- Dutch Bengal
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Dutch Bengal
BengalenDutch colony ← 
1627–1825 
→
Flag Coat of arms Capital Pipely (1627-1635)
Hugli-Chuchura (1635-1825)Language(s) Dutch Political structure Colony Director - 1655-1658 Pieter Sterthemius - 1724-1727 Abraham Patras - 1792-1795 Cornelis van Citters Aarnoutszoon Historical era Imperialism - Establishment of a trading post at Pipely 1627 - Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 1825 Bengal was a directorate of the Dutch East India Company in Bengal between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1802. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the British according to the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Dutch presence in the region started by the establishment of a trading post at Pipely. The former colony is part of what is today called Dutch India.[1]
Contents
History
From 1615 onwards, the Dutch East India Company traded with Bengals. In 1627, a trading post was established in Pipely. In 1635 a settlement was established at Chinsurah adjacent to Hooghly to trade in opium, salt, muslin and spices. They built a fort called Fort Gustavius, a church and several other buildings. A famous Frenchman, General Perron who served as military advisor to the Mahrattas, settled in this Dutch colony and built a large house here. The Dutch settlement of Chinsurah survived until 1825 when the Dutch in their process of consolidating their interests in modern day Indonesia, ceded Chinsurah to the British in lieu of the island of Sumatra (part of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824).
Fort Gustavius has since been obliterated from the face of Chinsurah and the church collapsed recently due to disuse, but much of the Dutch heritage remains. These include old barracks now Chinsurah Court, the Governor's residence, General Perron's house, now the Chinsurah College known as Hooghly Mohsin College and the old Factory Building, now the office of the Divisional Commissioner. Hugli-Chinsurah is now the district town of the Hooghly district in modern West Bengal.
Trading posts
Hugli-Chuchura
←PatnaCossimbazarDhaka→MurshidabadPipelyBalasoreMap of the main trading posts of Dutch Bengal (note: Patna and Dhaka slightly out of position).Dutch settlements in Bengal include:
- In Chhapra was a salpeterfactory
- Baleswar or Balasore (1675 -)
- Patna
- Cossimbazar or Kassamabazar
- Malda
- Mirzapur
- Baliapal or Pipeli, the main port for the Dutch between 1627–1635
- Murshidabad (1710–1759)
- Rajmahal
- Dhaka (1665-)
- Sherpur
See also
- Dutch Coromandel
- Dutch Malabar
- Dutch Ceylon
References
Dutch Empire Colonies and trading posts of the Dutch East India Company (1602-1798) GovernoratesAmbon · Banda · Batavia · Cape Colony · Ceylon · Coromandel · Formosa · Northeast coast of Java · Makassar · Malacca · MoluccasDirectoratesCommandmentsResidenciesSettlements with an opperhoofdColonies and trading posts of the Dutch West India Company (1621-1792) Colonies in the AmericasAcadia · Berbice† · Cayenne · Curaçao and Dependencies · Demerara · Essequibo · Brazil · New Netherland · Pomeroon · Sint Eustatius and Dependencies · Suriname‡ · Tobago · Virgin IslandsTrading posts in Africa† Governed by the Society of Berbice · ‡ Governed by the Society of Suriname Settlements of the Noordsche Compagnie (1614-1642) SettlementsColonies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-1962) Until 1825Until 1853Until 1872Until 1945Until 1954Until 1962† Became constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Suriname gained full independence in 1975, Curaçao and Dependencies was renamed to the Netherlands Antilles, which was eventually dissolved in 2010. Kingdom of the Netherlands (1954-Present) Constituent countriesPublic bodies of the NetherlandsCategories:- Former countries in South Asia
- Former Dutch colonies
- States and territories established in 1627
- States and territories disestablished in 1825
- Dutch India
- European colonisation in Asia
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