Siraj ud-Daulah's Calcutta: How a Fort Became the Jewel of Empire

In 1756, the British settlement of Calcutta was a modest trading post with a small fort. When Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah attacked and took Fort William, the East India Company was humiliated. But within a year, the British were back, rebuilding Calcutta as a military stronghold and commercial hub. This episode explores the transformation of Calcutta from a vulnerable outpost to the imperial capital of British India. We trace the construction of the new Fort William, the clearing of the Maratha Ditch, and the engineering of a city designed for defense and extraction. We also look at the forgotten Indian architects, laborers, and merchants who built the city, and the ecological cost—the draining of wetlands, the reshaping of the Hooghly riverfront. The story of Calcutta is not just one of British ambition; it's a story of collaboration, coercion, and the erasure of indigenous urban traditions. #Calcutta #FortWilliam #SirajUdDaulah #EastIndiaCompany #BritishEmpire #UrbanHistory #ColonialArchitecture #MarathaDitch #HooghlyRiver #RobertClive #Bengal #1756 #ImperialCapital #IndigenousLabor #CityPlanning #EcologicalHistory #History #FexingoHistory #BengalHistory #PalaEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo