The Dutch East India Company (VOC, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) was founded on this day.
It arrived in Bengal soon after and settled along the Hooghly. The company began trading in saltpetre, textiles and sugar, among other things. Its factory in Chinsurah was described as a stunning example of a trading centre and architecture in Dutch accounts. The saltpetre factory in Chhapra was an important Dutch establishment.
But the Dutch could not sustain their power here. Corruption destabilised the company. The Dutch government revoked the company’s charter and in 1799 took over the debts and possessions of the company. By 1825, the British had taken over control of all Dutch territory in Bengal. Chinsurah lost its glory even as Calcutta, the seat of British power in India, kept rising.
