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| {{Short description|Fort in Calcutta, India}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Fort William, West Bengal]] |
| {{EngvarB|date=March 2016}}
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| {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
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| {{Infobox military installation
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| |name= '''Fort William'''
| | {{R from other disambiguation}} |
| |location= [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
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| |image= Fortwilliam1828.jpg
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| |image_size= 300px
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| |caption= Fort William, a view from the inside, {{Circa|1828}}
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| |pushpin_map = India Kolkata
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| |coordinates = {{coord|22.5577|88.3380|type:landmark|display=inline}}
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| |type= [[Fortress]], garrisoned and armoured Army Headquarters.
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| |built= 1696–1702
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| |materials=
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| |used= 1781–present
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| |controlledby= {{plainlist|
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| *[[Bengal Subah]] (before 1757)
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| *[[British East India Company]] (1757–1858)
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| *[[British Raj]] (1858–1947)
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| *[[Indian Army]] (1947–present)}}
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| |garrison= [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]]
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| |commanders=
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| |battles= [[Battle of Plassey]] (1757)
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| }} | | }} |
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| '''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.
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| The fort was named after King William III.<ref>{{cite book|title=Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History|author= Krishna Dutta|year=2003|page=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.
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| ==History==
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| [[Image:Company rule calcutta from ftwilliam.jpg|right|thumb|A view of Calcutta from Fort William (1807)]]
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| [[Image:1844 Map of Fort William and Esplanade.jpg|thumb|Plan (top-view) of Fort William, c. 1844]]
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| 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.<ref name=fort>{{cite book|title=Forts of India|last=Verma|first=Amrit|year=1985|publisher=The Director of Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India|location=New Delhi|pages=101–3|isbn=81-230-1002-8}}</ref> 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.<ref name=fort/> The headquarters of the [[Indian Ordnance Factories]] was established in 1775 at Fort William.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ddpdoo.gov.in/pages/history |title=History | Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination and Services) | Government of India |publisher=Ddpdoo.gov.in |date= |accessdate=2022-08-11}}</ref>
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| 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.<ref name=fort/>
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| 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.
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| 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>
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| ===First Indian Masonic lodge===
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| In 1730, Ralph Farrwinter and other members of the [[East India Company]] opened the first Indian Masonic lodge, a short 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>
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| ===Presidency of Fort William===
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| {{Main|Bengal Presidency}}
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| ==Structure==
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| 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}}
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| ==Gallery==
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| <gallery>
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| File:Fort William, Calcutta, 1735.jpg|Fort William, 1735
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| File:"A Perspective View of Fort William" by Jan Van Ryne, 1754.jpg|Fort William, by Jan Van Ryne, 1754
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| File:Fort William, Calcutta.jpg|Fort William, Calcutta, 1756<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grant|first=James|title=British Battles On Land and Sea|volume=II|publisher=Cassell & Company, Limited|year=1873|page=69}}</ref>
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| 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>
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| File:St Peter's Church, Fort William, Calcutta by William Prinsep 1835.jpg|St Peter's Church, Fort William by William Prinsep 1835
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| File:Old Fort William plate17.jpg|Fort William, River Face 1786 (from a coloured engraving by Thomas Daniell).
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| 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
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| File:Samuel Davis - Fort William, Calcutta - B1977.14.244 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg|Fort William by Samuel Davis
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| File:Main Entrance - Fort William - Kolkata 2013-04-10 7736.JPG|Main entrance, Fort William 2013
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| File:South Gate - Fort William - Kidderpore Road - Kolkata 2013-04-10 7733.JPG|South gate, Fort William 2013
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| File:Fort William Church.jpg|St. Peter's Church, Fort William, Kolkata
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| File:Fort William Semaphore.jpg|[[Semaphore]] Tower, Fort William, Kolkata
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| File:Gates of Fort William in Kolkata 01.jpg|Main Gates of Fort William
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| </gallery>
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| ==See also==
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| * [[Fort William College]]
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| * [[Fort St. George, India]]
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| ==References==
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| {{Commons category|Fort William (Kolkata)}}
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| {{Reflist}}
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| {{Kolkata topics}}
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| {{Forts in India}}
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| {{Tourist attractions in Kolkata}}
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| {{Authority control}}
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| [[Category:Buildings and structures in Kolkata]]
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| [[Category:18th century in Kolkata]]
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| [[Category:Neighbourhoods in Kolkata]]
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| [[Category:Forts in West Bengal|William]]
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| [[Category:Indian Army bases]]
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| [[Category:British forts]]
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| [[Category:Tourist attractions in Kolkata]]
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