Fort William British Era Calcutta, 1900 Postcard
A 1900 postcard of Fort William, in British era Calcutta (Kolkata). There were two forts both were called Fort William. The first one was a mud fort built in 1696 during the reign of King William III and named after him. It was destroyed by the proxy ruler of the Mughals, Siraj ud-Daulah in 1756. This hastened the British to build a new one with brick and mortar a little away from the site of the first.
Completed in 1781 it was also named Fort William (see image). Robert Clive had commissioned the building of the new Fort William. Clive had served as the first Governor-General of the Bengal Presidency. And is famously credited with the spread of British rule in India. Today he is better known as “Clive of India.” The picture shows the deep and empty moat and ramparts of the fortress. Click on the photo for better view
Read more Fort William the most impressive edifice in Kolkata.
Did you know- the biographers of Robert Clive state that he had a complex personality, an unstable sociopath, and was violent and utterly ruthless.
From the collection- Vintage Oleograph Raja Ravi Varma “Laxmi”., 1974 Photo Kerala Cargo Boat On The Backwaters., View Of Mumbai From Malabar Hill – Old Print 1853., Vintage Book 1933 – The Common Birds Of Bombay
