The plunder of Bengal, or “shaking the pagoda tree”,
as it was euphemistically described in the 18th century, through
trade and monopolistic control over markets allowed the British
and their Indian collaborators to amass vast fortunes. It
was this money which financed the expansion of Calcutta. British
inhabitants began moving southwards from the old fort to build
their mansions in Park Street and Chowringhee , and even further
afield in Alipur, where the governor-general had his residence.
In the 1740s, to protect themselves from Maratha raids, the
British constructed a huge trench named the “Maratha
ditch”. This served as the southern boundary for the
expanding colonial area. In the early 19th century, on the
command of Lord Wellesley, it was filled in, becoming a major
thoroughfare known as Lower Circular Road.
The identifying characteristics of this part of the town
were in place by the end of the 18th century. The area around
Writers’ Buildings, where houses had been built for
the accommodation of the company’s employees, and Dalhousie
Square emerged as the business district. Immediately to the
south of this was the Esplanade and Eden Gardens. These were
separated from the residential areas further south by the
green expanse of the Maidan, in the middle of which the new
Fort William was erected between 1758 and 1773.
The appearance of the native town also underwent radical
changes as Bengalis themselves started acquiring wealth. North
of Dalhousie Square, and east of Sutanati, lay Chitpur Road,
the old pilgrim route to the temple in Kalighat. It was along
this artery that rich Bengali began to construct their lavish
mansions with pillared facades in imitation of British country
houses. The interiors were marked, in some cases, by decadent
ostentation and a bizarre collection of artwork.
|
