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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.
A view of Calcutta from Fort William (1807).
In 1756, the then Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, attacked the fort and conquered the city and changed the name of the city to Alinagar. The Nawab of Bengal, led the British to build a new fort in the Maidan. This was started by Robert Clive in 1758, after the Battle of Plassey (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.
Plan (top-view) of Fort William, c. 1844
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
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Structure
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
See also
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