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Harry Verelst (colonial Governor)
Harry Verelst (11 February 1734 – 24 October 1785) was a colonial administrator with the British East India Company and the governor of Bengal from 1767 to 1769. Life Verelst was born on 11 February 1734 in Hanbury, Worcestershire, to Robert and Elizabeth Verelst. His ancestors, portrait painters, came from Dordrecht and The Hague. He died on 24 October 1785 in Boulogne. Career According to one source, Verelst came to Bengal in the service of the Company as early as 1749. Prior to the Battle of Plassey, he was taken prisoner by the ruler of Bengal Nawab Sirajuddowla. In June 1757, the Nawab was defeated at Plassey by the forces of Robert Clive, the event that marks the beginning of colonial rule in Bengal. Verelst was released from captivity once the battle was over. He served as a factor in Lakshmipur, and thereafter, in spite of his youth, he continued to achieve positions of responsibility. In 1758, he became a member of the Fort William Council. Two years later, he was se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with East Asia. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. At its peak, the company was the largest corporation in the world. The EIC had its own armed forces in the form of the company's three Presidency armies, totalling about 260,000 soldiers, twice the size of the British army at the time. The operations of the company had a profound effect on the global balance of trade, almost single-handedly reversing the trend of eastward drain of Western bullion, seen since Roman times. Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies", the company rose to account for half of the world's trade duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim ( bn, মীর কাশিম; died 8 May 1777) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been supported earlier by the East India Company after his role in winning the Battle of Plassey for the British. However, Mir Jafar eventually ran into disputes with the East India Company and attempted to form an alliance with the Dutch East India Company instead. The British eventually defeated the Dutch at Chinsura and overthrew Mir Jafar, replacing him with Mir Qasim. Qasim later fell out with the British and fought against them at Buxar. His defeat has been suggested as a key reason in the British becoming the dominant power in large parts of North and East India. Early life and family Sayyid Mir Qasim was the son of Mir Muhammad Razi Khan, and claimed descent from Ali al-Ridha. His paternal grandfather, Sayyid Husayn Ridhwi, entered the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1785 Deaths
Events January–March * January 1 – The first issue of the ''Daily Universal Register'', later known as ''The Times'', is published in London. * January 7 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England to Calais, France in a hydrogen gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air. * January 11 – Richard Henry Lee is elected as President of the U.S. Congress of the Confederation.''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p167 * January 20 – Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút: Invading Siamese forces, attempting to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong River, by the Tây Sơn. * January 27 – The University of Georgia in the United States is chartered by the Georgia General Assembly meeting in Savannah. The first students are admi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1734 Births
Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Georgia in America. * February 16 – The Ostend Company, established in 1722 in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) to compete for trade in the West Indies (the Caribbean islands) and the East Indies (south and southeast Asia), ceases business as part of the agreement by Austria in the Second Treaty of Vienna. * March 12 – Salzburgers arrive at the mouth of the Savannah River in the British Colony of Georgia. April–June * April 25 – Easter occurs on the latest possible date (the next time is in 1886). * May 15 – Prince Charles of Spain (later King Charles III) becomes the new King of Naples and Sicily, five days after his arrival in Naples. * May 25 – Spanish forces under the command of José Carrillo de Albornoz, 1st Duke of Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Synge Cooper
Edward Synge Cooper (5 March 1762 – 16 August 1830) was an Irish landowner and politician from County Sligo. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1830. Cooper was the second son of Joshua Cooper (1732–1800), Joshua Cooper MP (1732–1800) of Markree Castle, and his wife Alicia, daughter of Edward Synge (bishop of Elphin), Edward Synge, Bishop of Elphin. He was educated by Rev. Richard Norris in Drogheda, and then at Trinity College Dublin. In 1801 he married Anne Verelst, daughter of Bengal Governor Harry Verelst (colonial governor), Harry Verelst of Aston Hall, Yorkshire. They had three sons. At the 1806 United Kingdom general election, 1806 general election he was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Sligo County (UK Parliament constituency), Sligo County, succeeding his older brother Joshua Edward Cooper, who was deranged. He also took over the management of the family estate. In his first Parliament, he was a regular at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Arthur Herbert (1756–1821)
Henry Arthur Herbert the elder (c. 1756 – 21 June 1821, Westminster) was a major landowner in County Kerry, Ireland, and a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge and studied law at the Middle Temple. Henry Arthur was the son of Thomas Herbert, who had amassed a fortune by exploiting the copper mines of the ''Muckross Peninsula'' and ''Ross Island'' areas of the Lakes of Killarney in Kerry. The Herbert family had originally come from Montgomeryshire in Wales in the 17th century. In 1770 the Herberts inherited the large estates of the MacCarthy family in the Killarney area. He was Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kerry and Tralee in Ireland between 1806 and 1813. He commenced the building of Muckross House on his estate in Killarney. He died in Westminster in 1821. He had married Elizabeth, daughter of George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville. They had a son, Charles John. He should not be confused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Cartier
John Cartier (23 May 1733 – 25 January 1802) was a British colonial governor in India. He served as Governor of Bengal from 1769 to 1772. Early career Cartier first arrived in India as a writer in the service of the British East India Company.Buckland, 75. He was expelled from Dacca in 1756 while serving there as an assistant. After fleeing with other fugitives to Fulta, he joined Clive of India and helped in the retaking of Bengal, for which he was praised by the Court of Directors of the British East India Company. Cartier's career accelerated after the Battle of Plassey. In 1761, Cartier became chief of the Dacca factory. By 1767, he was Second in the Calcutta Council. Governor of Bengal On 26 December 1769 Cartier succeeded Harry Verelst as Governor of Bengal. Cartier was governor at time of the Bengal famine of 1770, during which one-third of the populace died. Cartier was blamed for ignoring warnings about the impending disasterIslam, ''"Cartier, John"''. but was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midnapur
Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as ''Kasai'' and ''Cossye''). The Urban Agglomeration of Midnapore consists of the city proper, Mohanpur, Keranichoti and Khayerullachak. Etymology The English name Midnapore is a corruption of the original name of the town which was Madanipur. It was named after Haji Mustafa Madani, a 17th-century Bengali Muslim scholar who was gifted tax-free land in the present area in addition to an estate there which included a mosque. Madani is the ancestor of Mohammad Abu Bakr Siddique of Furfura Sharif. According to Sri Hari Sadhan Das, the city got its name from Medinikar, the founder of the city in 1238, who was the son of Prankara, the feudal king of Gondichadesh (now Odisha). He was also the writer of "Medinikosh". Hara Prasad Shastri thinks that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burdwan
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, has remained in use since then. Etymology The history of Burdwan is known from about 5000 BC (the Mesolithic or Late Stone Age). The origin of this name dates back to the sixth century BCE and is ascribed to Vardhamāna or Mahāvīra (599-527 BCE), the 24th Tīrthāṅkara of Jainism, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpa Sūtra. This place was renamed as ''Vardhamana'' in his honour. History During the period of Jahangir this place was named Badh-e-dewan (district capital). The city owes its historical importance to being the headquarters of the Maharajas of Burdwan, the premier noblemen of lower Bengal, whose rent-roll was upwards of 300,000. Bardhaman Raj was founded in 1657 by Sangam Rai, of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in Bengal region. It is the administrative seat of the eponymous division and district. It hosts the busiest seaport on the Bay of Bengal. The city is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Bay of Bengal. The Greater Chittagong Area had a population of more than 5.2 million in 2022. In 2020, the city area had a population of more than 3.9 million. One of the world's oldest ports with a functional natural harbor for centuries, Chittagong appeared on ancient Greek and Roman maps, including on Ptolemy's world map. It was located on the southern branch of the Silk Road. In the 9th century, merchants from the Abbasid Caliphate established a trading post in Chittagong. The port fell to the Muslim co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predominantly covering present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Geographically, it consists of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, the largest river delta in the world and a section of the Himalayas up to Nepal and Bhutan. Dense woodlands, including hilly rainforests, cover Bengal's northern and eastern areas, while an elevated forested plateau covers its central area; the highest point is at Sandakphu. In the littoral southwest are the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. The region has a monsoon climate, which the Bengali calendar divides into six seasons. Bengal, then known as Gangaridai, was a leading power in ancient South Asia, with extensive trade networks forming connections to as far away as Roman Egypt. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort William, India
Fort William is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta (Kolkata). It was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, the major distributary of the River Ganges. One of Kolkata's most enduring Raj-era edifices, it extends over an area of 70.9 hectares. The fort was named after King William III. In front of the Fort is the Maidan, the largest park in the country. An internal guard room became the Black Hole of Calcutta. Today it is the Headquarters of Eastern Command of the Indian Army. History There are two Fort Williams. The original fort was built in the year 1696 by the British East India Company under the orders of Sir John Goldsborough which took a decade to complete. The permission was granted by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Sir Charles Eyre started construction near the bank of the Hooghly River with the South-East Bastion and the adjacent walls. It was named after King William III in 1700. John Bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
