Fort William, India

2021-10-06T12:39:14Z

145.103.245.5:

{{EngvarB|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name= '''Fort William'''
|location= [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
|image= Fortwilliam1828.jpg
|image_size= 300px
|caption= Fort William, a view from the inside, {{Circa|1828}}
|pushpin_map = India Kolkata
|coordinates = {{coord|22.5577|88.3380|type:landmark|display=inline}}
|type= [[Fortress]], garrisoned and armoured Army Headquarters.
|built= 1696–1702
|materials=
|used= 1781–present
|controlledby= {{plainlist|
*[[Bengal Subah]] (before 1757)
*[[British East India Company]] (1757–1858)
*[[British Raj]] (1858–1947)
*[[Indian Army]] (1947–present)}}
|garrison= [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]]
|commanders=
|battles= [[Battle of Plassey]] (1757)
}}

'''Fort William''' is a [[fort]] in [[Hastings, Kolkata|Hastings]], Calcutta ([[Kolkata]]). It was built during the early years of the [[Bengal Presidency]] of [[British India]]. It sits on the eastern banks of the [[Hooghly River]], the major distributary of the River [[Ganges]]. One of Kolkata's most enduring [[British Raj|Raj]]-era edifices, it extends over an area of 70.9 hectares.

The fort was named after [[William III of England|King William III]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History|author= Krishna Dutta|year=2003|pages=71|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKfoHi5412UC&pg=PA71 |isbn= 9781902669595}}</ref> In front of the Fort is the [[Maidan (Kolkata)|Maidan]], the largest park in the country. An internal guard room became the [[Black Hole of Calcutta]]. Today it is the Headquarters of Eastern Command of the Indian Army.

==History==
{{Main|History of Kolkata}}
[[Image:Company rule calcutta from ftwilliam.jpg|right|thumb|A view of Calcutta from Fort William (1807)]]
[[Image:1844 Map of Fort William and Esplanade.jpg|thumb|Plan (top-view) of Fort William, c. 1844]]

There are two Fort Williams. The original fort was built in the year 1696 by the [[British East India Company]] under the orders of [[John Goldsborough|Sir John Goldsborough]] which took a decade to complete. The permission was granted by [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]].<ref>Sudip Bhattacharya, Unseen Enemy: The English, Disease, and Medicine in Colonial Bengal, 1617 – 1847, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 30 Jun 2014, p.54</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.makemytrip.com/travel-guide/kolkata/fort-william-monuments.html|title=Fort William Kolkata India - History of Fort William|website=www.makemytrip.com|access-date=2018-12-27}}</ref> [[Charles Eyre|Sir Charles Eyre]] started construction near the bank of the [[Hooghly River]] with the South-East Bastion and the adjacent walls. It was named after [[King William III]] in 1700. [[John Beard (colonial administrator)|John Beard]], Eyre's successor, added the North-East Bastion in 1701, and in 1702 started the construction of the Government House ('''Factory''', see [[Factory (trading post)]]) at the centre of the fort. Construction ended in 1706. The original building had two stories and projecting wings. In 1756, the [[Nawab of Bengal]], [[Siraj Ud Daulah]], attacked the Fort, temporarily conquered the city, and changed its name to '''Alinagar'''. This led the British to build a new fort in the [[Maidan (Kolkata)|Maidan]].

[[Robert Clive]] started rebuilding the fort in 1758, after the [[Battle of Plassey]] (1757); construction was completed in 1781 at a cost of approximately two million pounds. The area around the Fort was cleared, and the Maidan became "the Lungs of Kolkata". It stretches for around 3 km in the north–south direction and is around 1 km wide.

The Old Fort was repaired and used as a [[customs house]] from 1766 onwards. 

Today, Fort William is the property of [[Indian Army]]. The headquarters of [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]] is based there, with provisions for accommodating 10,000 army personnel. The Army guards it heavily, and civilian entry is restricted.

Much of Fort William is unchanged, but St Peter's Church, which used to serve as a chaplaincy centre for the British citizens of Kolkata, is now a library for the troops of HQ Eastern Command.

A war memorial has been created at the entrance of the fort, and the fort also houses a museum which displays artifacts from the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], especially those related to the battles in the Eastern sector and the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref>{{cite news |date=16 December 2013|title=Memories of 1971 Bangladesh War come alive in Army museum|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/memories-of-1971-bangladesh-war-come-alive-in-army-museum/articleshow/27460220.cms|newspaper=Economic Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 December 2013|title=Indian Army to throw parts of Eastern Command HQ open for public|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/indian-army-to-throw-parts-of-eastern-command-hq-open-for-public/articleshow/73275423.cms|newspaper=Economic Times}}</ref>

===First Indian Masonic lodge===
In 1730, Ralph Farrwinter and other members of the [[East India Company]] opened the first Indian Masonic lodge, few time after the creation of the [[Grand Lodge of England]] in 1713.<ref>{{cite journal|author=[[Simon Deschamps]]|url=https://journals.openedition.org/1718/828?lang=en#tocto1n1|title=Merchant and Masonic Networks in Eighteenth-Century Colonial India|doi=10.4000/1718.828|journal=L'Empire|issue=74|year=2017|oclc= 7288589062|issn=0291-3798|language=en,fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328202250/https://journals.openedition.org/1718/828?lang=fr|archive-date=March 28, 2021|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph F. G. Golder|url=https://www.academia.edu/3549069|title=Freemasonry in British India 1728-1888|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328202624/https://www.academia.edu/3549069/Freemasonry_in_British_India_1728_1888|archive-date=March 28, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Presidency of Fort William===
{{Main|Bengal Presidency}}

==Structure==
The Fort is built of brick and mortar in the shape of an irregular octagon with an area of {{cvt|5|sqkm}}. Five of its sides face landward, and three towards the [[Hooghly River]]. The design is that of a [[star fort]], suited to defence against cannon firing solid shot, and dates from before the advent of explosive shells. A dry [[moat]] {{convert|9|m}} deep and {{cvt|15|m}} broad surrounds the fort. The moat can be flooded but is designed as an area in which to use [[enfilade]] (or flanking) fire against any attackers reaching the walls. There are six gates: Chowringhee, Plassey, Calcutta, Water Gate, St Georges and the Treasury Gate. There are similar forts at places like [[Thalassery]] in [[Kerala]].<ref>Nandakumar Koroth, ''History of Forts in North Malabar''</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2018}}

==Gallery==

<gallery>
File:Fort William, Calcutta, 1735.jpg|Fort William, 1735
File:"A Perspective View of Fort William" by Jan Van Ryne, 1754.jpg|Fort William, by Jan Van Ryne, 1754
File:Fort William, Calcutta.jpg|Fort William, Calcutta, 1756<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grant|first=James|title=British Battles On Land and Sea|volume=Volume II|publisher=Cassell & Company, Limited|year=1873|page=69}}</ref>
File:First English Chapel, Fort William, Calcutta. Raised in 1714, with contribution of Rs. 1000 by the East India Company (p. 197, March 1824).jpg|First English Chapel, Fort William, Calcutta. Raised in 1714, with contribution of Rs. 1000 by the East India Company (p. 197, March 1824)<ref name="Gentleman1824">{{cite journal|journal=The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle|date=February 1824|volume=94|issue=1|page=197|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKVJAAAAYAAJ&q=the+gentlemans+magazine+1824|access-date=13 December 2017|title=The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle}}</ref>
File:St Peter's Church, Fort William, Calcutta by William Prinsep 1835.jpg|St Peter's Church, Fort William by William Prinsep 1835
File:'The interior of the Arsenal, Fort William', Calcutta by William Prinsep 1835.jpg|The interior of the Arsenal, Fort William by William Prinsep 1835
File:Main Entrance - Fort William - Kolkata 2013-04-10 7736.JPG|Main entrance, Fort William 2013
File:South Gate - Fort William - Kidderpore Road - Kolkata 2013-04-10 7733.JPG|South gate, Fort William 2013
File:Fort William Church.jpg|St. Peter's Church, Fort William, Kolkata
File:Fort William Semaphore.jpg|[[Semaphore]] Tower, Fort William, Kolkata
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Fort William College]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Fort William (Kolkata)}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Kolkata topics}}
{{Forts in India}}
{{Tourist attractions in Kolkata}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kolkata]]
[[Category:History of Kolkata]]
[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Forts in West Bengal|William]]
[[Category:Indian Army bases]]
[[Category:British forts]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kolkata]]

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Fort William, India