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This article's references may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Please help by checking whether the references meet the criteria for reliable sources. (April 2012) |
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]
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.
Map of the main trading posts of Dutch Bengal (note: Patna and Dhaka slightly out of position).
Dutch settlements in Bengal include:
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| Colonies in the Americas |
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| Trading posts in Africa |
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Colonies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1962)
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| Until 1825 |
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| Until 1853 |
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| Until 1872 |
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| Until 1945 |
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| Until 1954 |
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| Until 1962 |
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(Hendrik_van_Schuylenburgh,_1665).jpg)
