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DACCA

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 726 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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DACCA , a See also:

city of See also:British See also:India, giving its name to a See also:district and See also:division of Eastern See also:Bengal and See also:Assam. It was made the See also:capital of that See also:province on its creation in See also:October 1905. The city is 254 M. N.E. by E. of See also:Calcutta, on an old channel of the See also:Ganges. Railway station, ro m. from the See also:terminus of the See also:river steamers at Narayanganj. The See also:area is about 8 sq. m. The .See also:population in 1901 was 90,542. The ruins of the See also:English factory, St See also:Thomas's See also:church, and the houses of the See also:European residents See also:lie along the river See also:banks. Of the old fort erected by See also:Islam See also:Khan, who in 16o8 was appointed See also:nawab of Bengal, and removedhis capital from See also:Rajmahal to Dacca, no vestige remains; but the jail is built on a portion of its site. The See also:principal See also:Mahommedan public buildings, erected by subsequent See also:governors and now in ruins, are the Katra and the Lal-bagh palace—the former built by See also:Sultan Mahommed Shuja in 1645, in front of the chauk or See also:market See also:place. Its extensive front faced the river, and had a lofty central gateway, flanked by smaller entrances, and by two octagonal towers rising to some height above the See also:body of the See also:building. The Lal-bagh See also:palace was commenced by Azam Shah, the third son of the See also:emperor See also:Aurangzeb.

It origin-ally stood See also:

close to the Buriganga river; but the channel has shifted its course, and there is now an intervening space covered with trees between. it and the river. The walls on the western See also:side, and the See also:terrace and See also:battlement towards the river, are of a considerable height, and See also:present a commanding aspect from the See also:water. These outworks, with a few gateways, the See also:audience See also:hall and the See also:baths, were the only parts of the building that survived in 184o. Since then their See also:dilapidation has rapidly advanced; but even in ruin they show the extensive and magnificent See also:scale on which this princely See also:residence was originally designed. It appears never to have been completed; and when See also:Jean See also:Baptiste See also:Tavernier visited Dacca (c. 1666), the nawab was residing in a temporary wooden building in its See also:court. The English factory was built about that See also:year. The central See also:part of the old. factory continued to be used as a court-See also:house till the 19th See also:century, but owing to its ruinous See also:state it was pulled down in 1829 or 1830; in 184o the only portion that remained was the outward See also:wall. The See also:French and Dutch factories were taken See also:possession of by the English in the years 1778 and 1781 respectively. In the See also:mutiny of 1857 two companies of the 73rd Native See also:Infantry which were stationed in the See also:town joined in the revolt, but were overpowered by a small European force and dispersed. The city still shows some signs of its former magnificence. The famous manufacture of See also:fine muslins is almost See also:extinct, but the See also:carving of shells, carried on from See also:ancient times, is an important See also:industry in the city.

There are a See also:

Government See also:college, a collegiate school and an unaided See also:Hindu college. There is a large See also:settlement of mixed Portuguese descent, known as Feringhis. Many of the public buildings, including the college, suffered severely from the See also:earthquake of the r2th of See also:June 1897; and See also:great damage was done by tornadoes in See also:April of 1888 and 1902. The district of Dacca comprises an area of 2782 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 2,649,522, showing an increase of 11% in the See also:decade. The district consists of a vast level See also:plain, divided into two sections by the Dhaleswari river. The See also:northern part, again intersected by the Lakshmia river, contains the city of Dacca, and as a See also:rule lies well above See also:flood-level. Dacca is watered by a network of See also:rivers and streams, ten of which are navigable throughout the year by native See also:cargo boats of four tons burthen. Among them are the See also:Meghna, the Ganges or Padma, the Lakshmia, a See also:branch of the See also:Brahmaputra, the Jamuna, or See also:main stream of the Brahmaputra, the Mendi-Khali, a large branch of the Meghna, the Dhaleswari, an offshoot of the Jamuna, the See also:Ghazi-khali and the Buriganga. The See also:soil is composed of red ferruginous kankar, with a stratum of See also:clay in the more elevated parts, covered by a thin layer of See also:vegetable See also:mould, or by See also:recent alluvial deposits. The scenery along the Lakshmia is very beautiful, the banks being high and wooded. About 20 M. See also:north of Dacca city, small ridges are met with in the Madhupur See also:jungle, stretching into See also:Mymensingh district.

These hills, how-ever, are See also:

mere mounds of from 20 to 40 ft. high, composed of red soil containing a considerable quantity of See also:iron ore; and the whole See also:tract is for the most part unproductive. Towards the city the red soil is intersected by creeks and morasses, whose margins yield crops, of See also:rice, See also:mustard and til See also:seed; while to the See also:east of the town, a broad, alluvial, well-cultivated plain reaches as far as the junction of the Dhaleswari and Lakshmia rivers. The See also:country lying to the See also:south of the Dhaleswari is the most fertile part of the district. It consists entirely of See also:rich alluvial soil, annually inundated to a See also:depth varying from 2 to 14 ft. of water. The villages are built on artificial mounds of See also:earth, so as to raise them above the flood-level. The See also:wild animals found in the district comprise a few tigers, leopards and wild elephants, See also:deer, wild See also:pig, porcupines, jackals, foxes, See also:hares, otters, &c. The See also:green See also:monkey is very, See also:common;. porpoises abound in the large rivers. The manufactures consist of See also:weaving, See also:embroidery, See also:gold and See also:silver See also:work, See also:shell-carving and pottery. The weaving' industry and the manufacture of fine Dacca muslins have greatly fallen off, owing to the competition of European piece goods. See also:Forty different kinds of See also:cloth were formerly manufactured in this district, the bulk of which during many years was made from English twist, country See also:thread being used only for the finest muslins. It is said that, in the See also:time of the emperor See also:Jahangir, a piece of See also:muslin, 15 ft. by 3, could be manufactured, weighing only 900 grains, its value being X40. In 184o the finest cloth that could be made of the above dimensions weighed about 1600 grains, and was See also:worth £1o.

Since then the manufacture has still further decayed, and the finer kinds are not now made at all except to See also:

order. The district is traversed by a See also:line of the Eastern Bengal railway, but most of the See also:traffic is still conducted by water. It is a centre of the jute See also:trade. The division of Dacca occupies the See also:delta of the Brahmaputra, where it joins the main stream of the Ganges. It consists of the four districts of Dacca, Mymensingh, See also:Faridpur and Backergunge. Its area is 15,837 sq. m. Its population in Igor was 10,793,988.

End of Article: DACCA

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