1850-1880 British India, Dacca. (Bangladesh, Dhaka). Two views of the House of Armenian Zamindar Manuk at Badamtali Ghat on the banks of the River Buriganga. 1850 Panorama of the City of Dacca - Part 14.
1880 Same view photographer unknown. Restored images.
1860s British India, Bengal Presidency, Sylhet. (Now Bangladesh).
Views of Sylhet. Sepoy Lines, Domed Buildings near a Water Tank, the Sudder Station Church, a European Bungalow, and the Ameer's Court. In 1303, the Sultan of Lakhnauti Shamsuddin Firoz Shah conquered Sylhet by defeating Gour Govinda. Sylhet was a realm of the Bengal Sultanate.
In the 16th-century, Sylhet was controlled by the Baro-Bhuyan zamindars and later became a sarkar (district) of the Mughal Empire. Sylhet emerged as the Mughals' most significant imperial outpost in the east, and its importance remained as such throughout the seventeenth century. British rule began in the 18th century under the administration of the East India Company.
Sylhet became a key source of lascars (Sailors) in the British Empire with its ancient seafaring tradition.
The Sylhet municipal board was established in 1867. Originally part of the Bengal Presidency and later Eastern Bengal and Assam; the town was part of Colonial Assam between 1874 and 1947.
Photographer unknown.
Restored images.
Early 1870's British India, Bengal, Bakarganj. (Now Bangladesh).
Bungalows and Church at Barisal, Bakarganj.
Bakarganj was all but inaccessible from any large centre of industry, trade, or education: four to seven days' journey by water from Calcutta, 180 miles away, three days journey by water from Dacca, 75 miles away.
The British regarded Bakarganj as a backwoods, without the bracing climate of backwoods in other lands.
“The atmosphere depresses the spirits in such a manner as to cause a sensation as if a person was only half alive." Wrote one official in the 1860's.
He continues "It is said that the proximity of Bakarganj to the sea prevents its climate from ever being very cold. The general complaint against it is of its dampness. This depresses vitality, and is also most injurious to furniture, books, etc. It is impossible to keep a house dry unless it is built on arches. Many of the native government officials and professional men, and even many of the traders, complain of the salt air of Bakarganj, and they say that it gives them fever and indigestion. Cholera is endemic in the district, usually occurring in the beginning of November, and again in April and May.
Dysentery and diarrhea prevail throughout the year, the mortality being greatest at the termination of the rains, and during the cold season." The isolation, both external and internal, of Bakarganj life and the notorious unhealthiness of its climate affected the character both of its population and of its administration. No one lived there if he could live anywhere else.
'From the earliest times Bakarganj had been “the Dustbin of Bengal." No officer was sent to it except as a punishment or because he was not thought good enough for a better district'.
Lord Beveridge.
Late 18th - Early 19th Century, Colonial India, Bengal. (Now Bangladesh)
Views of Chittagong.
Digitally Restored Images from the East India Company and Raj Research Group Collection.
1680-1703 Bengal.
The Rich Kingdom of Bengala. A very early East India Company map of Bengal.
'A Mapp of the Greate River Ganges as it emptieth it selfe into the Bay of Bengala. Taken From a Draught Made uppon the place by the Agents for the English East India Company.
Never Before made Publique.
By John Thornton Hydrographer to the Honorable East India Company.'
Archeological Survey of India archives.