num_pages: 254
description: From 1600 the English East India Company traded with the Indian sub-continent, tried to avoid becoming involved in internal Indian politics, and made fortunes for its principal employees. But one event was crucial in converting English influential opinion to an interventionist policy -- the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta when, on the night of June 21 1756, 123 English prisoners suffocated to death on the orders of Siraj-ud-Daula, Nawab (ruler) of Bengal. Thenceforth England regarded Indian rulers as savages, and considered that they were unfit to govern India. From this it was but a short step to the establishment of complete English control over the areas in which the English Company traded. But what is the truth of the Black Hole? Did 123 die? Did Siraj-ud-Daula deliberately order their deaths of, indeed, did the Black Hole happen at all?
language: English
title: The Black Hole of Calcutta
titlecomplete: The Black Hole of Calcutta
genres: India, War, History, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 64
publisher: Sutton Publishing