Travel to Northern India: Calcutta: Photo 17

In a corner of St. John's: a monument erected by a survivor of the Black Hole of Calcutta.  The story in brief: British traders--their leader, Job Charnock--settled in Calcutta in 1690.  In 1707, when Calcutta had a population of 10,000, Bengal was made into a presidency separate from Madras.  As such, it prospered until 1756, when the Nawab of Murshidabad attacked.  Most of the British fled, but 146 who stayed were captured and on the night of June 20th, 1756, were locked in a room 16 feet by 18.  All but 20 suffocated.  The British, under Clive, returned in 1757, retook Calcutta, and began the systematic conquest of Bengal.  One of the survivors erected a monument on the site; it was renovated by Curzon in 1902 and moved here after 1947.

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