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{{Short description|1744 siege in Hooghly}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of Bankibazar
| place = [[Ichapore]], [[Hooghly River]], [[Bengal Subah]]
| image = Map of European Trading Settlements on the Ganges (1726).jpg
| caption = European trading settlements on the Hooghly River including Bankibazar, Francois Harrewyn {{Circa|1726}}
| result = [[Bengal Subah]] victory{{Bulleted list|Fall of [[Austrian Netherlands]] colony of [[Ichapore|Bankibazar]]}}
| territory = [[Bankipur (Bengal)|Bankibazar]] annexed to the [[Bengal Subah]]
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} [[Bengal Subah]]
| combatant2 = [[File:Ostend company flag.png|23px]] [[Ostend Company]]
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} [[Mir Jafar]]<br />{{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} Sayeed Ahmed Khan<br />{{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} Subhan Singh<br />{{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} Husain Raza Khan
| commander2 = [[File:Ostend company flag.png|23px]] {{Interlanguage link|François de Schonamille|nl}}
| strength1 = 10,000 cavalry
| strength2 = Unknown
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = 2 ships captured
| date = 22 September 1744
| map_type = West Bengal#India
| map_relief = yes
| map_size = 220
| map_mark = Big battle symbol.svg
| map_marksize = 12
| map_label = '''Siege of Bankibazar'''
| coordinates = {{Coord|22|48|04.35|N|88|22|10.78|E|region:IN|display=inline,title}}
}}
The '''Siege of Bankibazar''' was a military action in September 1744 in which forces of the [[Nawabs of Bengal|Nawab of Bengal]], [[Alivardi Khan]] ({{Reign|1740|1756}}), attacked the chief factory of the [[Ostend Company]] at [[Ichapore|Bankibazar]] near Hooghly. A dispute over customs duties and accusations of aiding the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] led to clashes between the Ostenders and the [[faujdar]] of [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]]. After the [[Germans]] repelled a Mughal attack and routed their camp in a surprise night assault, Alivardi Khan ordered [[Mir Jafar]] to besiege the factory with 10,000 troops. The Ostend settlement was quickly abandoned, with contemporary accounts suggesting Mir Jafar accepted a bribe allowing the Germans to escape unharmed. The siege effectively ended the Ostend Company's presence in Bengal.

== Background ==
In 1724, the [[Ostend Company]]'s first ship, the ''Emperor Charles'', arrived in Bengal. Though the ship was lost on the [[Ganges]], its crew occupied [[Ichapore|Bankibazar]] and built temporary houses. Within two years, three more ships arrived, and the Ostend factory quickly grew prominent. The factors soon replaced thatched huts with brick houses and walled the settlement. After a brief period of success, the company faced strong opposition from the [[East India Company|English]], [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]], and [[French East India Company|French]]. In 1727, the Austrian monarch [[Maria Theresa]] ({{Reign|1740|1780}}) of the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] revoked its charter and banned trade with the East Indies for seven years. Despite this, the Ostenders continued trading in Bengal.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Roy|1968|p=453}}{{Break}}{{Harvard citation no brackets|Sarkar|1943|p=420}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

== Siege ==
[[File:Drawing Banquibazar.jpg|thumb|Illustration of Bankibazar, {{Circa|1730}}]]
The chief settlement of the Ostend Company in India was established at Bankibazar. There, the [[Austrian flags|Austrian flag]] was hoisted, and trade was carried on under its protection hence the enterprise was often referred to as the German Company.<ref name="Sarkar 1943 420">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Sarkar|1943|p=420}}</ref> During the [[Maratha invasions of Bengal|Maratha invasions]], Sayeed Ahmad was appointed by Alivardi Khan to the post of faujdar of Hooghly. During his tenure, Sayeed Ahmad became embroiled in a dispute with the German traders at Hooghly over customs duties. The company's chief, Francois de Schonamille, was accused of aiding the Marathas and asked to pay a large indemnity. Then, situation escalated when one of his officers, Subhan Singh, imposed oppressive measures that provoked the Germans to launch a night attack on the Hooghly fort on 22 September 1744. The assault was repelled by the guards, forcing the Germans to retreat by boat the following morning. Though the town was set ablaze, two ships with valuable cargo were captured. In retaliation, Sayeed Ahmad dispatched Husain Raza Khan and Subhan Singh with a strong force to besiege the German factory. However, lacking military experience and lulled into a false sense of security, they encamped in the garden of the merchant [[Omichund|Omichand]] near Hooghly. At midnight, the Germans mounted a surprise attack, throwing the camp into confusion and compelling the Mughal troops to flee. On hearing of this setback, Alivardi Khan ordered [[Mir Jafar|Mir Jafar Khan]] to punish the Germans. Mir Jafar acting at the instigation of English and Dutch traders, laid siege to Bankibazar with 10,000 troops. The factory was soon abandoned. Contemporary accounts suggest that Mir Jafar may have accepted bribe from the Germans, allowing them to escape unharmed.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Datta|1939|p=93}}</ref><ref name="Sarkar 1943 420"/><ref name=":0">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Wilson|2023|p=179}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
Schonamille and a few companions managed to escape, sailing down the Ganges and eventually taking refuge in [[Bago, Myanmar|Pegu]], Burma.<ref name=":0" /> Three years later, Schonamille was killed in a skirmish among European traders. His companions continued piracy in the sea. Only a military factory in [[Ichapore]] exists in the place of the former Ostend colony.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Wanner|2009|p=118}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Siege of Hooghly]]
* [[Anglo-Mughal war (1686–1690)|Anglo-Mughal war]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.24396 |title=The History of Bengal |publisher=B.R. Publishing Corporation |year=1943 |isbn=81-7646-239-X |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |volume=II: Muslim Period |location=Delhi}}
* {{cite book |last=Roy |first=Atul Chandra |title=History of Bengal: Mughal Period, 1526-1765 A.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_Bengal.html?id=AacsAAAAMAAJ |year=1968 |publisher=Nababharat Publishers |volume=3 |location=Calcutta |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532589/mode/2up |archive-date=2017-01-23}}
* {{Cite book |last=Datta |first=Kalikinkar |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279485 |title=Alivardi and His Times |date=1939 |publisher=University of Calcutta |language=en}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wanner |first=Michal |date=2009-01-01 |title=Bankibazar – Ostend and Imperial Factory in Bengal 1722-1744 |url=https://www.academia.edu/44078419/Bankibazar_Ostend_and_Imperial_Factory_in_Bengal_1722_1744 |journal=Prague PHIR}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Charles Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Old_Fort_William_in_Bengal.html?id=gUMZ0AEACAAJ |title=Old Fort William in Bengal: A Selection of Official Documents Dealing With Its History; Volume 2 |date=2023-07-18 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=978-1-02-190149-1 |language=en}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:1740s in India]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Bengal Subah]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1744]]

Siege of Bankibazar - Revision history

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