Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History / The Dutch East India Company in Bengal: A Forgotten Trading Empire
Transcript
- Lucas: If you've been following our conversations about Bengal, we've spent a lot of time on the British, the Portuguese, even the French. But there was another European power that built a quiet empire along the Hooghly, and they were here longer than almost anyone — the Dutch East India Company, the VOC. Luna: I don't think we've talked about them at all. What were they doing in Bengal? Lucas: They arrived in the early 1600s, right when the Mughal Empire was at its peak under Jahangir. The VOC — Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie — set up a factory in Chinsurah, a town about 35 kilometres north of modern Kolkata, on the west bank of the Hooghly. They got permission from the Mughal authorities to trade, and they quickly became the dominant European player in Bengal's export of saltpeter — that's the key ingredient in gunpowder. Luna: Saltpeter — so they were arming half of Europe from Bengal? Lucas: Exactly. The VOC also traded in opium, silk, indigo, and the famous Bengal muslin. By the mid-1600s, the Dutch had a fortified settlement at Chinsurah called Fort Gustavus, named after the Dutch stadtholder. They even minted their own coinage. And here's the thing — unlike the Portuguese, who often clashed with the Mughals, the Dutch were primarily businessmen. They kept their heads down, paid their dues to the Nawab, and made enormous profits. Luna: So they were more like a corporation than a colonial power? Lucas: Exactly — the VOC was the world's first multinational corporation, with its own army, navy, and diplomatic corps. In Bengal, they operated through a network of local agents and merchants. But they weren't just passive traders. In 1759, just two years after the Battle of Plassey, the Dutch made a bold move. They sent a fleet of seven ships from Batavia — modern-day Jakarta — up the Hooghly, intending to challenge the British East India Company's growing influence. They wanted to install their own candidate as the Nawab of Bengal. Luna: Wait — so there was a Dutch military attempt? I've never heard of that. Lucas: That's the Battle of Chinsurah, also called the Battle of Biderra. It happened on 25 November 1759, just months after the British victory at Plassey. The British, under Colonel Francis Forde, intercepted the Dutch force near the village of Biderra, about 15 kilometres north of Chinsurah. The Dutch had about 1,500 troops, including European soldiers and local sepoys. The British had a similar number. The fighting was fierce — hand-to-hand combat in the rice paddies — but the British won decisively. The Dutch surrendered, and their dreams of becoming a major power in Bengal were crushed. Luna: So the British removed any threat before they even fully consolidated power. Lucas: Precisely. The VOC never recovered from that defeat. They continued to trade in Bengal for another forty years, but their influence waned. By 1795, the company was bankrupt, and the British took over their settlements, including Chinsurah, which remained under British control until independence. But the Dutch left a lasting mark. If you visit Chinsurah today, you can still see the Dutch cemetery — it's one of the oldest European cemeteries in India, with elaborate tombs and epitaphs dating back to the 1600s. Luna: What about Fort Gustavus? Does any of it survive? Lucas: Most of the fort was demolished in the 19th century, but the old Dutch governor's house still stands — it's now used as a government office. There's also the iconic Chinsurah clock tower, which was built later, but the Dutch influence is everywhere in the town's layout. The VOC even built a hospital, a church, and a mint. One of the most fascinating remnants is the Dutch warehouse, a massive brick structure along the river where they stored saltpeter and textiles. Luna: I've seen pictures of that — it looks like a medieval fortress. Lucas: It does. And the scale of the operation was enormous. At its peak, the VOC's Bengal trade accounted for over 50% of the company's total profits from Asia. Saltpeter alone — they exported thousands of tons annually, shipped to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope. That saltpeter was used in the wars of European powers, from the Thirty Years' War to the Napoleonic Wars. So in a real sense, Bengal's soil fueled centuries of global conflict. Luna: It's incredible how connected Bengal was to world events long before the British Raj. Lucas: Absolutely. And the Dutch were just one part of that story. There were also the Danish, who had a settlement at Serampore, and the French at Chandannagar. But the VOC is unique because they were purely commercial — no missionary zeal, no territorial ambition. They just wanted profit, and they got it, for a while. Lucas: And that brings me to something — you know, these episodes take a lot of research and time to put together. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. It helps us keep the show ad-free and independent. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. Every bit of support lets us dig deeper into stories like this. Lucas: So back to the Dutch — by the late 1700s, the VOC was in serious trouble. The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War in the 1780s hurt their shipping, and the rise of British power in India made their position untenable. In 1795, revolutionary France invaded the Netherlands, and the British occupied all Dutch possessions in India, including Chinsurah. It was handed back briefly in 1817, but by 1825, the British took it permanently in exchange for territories in Sumatra. Luna: So the Dutch presence in Bengal just quietly faded away. Lucas: Yes, but their legacy is still there. The Dutch cemetery in Chinsurah is a haunting place — rows of weathered tombstones with Dutch inscriptions, many of them children who died of tropical diseases. It's a reminder that the VOC wasn't just a corporation; it was thousands of people — merchants, soldiers, sailors — who left their homes and often never returned. One of the most famous Dutchmen buried there is François Caron, a Huguenot who served as the VOC's director in Bengal. He wrote one of the earliest European accounts of Japan. Luna: Wait — the same François Caron who helped found the Dutch East India Company's trading post in Japan? Lucas: The very same. He was a fascinating figure — born in Brussels, he joined the VOC as a cook's assistant, rose to become a director, and later served in Bengal. He was known for his diplomatic skills and his detailed descriptions of Japan and Siam. He died in 1673, possibly assassinated in Taiwan, but his body was brought to Chinsurah for burial. Luna: That's one of those stories that makes you realize how small the world was even then. Lucas: Exactly. And it's a reminder that Bengal was a crossroads of global trade and ideas. The Dutch brought not only goods but also knowledge — maps, shipbuilding techniques, and even some architectural styles. The typical Bengali bungalow, with its sloping roofs and wide verandas, may have been influenced by Dutch colonial architecture. Luna: I never would have guessed that. Lucas: It's one of those subtle layers of history. And the VOC's own decline was tied to larger shifts — the rise of British naval power, the exhaustion of the Dutch Republic's resources, and the changing dynamics of global trade. By the time the VOC was dissolved in 1800, Bengal had already become the cornerstone of the British Empire in India. Luna: It's a bit sad — a whole chapter of history that most people don't even know about. Lucas: That's why we do this show. There's so much more to Bengal's story than the familiar narratives. The Dutch were here for nearly two hundred years, and they left behind a rich, complex legacy. Next time you're in Chinsurah, take a moment to walk along the riverbank and imagine the VOC ships at anchor, the warehouses full of saltpeter, and the merchants negotiating in Dutch and Persian. Luna: I think I'd like to see that cemetery someday. Lucas: It's worth the trip. And maybe that's the best way to remember the Dutch in Bengal — not through museums, but through the quiet, weathered stones that have stood for centuries by the Hooghly.