang lived far away, in purnia.
sirAj's nearest and greatest enemy was his mother's eldest sister ghasiti begam, a childless widow. as the best-loved and most domineering daughter of alivardi, she had used her position of influence to amass a vast fortune, which she kept with herself, in a castle surrounded by a lake called the moti-jhil, a few miles north [AM: ?south?] of the city of murshidabad, guarded by her armed retainers as a threat to the ruler in the capital. but she was a woman, unable to come into the field in person. hence she had to act through male agents, such as her lovers and managers. it had been her ambition to raise sirAj's younger brother akram-ud-daulah to the throne. and rule the country as his regent from behind the veil; but that boy had died about a year before alivardi. she then turned her eyes on shaukat jang and invited him to invade murshidabad.
thus every enemy of sirAj found a patron in ghasiti begam. in fact, the approaching death of alivardi threatened to provoke a war of succession, which did not turn out so terrible as the war for aurangzib's throne 50 years earlier only because the claimants were two worthless youths.
but the most formidable enemy of sirAj was mir ja'far ali khan, the commander-in-chief of alivardi's army. by reason of his mature age, experience of war, and official position, he was the only man whom sirAj had reason to dread in a trial of strength. ja'far ali had come to india as a penniless adventurer like his master, but alivardi had given him the hand of his half-sister (shah khanam), and gradually raised him to a position next only to himself, as the bakhshi (literally meaning the paymaster-general, but really the captain-general of the forces) ja'far ali had gained an undeserved reputation for valour by the rapid march which enabled him to rescue saulat jang near katak before his defeated and fleeing captors could murder him (1741), and later by a victory over the marAThas in 1746 (ch 24, sec 7).
but his courage entirely oozed out when in february, 1747, he was ordered to make a stand against the marAThas at medinipur, but fell precipitately back on bardwan. the soldiers had no confidence in a general with such a record. worst of all, he was so ungrateful as to conspire for the overthrow and murder of that alivardi, who had raised him from the dust to the second position in the realm. if alivardi could kill his benefactor shuja-ud-din's heir and seize the throne, ja'far ali had the same moral right to kill alivardi (or his heir) and take the throne; that was his argument.
sunk in gross sensual pleasures and weakened by his addiction to opium and the hemp drug (bhang), he had not even the energy of alivardi, who was twenty years older in age. in his last years, in the ignominious repose of the throne of bengal, as "lord clive's jack-ass", he developed leprosy, - a loathsome end to a loathsome life. p.470
#### sirAj-ud-daulah's charges against the british
the causes of siraj's rupture with the english can be now clearly known from the published records and correspondence.
1. roger drake, the chief of their bengal factories had not followed the usual practice of congratulating him on his accession with a suitable present, as a foreign nation living in the laud is bound to do.
2. in Alivardi's time when sirAj had wished to visit the country-house of the english near qAsimbAzAr, the factors had refused to admit him, as it was very likely that the drunken disorderly youth would have damaged and defiled it.
3. but the provoking cause was the question of arresting a fugitive harboured in calcutta, krishna ballav, [whose father was the diwan of dacca, and whom sirAj had accused of embezzling funds.] krishna ballav had bribed mr drake, the governor, and secured an asylum in calcutta.
4. besides sirAj's personal grievances against the english, there was a more serious threat to the nawab's power, namely the new fortifications being built at calcutta early in this year.
**the european factories in bengal received a warning from their head**
**offices at home [c.1756] of the probability of a war soon breaking**
**out between england and france (the seven years' war actually began**
**in europe in may 1756.) the english immediately set themselves to**
**repairing their long-dilapidated defences on the river side (west of**
**the present general post office), clearing the half-choked maratha**
**ditch, and throwing up some earth-works in the northern environs**
**(especially a redoubt and a draw-bridge, called perring's redoubt,**
**across the ditch at baghbazar).**
**this was a clear violation of the terms under which the mughal**
**government had allowed them to live in bengal. alivardi, justly**
**alarmed by bussy's ascendancy over the muslim powers of the deccan,**
**had persistently refused to allow the europeans to fortify or arm**
**their factories in bengal, telling them, "you are merchants, what**
**need have you of a fortress? being under my protection you have no**
**enemies to fear."**[FN: s c hill (Bengal in 1756-57, Murray 1905) calls the nawab's grievances against the english as "pretexts for war", but admits (1) as regards fortifications, it is quite clear that the british (in calcutta) had exceeded their rights. (2) as regards the abuse of trade privileges, it must be confessed that the british had used the dastaks or passes for goods free of custom in a way never contemplated by the farmAns. (3) concerning the protection given to the servants of the native government, [in] the case of krishna dAs the English had no right to shelter the servants of Government from the authorities in their own country. -- it will be seen, therefore, that sirAj-ud-daulah had a show of reason in all the pretexts he alleged for his attack on the british." (Vol I liv-lvi ) ]
therefore, siraj had sent a spy to find out the unauthorised fortifications and armament of calcutta, but this agent had been summarily ejected from the settlement by the governor's peons.
#### sirAj attacks the british may 1756
on may 16 may, sirAj [was on a campaign against his cousin shawkat jang] when he heard the news of the disgrace of his messengers by governor drake. he immediately decided to settle accounts with the english before turning to the purnia nawab.
the qasimbazar factory of the english was invested by the nawab's troops on 24th may, and the englishmen were made prisoners in violation of a solemn promise, when visiting the nawab some days later. a few of the factors escaped to their friends' houses. the factory was occupied and looted.
on 5th june the nawab started for the invasion of calcutta, and using unexpected promptitude, covered 160 miles in eleven days and arrived outside calcutta on the 16th of june. [...]
#### III fall of calcutta, june 1756
on 16th june, an attempt of the nawab's army to force the marATha ditch over the chitpur bridge by attacking perring's redoubt which covered it, was foiled. but the thana fort (near matiaburuz) after being taken by the british fleet could not be held for lack of men. meantime, many of the nawab's troops and the looters who hung in the rear of the army, flocked into the town by fording the ditch. sirAj himself took up his quarters in amir chand's garden, in the quarter known as simla.
the black town or indian quarter of calcutta in the north consisted almost entirely of bamboo and straw huts. the english decided to defend only the european quarter, (dalhousie square and east and south), and first "set on fire the straw-houses within the lines of defence, to clear the town as much as possible. the fire spread, and did much damage," (c 14th) again, in the night of the 16th, they set fire to part of the town in order to drive out the nawab's men. next day, the british destroyed all the native houses to the eastward and the southward, and the nawab's plunderers set fire to the great bazar, (the old bara bazar, north of the modern fairlie place) and other parts of the black town, which burnt till morning."
all the british women were brought into the fort on the 16th, and next day the portuguese and armenian women and children crowded into the fort, (their relatives) the militia declaring that they would not fight unless their families were admitted. "everything in the fort was thrown into confusion. all the peons and servants of the europeans, the porters of munitions and gun laskars fled away in fear, till the british defenders began to starve for want of men to cook their meals.
the attack on the line of defence began on 18th june. the english prepared for it by a council order to their soldiers "to give no quarter, as the fort prison was already crowded." the nawab's main attack was made on the defences from the east and south (bowbazar street sealdah side, and esplanade east). by occupying the strongly built and scattered european houses in these directions, the invaders by their fire drove out the small bodies of the advanced english defenders and rendered the artillery of the fort ineffective, and even the batteries outside the fort had to be abandoned to the enemy.
so the english fell back into a smaller and inner line of defence, covering the old fort william and a few yards around it (i.e., from fairlie place to the southern limit of the general post office, and from the ganges to dalhousie square west).
in the night of the 18th as many women in the fort as could be accommodated on board were sent to the ships. "the defenders of the fort were now wearied out. the men at the outposts were left to starve as there were no cooks ... the supply of ammunition had run short." so, between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning of 19th june, mr drake "held an informal council ... it was determined to abandon the fort, but how or when to make the retreat could not be decided upon."
the 19th was a day of increasing confusion and agony. the ships alongside calcutta, on which the hope of a safe evacuation depended, dropped down the stream. on shore the armenians and portuguese half-breeds who formed the militia, were too terrified to act. even the pure european soldiers could be persuaded with difficulty to resume their arms. but on learning that all the remaining powder was damp and useless, a stampede ensued for the boats. the governor drake and the commandant minchin themselves escaped in the last few boats. some of the ships [the prince george, neptune, calcutta, and diligence] ran aground and their inmates were made prisoners by the nawab's troops. the ships that escaped "set ashore all the refugees on board who had no connection with the europeans" and then anchored at falta, (26 june).
calcutta, thus deserted by 1ts governor and military commander, had still 170 white men capable of conducting its defence, (not counting the unreliable armenians and eurasians). they held a council, suspended their two fugitive heads, and appointed mr j z holwell, the zamindar or magistrate-collector of native calcutta as governor and military commander. (in the afternoon of the 19th) holwell tried to make a stand, but the enemy's musketry from the european houses they occupied took a heavy toll and made it almost impossible to stand upon the ramparts of the invested fort. this night saw all the houses around burning. the british soldiers now refused to obey their officers, broke open the houses of the runaway members, and made themselves drunk with the liquor found there.
sunday 20th june began in utter hopelessness. in the night before, 53 soldiers (chiefly dutch) out of the small white contingent left had deserted to the enemy. in the fighting from morning to noon, the english lost 25 men killed and 70 wounded, and only 14 men were left to serve the guns. with no laskar or porter. holwell, "hoping to amuse the enemy till nightfall, when a retreat might be effected, hosted a flag of truce." but about 4 o'clock in the evening, the enemy scaled the walls from all sides and the little river-gate of the fort was burst open by a dutch sergeant and delivered to the enemy. some of the defenders were cut down, but holwell now surrendered, the fighting ceased. and sirAj-ud-daulah entered calcutta as victor. but there was no arrest of prisoners, "the portuguese and armenians were allowed to go free and disappeared, and several of the europeans simply walked out of the fort, making their escape, to hugli or the ships at surman's garden."
#### IV the black hole tragedy
that sunday evening, the british who had surrendered were well treated. their chief holwell had three interviews with the nawab and received an assurance of safety from him. the victorious troops "had plundered the europeans of their valuables, but did not ill-treat them. but about sunset, some european soldiers had made themselves drunk and assaulted natives. the latter complained to the nawab, who asked where the europeans were accustomed to confine soldiers who had misbehaved in any way. he was told -- in the black hole ... and ordered that they should all be confined in it." all the prisoners were crowded into this chamber 18 feet by 14 feet 10 inches, with only one small window, throughout that hot night of june, and in the morning many were found to have perished of suffocation or their wounds. (hill, i, xc)
up to this point, the evidence is clear. we see that the english council had begun the war by ordering their soldiers not to take any prisoners, as they had no safe place to keep them in. neither had the murshidabad troops, but they did not follow such an inhuman course, nor did they use their legitimate right under international law which makes prisoners of war liable to be shot if they assault their guards. with oriental humanity they merely put restraints on the rowdy englishmen, but in the unsettled conditions of a fort taken by storm, with fires raging outside, they had no time to separate the sheep from the goats, and the prison was left in charge of the common soldiers throughout the night.
but the number of victims afterwards given out and accepted in europe (namely 123 dead out of 146 confined) is manifestly an exaggeration. [it rose to 200 men in the story told by some english fugitives sheltered in chandernagar.]
for one thing, after the death, evacuation, stealthy walking away already described from authentic records and admitted by hill, 146 britishers could not have been left in sirAj's hands at 7 pm, three hours after the surrender. this point was first argued by mr little, headmaster of the english high school in murshidabad. secondly, a floor area of 267 square feet cannot contain 146 european adults. this point was established by bholanath chunder, who fenced round an area 18 feet by 15, with bamboo stakes and counted the number of his bengali tenants who could be crammed into it, the number was found to be much less than 146, and a bengali villager's body occupies much less space than a british gentleman's. it is nowhere admitted that a list was made of the britishers surrendering after 4 pm that evening. nor even a count of heads made. at the same time as many of the foreigners in the fort as could, escaped by walking away secretly between the surrender and the time of putting the prisoners in the black hole. even holwell was offered by a friend the chance to escape thus.
therefore 146 europeans could not have been left in the hands of sirAj's soldiers at 7 pm that fatal evening. the true number was considerably less, probably only sixty. it is a very reasonable supposition that all the former british residents of calcutta whose manner of death could not be clearly ascertained in that week of confused fighting, administrative breakdown, and loss of home and records, were afterwards set down as "perished in the black hole" and their names were blazoned on holwell's monument. [hill,i xciv gives 56 names, to which lord curzon added the names of some who had been killed in fighting. hill admits (i xcvi), "in the careless talk of calcutta the black hole and (old) fort william seem to have been often confounded."
[hill, i xciv gives 56 names, to which lord curzon added the names of some who had been killed in fighting. hill admits (i xcvi), "in the careless talk of calcutta the black hole and fort william seem to have been often confounded"]
holwell and some other leading servants of the company were removed as prisoners to murshidabad, but a few days later they were set free, and joined the english fleet at falta. only one white woman (mrs carey, the wife of a sea-faring man) entered the black hole and she came out of it alive; but "almost all the white women and children of calcutta were on board the ships that escaped" to falta (hill, i xcvii).
the capture of calcutta and other factories in bengal inflicted a loss of 95 lakhs of rupees on the e i company besides 160 lakhs on private persons, though sirAj found only half a lakh in the company's treasury. three days after the surrender, sirAj-ud-daulah left calcutta and after levying forced contributions from the dutch and the french factories (4.5 and 3.5 lakhs respectively), re-entered murshidabad on 11 july in pompous celebration of his triumph.
#### battle of manihari, 16 October 1756
[the next month, sirAj launched an expedition against his cousin shaukat jang, the nawab of purnia, who had received a letter from mir-jafar "urging him to invade bengal and assuring him of the support of himself and many other captains in murshidabad." shaukat jang set forth with an army, which was met by sirAj's troops.]
the flags of sirAj-ud-daulah's advanced division (under mohan lal) were seen moving into the plain outside the village of manihari, about three miles south of the purnia troops. leaving their tents and baggage on the bank of the ganges, in the rear, the invaders drew up their forces carefully and in proper order...
[shaukat jang insisted that his troops cross over a swamp and attack the bengal forces, eventually taunting them of cowardice.]
some highborn shia' captains, stung to the quick by shaukat jang's taunts, set out to deliver a charge. they had crossed only half the jhil and were still struggling with the mud in loose broken formation, when the bengal artillery and musketeers began to shoot them down from their safe position on the opposite bank. no reply to this fire was possible. many of the purnia troops were slain and wounded, many who had reached the other bank were captured, the rest broke, recrossed the jhil and fled away without having once had the chance of drawing their swords.
the bengal army now made a general advance and the field was soon swept clear of the enemy. shaukat jang stood on his elephant in a drunken and dazed condition, with only 15 or 16 attendants, but a musket shot killed him, his jewelled turban rolled down to the ground, and the contest was over. by the time the battle ended it was sunset, and so, there could be no pursuit. the fugitives (including the historian ghulam husain) escaped to their homes without any molestation. [siyar, text 215-224, eye-witness's account.] p.480
[the text is replete with this type of battle narrative, which seems to easily defy peter hardy's charge of being "very dull."]
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### Contents
CHAPTER I. Muslim Conquest of Bengal 1 Kalika Ranjan Qanungo, Prof & Head, History, Dacca U. [Section 2 by Jadunath Sarkar] Appendix A Race, parentage and dates of Md. Bakhtyar Khilji Appendix B. Geographical notes Appendix C Coins and Chronology of 'Iwaz
CHAPTER II. Bengal under the Mamluks (1227-87) : K. R Qanungo 42
CHAPTER III. Bengal under the House of Balban : K. R Qanungo 58 Appendix A Chronology
CHAPTER IV. Rise of the llyas Shahi Dynasty 95 Nirod Bhusan Roy, Professor of History, Mymensingh College [Sections 1 and 7 by Jadunath Sarkar]
CHAPTER V. Intervening Hindu Dynasty : Jadunath Sarkar 120 [Section 4 by K. R Qanungo]
CHAPTER VI. Later Ilyas Shahis and the Abyssinians (1442-1493) 130 A. B. M. Habibullah, Lecturer Calcutta University
CHAPTER VII. Husain Shahi Dynasty (1493-1538) 142 A B M Habibullah
CHAPTER VITI. Bengal under Imperial Afghan Rule 166 Nirod Bhusan Roy
CHAPTER IX. Last Afghan Sultans, (1553-1575) 179 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER X. FIrst Mughal Conquest of Bengal 187 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XI. Man Singh Kachhwa, Viceroy 207 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XII. Transformation of Bengal under Mughal Rule 216 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XII. State of Bengal under Jahangir Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharya, M.A., Ph D. Lecturer, Department of History, Dacca University
CHAPTER XIV. Conquests of Islam Khan (1608-1613) 247 Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharya Appendix Islam Khan's dates
CHAPTER XV. Last Achievements of Islam Khan 273 Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharya
CHAPTER XVI. Twenty Years of stagnation and reverse (1613-1633) 289 Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharya
CHAPTER XVII. Bengal under Shah Jahan 316 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XVIII. Mir Jumla in Bengal 1659-1663 339 Sections 1 and 2 : Jagadish Narayan Sarkar, Lecturer, Patna College Sectrons 3-5: Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XIX. The Portuguese in Bengal 351 Surendra Nath Sen, Director, National Archrves of India
CHAPTER XX. Bengal under Shaista Khan and Ibrahim Khan 371 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XXI. Bengal under Murshid Quli Khan 397 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XXII. Shuja-'ud-din Md Khan 422 Kali Kinkar Datta, Ph.D. Head of Department of History, Patna College
CHAPTER XXIII. Alivardi Khan 436 Kali Kinkar Datta
CHAPTER XXIV. Marathas in Bengal 455 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XXV. Siraj-ud-daulah 468 Jadunath Sarkar
CHAPTER XXVI. End of Muslim Rule 481 Jadunath Sarkar
BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
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