Foundation of Bengal dates back to the late seventeenth century. Job Charnock, a British agent of East India Company had landed on the eastern banks of Hooghly River in 1690. His purpose of coming was to select an area for setting up a British trade zone in Eastern India. Kolkata foundation may be attributed to the coming of Job Charnock to this place.
Trade during the 17th century used to take place along waterways. As such fertile locations on seacoasts and sea mouths developed to become important trading centers and ports. On his arrival, Job Charnock developed a liking for this area bound by river Hooghly on the west, a ditch on the north, and a marshy region in the east. This apparently protected place was also about 120 km from the Bay of Bengal.
In 1698, the East India Company bought three villages from the local landlord Sabarna Chowdhury. These three villages were Sutanati (presently Bagbazar, Ahiritolla, and Sovabazar), Govindopur (present day Burrabazar, Simla, Dalhousie), and Kalikata (currently Bhowanipur, Kalighat). From the following year, i.e. 1699 the Britishers began settling in Kolkata and started developing it as Calcutta Presidency city. Calcutta, as Kolkata was by the British developed
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into an important port serving the vast regions covered by current day states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Sikkim. Calcuta port also served the countries of Nepal and Bhutan.
Subsequently, to their settling here, the British started building a fort in present day Dalhousie locality, to protect themselves. The construction of this old fort was completed in 1715. Thereafter, in 1717 Mughal Emperor Farukh Siyar granted permission of free trade to East India Company against an annual payment of Rs.3000/-. Following this, trade and commerce flourished between India and the other European countries.
The rise in British settlers necessitated the formation of a civil court and municipality. Consequently, in 1727 King George I of England ordered the setting up of a civil court and a corporation for the growing port of Calcutta. Hallwell was appointed the first mayor of Calcutta Corporation.
Thus the foundation of Kolkata as the future capital of British India was laid. It gradually grew to become the political, social, and cultural capital of India in since the late eighteenth to early twentieth century.
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