History of Kolkata

Calcutta was established in the year 1686 as a result of the expansion plans of the British Raj. On August 24, 1686, Job Charnock, who was believed to be the founder of Calcutta first came to the village of Sutanuti as a representative of the British East India Company to establish a factory

When Kolkata began as Calcutta: The history of the first capital of British India

Calcutta: Three opinions on the origin of the city name

Calcutta did not become the capital of British India until 1772, when the first governor-general, Warren Hastings, transferred all important offices to the city from Murshidabad, the provincial Mughal capital. In 1773 Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras (now Chennai) became subordinate to the government at Fort William. A supreme court administering English law began to exercise original jurisdiction over the city as far as the Maratha Ditch (now Acharya Prafulla Chandra and Jagadish Chandra Bose roads).

In 1706 the population of Calcutta was roughly between 10,000 and 12,000. It increased to nearly 120,000 by 1752 and to 180,000 by 1821. The White (British) Town was built on ground that had been raised and drained. There were so many palaces in the British sector of the city that it was named the “city of palaces.” Outside the British town were built the mansions of the newly rich, as well as clusters of huts. The names of different quarters of the city—such as Kumartuli (the potters’ district) and Sankaripara (the conch-shell workers’ district)—still indicate the various occupational castes of the people who became residents of the growing metropolis. Two distinct areas—one British, one Indian—came to coexist in Calcutta.

Calcutta at that time was described as a pestilential town. There were few good roads. In 1814 the Lottery Committee was constituted to finance public improvement by means of lotteries, and between 1814 and 1836 it took some effective measures to improve conditions. The municipal corporation was established in 1841. Cyclones in 1864, 1867, and 1870, however, devastated the poorer, low-lying areas.