Kolkata: Difference between revisions

|year = 2007 |title=William, Fort | encyclopedia =Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9077064/Fort-William | accessdate =2007-09-01}}</ref> which was used to station its troops and as a regional base. Calcutta was declared a [[Presidency City]], and later became the headquarters of the [[Bengal Presidency]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia

|year = 1911 |title=Calcutta | encyclopedia =Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Calcutta | accessdate =2007-09-18}}</ref> When regular fights with [[French East India Company|French]] forces started, in 1756 the British began to upgrade their [[fortification]]s. When this was protested, the [[Nawab of Bengal]] [[Siraj-Ud-Daulah]] attacked and captured Fort William. This led to the infamous [[Black Hole of Calcutta|Black Hole]] incident.<ref name="kolhub">{{cite web| publisher=Kolkathub.com| url=http://www.kolkatahub.com/travel-in-kolkata/history-of-kolkata.html| title=History of Kolkata| accessdate=2007-09-04| archive-date=2007-08-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813011703/http://www.kolkatahub.com/travel-in-kolkata/history-of-kolkata.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> A force of Company [[sepoy]]s and British troops led by [[Robert Clive]] recaptured the city the next year.<ref name=kolhub/> Calcutta became the capital of [[British India]] in 1772,. However, the capital shifted to the hilly town of [[Shimla]] during the summer months every year, starting from the year 1864.<ref>{{cite news |agency=IANS|last=Chuahan|first=Baldev|title=Shimla - more than just Raj nostalgia |url=http://www.theindianstar.com/index.php?udn=2007-12-02&uan=1197|publisher=The Indian Star|date=7 August 2007|accessdate=2009-03-08}}</ref>  [[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley|Richard Wellesley]], the [[Governor-General|Governor General]] between 1797–1805, helped in the growth of the city and its public architecture. This led to the description of Calcutta as "The City of Palaces".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interlinkbooks.com/BooksC/Calcutta.html|title=Calcutta; A Cultural and Literary History|accessdate=2007-10-11|last=Dutta|first=Krishna|publisher=Interlink Books|archive-date=2006-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508091006/http://www.interlinkbooks.com/BooksC/Calcutta.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city was a centre of the British East India Company's [[opium]] trade during the 18th and 19th century; locally produced opium was sold at auction in Kolkata, to be shipped to China.<ref>{{cite journal | first =Biswamoy |last=Pati| title = Narcotics and empire | journal = Frontline| volume =23| issue =10 | year =2006 |publisher=The Hindu|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2310/stories/20060602000307600.htm |accessdate=2007-09-04}}</ref>

== References ==