Hooghly district is situated on the west
bank of Hooghly River. Hooghly town was a river port in the
fifteenth century. This district has rich heritage in the
form of the great Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut. Vasco-Da-Gama
was the first Portuguese sailor to reach this district. In
1536 Portuguese traders obtained permission from Sultan Mahmud
Shah to trade in this district. On those days, Hooghly
River was the main route for transportation and also served
as an excellent port. In few decades, this river becomes one
of the most commercial and largest ports in Bengal. In 1579-80
Emperor Akbar gave permission to a Portuguese captain Pedro
Tavares to establish a city. They chose Hooghly and thus Hooghly
became the first European settlement in Bengal. In 1599 the
Portuguese traders built a convent and a church in Bandel.
This is the first Christian church in Bengal known as ‘ Bandel
Church’ today. But the Portuguese traders started misusing
their powers. As a result Emperor Shah
Jahan ordered Qasim Khan Juvayni, the ruler of Bengal province,
to block the city of Hooghly. This led to a war in which Portuguese
were defeated. Other Europeans were Dutch, the Danish, the
British, the French, the Belgians and the Germans, who came
after Portuguese. Dutch traders centered their activities
in Chuchura.
Chandannagar
became the base of the French and the city remained under
their control from 1816 to 1950. Similarly, Danish established
in Srirampore.
But British became the most powerful among them. They were
initially based in around the Hooghly city. Later in 1690,
the center of the British trade shifted from Hooghly to Calcutta.
Hooghly city is more than 500 years old. The
district was formed in 1795 and Hooghly city became headquarter.
But later, it was shifted to Chuchura. In 1843 the Howrah
district was created from the southern
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