Fort William (India)

Infobox Military Structure
name= Fort William
location= Kolkata, India


caption= Fort William, a view from the inside, c. 1828
type= Fortress , garrisoned and armoured Army Headquarters.
built= 1781
materials=
used= 1781 - present
controlledby= British East India Company, Siraj Ud Daulah, Indian Army
garrison= Eastern Command
commanders=
battles= Battle of Plassey

Fort William is a fort built in Calcutta on the Eastern banks of the river Hooghly, the major distributary of river Ganges during the British Raj. It was named after King William III of England. In front of the fort is the Maidan, which used to be a part of the Fort and is the largest urban park in Calcutta.

History

There are actually two Fort Williams, the old and the new. The original fort was built by the British East India Company under the supervision of John Goldsborough . Sir Charles Eyre started the construction of the old fort by constructing the South-East bastion and the adjacent walls. In 1701, John Beard, the successor of Sir Charles Eyre, added the North-East bastion, and in 1702, he started the construction of the Government House (Factory) at the centre of the fort. The construction of the Old Fort was completed in 1706. Situated near the bank of the river Hooghly, the original building had two stories and projecting wings. A guard room in the fort became the Black Hole of Calcutta. (1757) and completed in 1781. The cost of construction was 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.

The fort is octagonal with three sides facing the Hooghly River. The old fort was repaired and used as a customs house from 1766 onwards.

The new fort is still in use, and is used as the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.It is heavily guarded by the Indian Army and civilian entry is restricted.

Presidency of Fort William

tructure

The fort is built of brick and mortar in the shape of an irregular octagon surrounding 5 km². 5 sides of the octagonal fort look landward and 3 sides towards the river. The fort is surrounded by a moat 9 meter deep and 15 meter broad which can be flooded in times of emergency. There are a total of 6 gates - Chowringhee, Plassey Calcutta, Water Gate St Georges and the Treasury Gate. The Fort constructed on the banks of the Hoogly river by British intended to check the expansionist urges of other European powers. The solid construction of the Fort shows the importance given to the Forts by the European powers in their urge for conquering India. The similar types of Forts we can see at Bekal, Kannur and Thalassery in Kerala [Reference Forts in North Malabar by Nandakumar Koroth] .

External links

* [http://www.catchcal.com/kaleidoscope/places_to_visit/fort_william.asp Fort William on catchcal.com]
* [http://rajbhavankolkata.gov.in/html/governors03.htm Governor Generals of Fort William (1774-1834)]
* [http://rajbhavankolkata.gov.in/html/governors04.htm Governors of the presidency of Fort William in West Bengal and Governor Generals of India (1834-1854)]

ee also

* Fort William College