15th Centuary

The Portuguese founded settlements and were soon joined by the East India Company : a London based trading firm.

16th centuary

In 1633, the Portuguese were ousted from their foothold by Bengali opposition. Towards the end of the 16th centuary the British tried and failed in an attempt to capture Chittagong but later managed to negotiate trade terms and establised a fortified trading post at Calcutta.

17th centuary

By 1707, the Moghul Empire started to decline following the death of Aurangzeb. In 1740, Sarafaz Khan, the viceroy of the three provinces of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar, was overthrown by Ali Vardi Khan, a subordinate official in charge of the administration of Bihar. This was the time when Robert Clive, a mere clerk with the East India Company, rose through the ranks to become the ruler of the province.

In 1756, Shiraj-ud-Daula, the 21 year old Nawab of Bengal, attacked the British settlement of Calcutta. A year later Robert Clive defeated Shiraj-ud-Daula in the Battle of Plassey and retook Calcutta. The British became the rulers of Bengal, and the East India Company governed the province through puppet Nawabs.

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