History of Kolkata had its beginnings in the late 17th century with the arrival of Job Charnock, a British agent. Job Charnock landed in the then Sutanati village in August 1690 and settled here. During that period, most villages, which now form Kolkata, were owned by the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury's of Barisha, a village on the southern outskirts of Kolkata.
Job Charnock liked the place, as it was conveniently located on the Hooghly river eastern banks. To the north of the selected area, lay a creek, and on the eastern fringes a vast expanse of salty and marshy area. Hooghly River being the main distributary of the river Ganges in India was accessible to large ships that used to carry heavy cargo mainly from Europe. British history of Calcutta thus began with the arrival of Job Charnock.
Subsequently, in 1698, East India Company bought three villages Sutanati, Gobindopur, and Kalikata from the Sabarna Chowdhury's to set up trade in India. In the following year, East India Company started to build Kolkata as a Presidency city for operating in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and the North Eastern States. This entire region formed the Bengal Presidency.
By 1715, the British settlers completed building their fort in present day B.B.D. Bag or Dalhousie area. Thereafter, in 1717 the East India Company was given permission to trade freely in India by Mughal emperor Farukh Siyar against an annual payment of Rs.3000/-. In 1772, Calcutta (Kolkata) became the British capital of India, and Warren Hastings was appointed the first governor general. Calcuuta
remained the capital of British India till 1911 after which it was transferred to Delhi.
Since the appointment of Warren Hastings as the first Governor General till independence on 15th August
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1947, Kolkata (or Calcutta) has been witness to several historical events. Calcutta had become the epicenter of all political and cultural movements in India during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of the important political and cultural events during the course of Kolkata's history were:
- The Bengal Renaissance – Bengal Renaissance began with Raja Rammohan Roy who was a reformer, philosopher, and philanthropist. He set up the Brahmo Samaj and abolished the practice of 'sati' with the help of British Governor General Sir William Bentinck. Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Raja Radhakanto Deb, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, writer Pandit Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, poet Michael Madusudan Dutta, and later Sri Ramkrishna Parmhansa, Swami Vivekananda, and Gurudev Rabindranth Tagore were all architects of the Bengal Renaissance.
- Young Bengal Movement - The Young Bengal Movement was started by English teacher and rationalist Sir Henry Louis Vivian Derozio with his students. His teachings against social dogmas and baseless superstitions motivated the contemporary youths. Rev. Krishnamohon Bandopadhyay, Ramtanu Lahiri, Radhanath Sikdar, Dakshinaranjan Mukhopadhyay, Amritalal Mitra, Harachandra Ghose, Ramgopal Ghosh were his followers..
- Partition of Bengal - Partition of Bengal took place twice. Once during Lord Curzon's rule in 1905, and later in 1947 at the time of Indian independence. The first partition was more for administrative reasons while the next one was more for political reasons. These two partitions had far flung impact on Calcutta history.
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