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HUGLI, or HOOGHLY

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 862 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HUGLI, or HOOGHLY , a See also:town and See also:district of See also:British See also:India, in the See also:Burdwan See also:division of See also:Bengal, taking their name from the See also:river Hugli. The town, situated on the right See also:bank of the Hugli, 24 M. above See also:Calcutta by See also:rail, forms one See also:municipality with See also:Chinsura, the old Dutch See also:settlement, See also:lower down the river. Pop. (1901) 29,383. It contains the Hooghly See also:College at Chinsura, a See also:Mahommedan college, two high See also:schools and a See also:hospital with a See also:Lady Dufferin See also:branch for See also:female patients. The See also:principal See also:building is a handsome imambara, or See also:mosque, constructed out of funds which had accumulated from an endowment originally See also:left for the purpose by a wealthy Shia See also:gentleman, Mahommed Mohsin. The town was founded by the Portuguese in 1537, on the decay of Satgaon, the royal See also:port of Bengal. Upon establishing them-selves, they built a fort at a See also:place called Gholghat (See also:close to the See also:present jail), vestiges of which are still visible in the See also:bed of the river. This fort gradually See also:grew into the town and port of Hugli. The DISTRICT comprises an See also:area of 1191 sq. m. In 1901 the See also:population was 1,049,282, showing an increase of 1% in the See also:decade. It is See also:flat, with a See also:gradual ascent to the See also:north and north-See also:west.

The scenery along the high-lying bank of the Hugli has a quiet beauty of its own, presenting the See also:

appearance of a connected See also:series of orchards and gardens, interspersed with factories, villages and temples. The principal See also:rivers, besides the Hugli, are the Damodar and the Rupnarayan. As in other deltaic districts, the highest See also:land lies nearest the rivers, and the lowest levels are found midway between two streams. There are in consequence considerable marshes both between the Hugli and the Damodar and between the latter river and the Rupnarayan. The district is traversed by the See also:main See also:line of the See also:East See also:Indian railway, with a branch to the See also:pilgrim resort of Tarakeswar, whence a See also:steam See also:tramway has been constructed for a further distance of 31 M. The See also:Eden See also:canal furnishes See also:irrigation, and there are several embankments and drainage See also:works. See also:Silk and See also:indigo are both decaying See also:industries, but the manufacture of See also:brass and See also:bell-See also:metal See also:ware is actively carried on at several places. There are several jute See also:mills, a large See also:flour See also:mill, See also:bone-crushing mills and a See also:brick and See also:tile works. From an See also:historical point of view the district possesses as much See also:interest as any in Bengal. In the See also:early See also:period of Mahommedan See also:rule Satgaon was the seat of the See also:governors of Lower Bengal and a See also:mint town. It was also a place of See also:great commercial importance. In consequence of the silting up of the Saraswati, the river on which Satgaon was situated, the town became inaccessible to large See also:ships, and the Portuguese settled at Hugli.

In 1632 the latter place, having been taken from the Portuguese by the Mahommedans, was made the royal port of Bengal; and all the public offices and records were withdrawn from Satgaon, which rapidly See also:

fell into decay. In 164o the East India See also:Company established a factory at Hugli, their first settlement in Lower Bengal. In 1685, a dispute having taken place between the See also:English factors and the See also:nawab, the town was bombarded and burned to the ground. This was not the first See also:time that Hugli had been the See also:scene of a struggle deciding the See also:fate of a See also:European See also:power in India. In 1629, when held by the Portuguese, it was besieged for three months and a See also:half by a large Mahommedan force sent by the See also:emperor Shah Jahan. The place was carried by See also:storm; more than r000 Portuguese were killed, upwards of 4000 prisoners taken, and of 300 vessels only 3 escaped. But Hugli district possesses historical interest for other European nations besides See also:England and See also:Portugal. The Dutch established themselves at Chinsura in the 17th See also:century, and held the place till 1825, when it was ceded to Great See also:Britain in See also:exchange for the See also:island of See also:Sumatra. The Danes settled at See also:Serampur in 1616, where they remained till 1845, when all Danish possessions in India were transferred to the East .India Company. Chandernagorebecame a See also:French settlement in 1688. The English captured this town twice, but since 1816 it has remained in the See also:possession of the French. See D.

G. See also:

Crawford, A Brief See also:History of the Hooghly District (Calcutta, 1903).

End of Article: HUGLI, or HOOGHLY

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