The Black Hole Tragedy: Myth, Memory, and the British Empire

The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History · May 25, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In June 1756, the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah captured Calcutta from the East India Company. The next morning, British prisoners emerged from a tiny guardroom claiming 123 of their number had died overnight in what became known as the 'Black Hole of Calcutta.' But how many actually died? Was it an atrocity or a fabrication? In this episode of The Hidden History of Bengal, Lucas and Luna dig into the controversy behind one of British imperial history's most famous stories. They examine the sole eyewitness account by John Zephaniah Holwell, the missing contemporary…