Another commendable work, thank you! Like many others I occasionally heard the expression, but didn't know the story behind it. Growing up in Texas (more years ago than I care to think about) the phrase was used occasionally, but I can't recall hearing it lately. Thanks to the demise of our education system, I doubt most younger Americans could find Calcutta on a map. Or India. Or Asia.
So, do you always vote "yes' on school bonds, etc.? My grandmother told me that even in the Great Depression people always voted "yes" to support schools.
@@PaIaeoCIive1648 --- THERE YOU GO! . . . IGNORANCE is the only product you people get when you allow non-professionals (parents, politicians, priests) access to the curriculum.
Brilliant rendition of the event. I remember learning about this as a child from both my Father ( who grew up in India ) and at Primary school during history lessons. I doubt they would teach such things today!
In our house we use the word dobey, char and this term along with others. The terms are mainly used in the military. I remember my father telling me this story although not so detailed as your informative depiction.
I like to sit on the verandah with the Mem enjoying an evening chotapeg. A punkah wallah would have been handy in this warm weather but you can’t have everything. 😊
Excellent video! I wondered about that term. However I was in Kolkata or Calcutta (a lot of Indians still prefer the old name) and it's still a black hole but in the generally understood sense of the word. Crowded, smelly and not a very pleasant experience. I've traveled all over the world and one thing I experienced that I have never experienced anywhere else in the third world, is the pavement surfaces. They were so thick with dirt and grease your shoes would feel sticky and slippery at the same time, as if you were walking on a giant frying pan that had never been cleaned. Absolutely horrible.
There was a brass inlay on the stone steps at the Kolkata Post Office that marked out the dimensions of the Black Hole. I cannot recall if this designated the exact place of the cell, before the PO was built. But I guess it was likely it did. I remember reading the plague and visibly tracing its outline the late 1970's.
Namaste all...I am from Kolkata / Calcutta ... The precise location of that guardroom is in an alleyway between the General Post Office and the adjacent Collectorate Building to the north, in the north west corner of B.B.D. Bagh. The memorial tablet which was once on the wall of that building beside the GPO can now be found in the nearby postal museum.
Sadly history is not taught today, my daughter asked what I meant about an exhibit in a museum when I said it was like the black hole of Calcutta, (It was some sort of scary dungeon). I find it strange about the quibbling about numbers, 146 or 64, both are appalling in such a space. Another excellent presentation.
About 20 years ago a BBC cameraman walked off the set when he heard one of the guests say the words ' the black hole of Calcutta ' as in his ignorance he thought it was a racist comment, so piss poor education is not a modern thing
Was in Kolkata,talking to a few locals in the pub,I was telling them I was going to visit the site. Got the feeling it wasn't a subject they were comfortable with although they did laugh when I told them I wanted a postcard of it so I could write 'wish you were here' on it.
At St Mary's Church in Eastbourne there is a beautifully decorated tablet to Henry Lushington who actually SURVIVED the Black hole of Calcutta, but then was murdered during another imprisonment at Patma in 1763, and the memorial goes into great detail about how Lushington grabbed a sword from one of his assassins and took out 5 Indians before he was done to death by overwhelming numbers (bit far fetched) 😁
Never heard the expression. But raised in USA and I've never studied the Brits in India although i knew from Kipling it had happened. Thanks for the education!
The more things change, the more they stay the same? Hit rewind. Start plan #whatever, again. Corporate spin. Humanity casualties? Your impartial informative historical information is fascinating and enlightening. Deep Thanks.
Commercial entities don't always look to govt to help them increase their profits. That's just what the ones who do that say to make excuses, and politicians say to drive business to their extortion racket.
I was thinking when this was going to get mentioned. Wonder what modern-day Indian people say or other parts of the world say as a analogy to said situation?
Excellent video BLACK HOLES, ...I am a sci-fi fan. I wish you never associated it. I could never read another astronomy article without the uncomfortable historical association. Maybe ,leave history to history 🤔.
@@Filthy_rabbit69 Upon seeing your statement for the first time, I thought that i would never stoop so low to dignify this insult of yours with a reply. But then I realised how helplessly uneducated you are, that instead of arguing your views academically, in the comments section of an academic video, you resort to using obscene language. Evidently two centuries of british rule proved too short a time to civilise these people. Anyway, I provide the following information to help you with your much needed education, and to show you how one argues his case. And please do everyone a favour, refrain from watching educational content until you acquire the basic literacy to do so.
@@Filthy_rabbit69 At first glance, I didn't want to stoop so low as to dignify your statement with a reply. But then I realised how helpless you must be- being clearly devoid of any education, how could any sane person expect you to argue your case academically, when all you can do in such situations is use obscene language. Evidently, two hundred years of british rule proved too short a period to civilise you lot. You ought to refrain from watching educational videos like this one, until you are literate enough to do so, for the sake of people expecting a spirited academic debate. I really pity you, and to help you educate yourself, I provide the following information, though you could just as easily get the same, if you could muster enough patience to watch the video till the end. No history or study has ever doubted the legitimacy of this incident, and there was no study in the mid 19th century (as you claim, a hundred years after this incident) at all concerning the Black Hole. Although Holwell's account (who experienced this inhumane atrocity first hand) can be taken with a grain of salt, owing to how much emotional trauma he might have had to ensure, all historians agree that this indeed happened, though the number of people who were incarcerated is disputed. The incident was mentioned in Clive's letters, and also at the mughal court by a chronicler named Yusuf Ali Khan, who did not lament the demise of the Europeans. A British parliamentary committee also confirmed the Black Hole incident from another survivor, by the name of Watney. Historians employed by Viceroy Lord Curzon, in 1902, confirmed Holwell's account, but later studies by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in 1912 and by Professor Brijen K. Gupta confirmed the incident, but only mentioned the incarceration and deaths of fewer prisoners.
@@Filthy_rabbit69 At first glance, I didn't want to stoop so low as to dignify your statement with a reply. But then I realised how helpless you must be- being clearly devoid of any education, how could any sane person expect you to argue your case academically, when all you can do in such situations is use obscene language. Evidently, two hundred years of british rule proved too short a period to civilise you lot. You ought to refrain from watching educational videos like this one, until you are literate enough to do so, for the sake of people expecting a spirited academic debate. I really pity you, and to help you educate yourself, I provide the following information, though you could just as easily get the same, if you could muster enough patience to watch the video till the end. No history or study has ever doubted the legitimacy of this incident, and there was no study in the mid 19th century (as you claim, a hundred years after this incident) at all concerning the Black Hole. Although Holwell's account (who experienced this inhumane atrocity first hand) can be taken with a grain of salt, owing to how much emotional trauma he might have had to ensure, all historians agree that this indeed happened, though the number of people who were incarcerated is disputed. The incident was mentioned in Clive's letters, and also at the mughal court by a chronicler named Yusuf Ali Khan, who did not lament the demise of the Europeans. A British parliamentary committee also confirmed the Black Hole incident from another survivor, by the name of Watney. Historians employed by Viceroy Lord Curzon, in 1902, confirmed Holwell's account, but later studies by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in 1912 and by Professor Brijen K. Gupta confirmed the incident, but only mentioned the incarceration and deaths of fewer prisoners.
@@Filthy_rabbit69 At first glance, I didn't want to stoop so low as to dignify your statement with a reply. But then I realised how helpless you must be- being clearly devoid of any education, how could any sane person expect you to argue your case academically, when all you can do in such situations is use obscene language. You ought to refrain from watching educational videos like this one, until you are literate enough to do so. I really pity you, and to help you educate yourself, I provide the following information: No history or study has ever doubted the legitimacy of this incident, and there was no study in the mid 19th century (as you claim, a hundred years after this incident) at all concerning the Black Hole. Although Holwell's account (who experienced this inhumane atrocity first hand) can be taken with a grain of salt, owing to how much emotional trauma he might have had to ensure, all historians agree that this indeed happened, though the number of people who were incarcerated is disputed. The incident was mentioned in Clive's letters, and also at the mughal court by a chronicler named Yusuf Ali Khan, who did not lament the demise of the Europeans. A British parliamentary committee also confirmed the Black Hole incident from another survivor, by the name of Watney. Historians employed by Viceroy Lord Curzon, in 1902, confirmed Holwell's account, but later studies by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in 1912 and by Professor Brijen Gupta confirmed the incident, but only mentioned the incarceration and deaths of fewer prisoners.
Prisoners of war were put in overcrowded cargo holds for transport to Japan during World War II. Because too many prisoners were packed into the airless holds, many of the prisoners died of suffocation and dehydration. I always thought this tragedy was analogous to the story of the Black Hole of Calcutta.
Sadly, large numbers of allied POWs were also drowned when submarines torpedoed the cargo ships - which were often not marked as 'hospital ships' - en-route. These 150 or so 'Hell Ships' carried nearly 130,000 POWs into captivity, nearly 20 being sunk with their human cargo.
Yet we do SO much commerce with Japan & they don't even teach this in their schools! I was in Pearl Harbor & saw a Jap couple on honeymoon. They were reading a plaque commemorating the Jap bombing. The man looked at me and actually said "WE did this???" He had never been taught this!
It was a term used often in Australia in past times. Here in Australia, l sometimes used it myself to describe a dark or forbidding place,just vaguely aware it was a hell-hole prison for some British soldiers. Thanks for telling their story
I believed " Black hole of Calcutta " To be a place of total hell on earth 🌎 Where people lived in extreme conditions , squalor in Victorian London was a horror story Calcutta, In these same times " A black hole " in human suffering ?
@@Blissblizzard History is not polemic immediately no but Eventually polarity will change once again and again.... Noun POLEMIC contentione vesanus Latin .
@@kimsherlock8969 Sorry, BLUFF/Doubledown is what drives Historical revisionism on YT. To be less patient now, l could have written "attempted polemic" and "hijacked". Numquam iterum. Because you didn't watch you don't know the topic, and go off at a tangent, riding your hobby horse, and even then your point is unclear? I will give you a clue, the Black Hole (Not a singularity) of Calcutta (Not about slums/famine in Kolkata) is about an overnight incident. Now actually watch the video, and drop the virtue signalling about the dead, and vow to help the living - how very prescriptive of me! "
Another great video! I knew the Black Hole of Calcutta was some kind of dungeon, but I never knew it was linked to an actual historical event. One of the Nuns in my grade school referred to our classroom as the "Black Hole of Calcutta," Geesh!
American here. Thank you for clearing that up. I always wondered what that expression was referring to. The expression made me think is was some sort of social deficit going on in India. Glad to hear that was not the case. Just war. Something bad, but temporary.
Your documentaries are great and informative. Your diction is clear and easy to follow. British history in India is not exactly exemplary, and some dark events should not be forgotten.
2:12 It was a timely intervention. Otherwise India might have also succumbed to Muslim conquest. The Sikhs were by this time, barely holding their murderous attackers back.
Fascinating story from the point of history of how this incident came to pass and how an act so cruel done with such indifference gave to a saying that most people probably have no idea of the actual suffering behind it much l Sweet Fanny Adams l am sure that if people knew the story of the saying they would not wish to use it thank you of all the time you put into your channel 👍
Hi Chris, very well recounted story, thank you. Interesting to see the other Europeans had similar companies to East India. I remember reading about the Dutch one in Simon Winchesters book on Kraktatoa (well worth a read if you havent already I'm sure you would enjoy it as it tackles the subject very completely as do your videos). I like the way these events blend themselves into the language or in place names or memorials, I think it gives a chance of the story surviving. Have a great week
The defence of Calcutta was heroic - 250 in a half-finished fort, against 50,000 - and Siraj's army took some severe damage, it was epic. This made the Bengalis obviously angry with the survivors for having caused them so much grief. Important stuff!!!! Then when the British returned with a very small army, the more numerous Bengali garrison did the complete opposite - they fled without a fight. Again, Important stuff!!!! But such historical facts must not be mentioned lest you be accused of upsetting certain people, is that it?
@@underdawg2743 It's called "history" - everybody did it (almost). The Ancient Greeks, the Moguls, the Muslims, the Romans, the Mongols, the Persians, the Turks, the Aztecs, China, Japan - there were even Empires in Africa. Even India today occupies land where if there was a fair referendum, the people there would go independent (eg Nagaland, Kashmir), and those lands have to be maintained by the army, so modern India, in a sense, is an Empire too. The heroism I speak of, is about the ordinary soldier following orders against terrible odds (any nationality, any race, any time ) - it's not about the generals, kings and politicians.
@@zaclang6472 India doesn't occupy any land you fool. Kashmir and Nagaland have been part of India for millenia. The British came and carved up these states to make their ability to exploit Indian resources more easily as is why they developed the railway and telegraph systems relatively quickly. Especially in the last 100 years of their presence they knew that they wouldn't be able to keep hold of India for long so they geared it into an exercise of wholesale looting. An amount equivalent to 3 trillion dollars worth of loot in today's money to be precise. They left having carved up the country by meddling with and exploiting the political system and religious/ cultural differences as well, in order to make the whole subcontinent more dependent on foreign intervention in the form of military aid. This would come from the USA after Britain finally left in 1947 however as it inherited the influence over Britain's former empire, post WW2. However India knew this and allied itself strongly with the USSR instead. Pakistan, being weaker sided with the USA however and they provided it with the military arms and technology which it used to form the military state it's become now. The USA still provides covert funding to jihadist groups in Pakistan to create regional instability and greater dependence on their arms and munitions.
Great story. Used the saying several times in my military career without recourse. Its in the details of this story i now know who and when it came into being. Thanks Chris.
In the world of today, to say the phrase would bring shout's of racism, even though it was us that died🗣️💯🆘 🇬🇧😓🙈🙉🙊 😢👁️☠️👁️🧐 Seem's we still have a long road to travel✌️🙏
If it's any consolation, the term "thug" comes from the Sepoy Rebellion. The Thuggis were devotees of Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, whose killing of British troops was particularly brutal.
@@robertlevine2827 Sorry, that's no consolation- the Thugs were a problem for the East India Company long before 1857, and there was even a Thug Police force (see "The Thugs Or Phansigars of India" by William Henry Sleeman, 1839)
@@robertlevine2827thugs preceded the rebellion and were well known to kill Indians too. There’s a famous picture of a Sikh sitting with some others Indians under a tree, little known to him is a Thugee sitting behind him preparing to garrotte the poor fellow
My school history teachers never taught me this, but just two weeks ago I was reading a story book about history of British rule in India and came to know about this incident.
The fact was there was great optimism and most of it quickly dissipated when many things the common population valued (like a fair legal system, lack of corruption, effective administration and continuing economic development) failed to continue. Certainly many nationalists would say that it was worth it but none can claim that the period after independence lived up to expectation, though some typically claim the British were responsible for that as well (and not the attempt at introducing socialism so successful that most people have never heard of it and economic growth was stifled for decades). The issue was however big enough to inspire considerable efforts through education to give a nationalist interpretation and suppress the sentiment in much of the older population that things were much better before the current regime. They were successful as it happens as most of that generation are now dead and none of their concerns were even addressed. India has great potential but as I've heard many investors say it has no hope of ever fulfilling any as things stand.
@@vorynrosethorn903 Quite ironic I must say. They fought for independence and a better world than the one under the British, only to end up with something far worse.
@@sukritbanerjee Many people profit from international trade, so long as they are at the top. Personally I have never earned a penny or a rupee from it. I don't suppose you have either. The bankers ,new industrial Maharajas , Russian Mafia, internet billionaires, Eurotrash bankers and politicians will always do well. To them we are all Dhalits to be treated like shit. Now look at how China is conducting global corporate and political malfeasance.
yes this was bad but u know not only indians killed british, British also did Jallianwala bagh massacre killing more than 1000 you can search about it... plus british were responsible for many famines, hunger , poverty causing death of many Indians..... and even while leaving India they divided us in 3 parts causing death of thousands people on both side of india and pakistan.. eventually british raj caused death of thousands to millions people in 200 years...
Thank you Chris for sharing this awful story. I remember reading about in a BBC Magazine called "The British Empire" it was published in line with the tv series. Do you remember it?
@@TheHistoryChap Yes I had the whole serious but I have lost them😿 It was in conjunction with the BBC television series 👍P.S. It was aired in early 70's but never repeated can't find it on You Tube!
The story of the Black Hole of Calcutta was in one of my textbooks in Primary school in Trinidad in the 1960s. The series was called Nelson’s West Indian Readers. As far as I could remember, the books started with Introduction for 5 year olds and then Book one etc for each following year. I can’t remember which Reader had the story of the Black Hole. We got Independence from Britain in 1963. It would be interesting to look back at this series to see how the history of the British Empire was presented to the children of the colonies. By the way, Chris, you’re tops.
I do not know of anyone who is grateful to British for colonizing. History lessons are taught from the perspective of - learn how badly the divided fall - Stand united. However today in unision everyone wonders why the British/Dutch and other had to get on boats to conquer the Indian markets in 1600s. We all wonder whether they had other less painful options to grow their markets. Few phds/thesis are being done in this regard. Indians are largely very peaceful and non-aggressive population. Naturally we can't fathom why world wars etc were necessary at all for western folks to live/prosper.
My name is David Thompson and i live in East Barnet, North London, England. My Fathers Mother was a direct descendent of Clive of India, her maiden name being Clive.
I grew up hearing my mom & Nan use it so, of course it became part of my vocabulary. My son was in his teens when he said to me, never knew it was a real place 😂
The real history of how the various European trade companies were drawn in to inter-Indian conflicts, which later led to the British Govt being pulled in,...as opposed to the usual false narrative of 'British Empire conquered and oppressed India',...should be far more widely known.
I was aware of the expression and where it came from (thanks for the video with all the details, though!). However, about 15 years ago I was working in an office, the lights have gone out downstairs and somebody said: “It’s like the black hole of Calcutta down there.” I wonder if that was a one off or if other people are also using the phrase to mean simply “very dark”!
A came across that expression ages ago, thanks to my british friends I learnt its meaning and origins, great content video where you have an excellent historic context, great job indeed. One of my uncles was a prisoner in 1960 when the Indian Union invade Goa, those chaps were the last portuguese troops sent to India.
A similar colloquial expression “ it looks like the Johnstown Flood hit this place!” I never knew what it meant, I just knew that I had better straighten up my room!
Ah yes, used to great effect by Del Boy in fools and horses, after finding out - in court - that Uncle Albert had a history of falling down Pub cellars for compensation money. " I don't believe it Rodney, He's been down more holes than Tony Jacklyn". Then. "The only hole he hasn't been down is the Black Hole of Calcutta"! Heh Heh.
Brilliant Chris thanks for sharing this story with us..... we often use the phrase in my family, along wiith many others inc cup of char, dobey bag, jildy etc.
Ponticherry was good for a cup of coffee and a pain au chocolat , after passing a temple with a mob with wet leprosy, I cowardly threw the money to hand and ran away
Brilliant Chris thank you. I love this story but a little sad that you didn't go into detail regarding the fighting leading up to the siege. Some great characters here emerge like the hero Ensign John Piccard defending a trench on the left flank of the city with a cannon & handful of men, & the drunk & incompetent Capt. George Minchin doing a terrible job on the opposite side of the city. Then there was weak & innefective Govenor Roger Drake who made two of his friends active Colonels on the spot even though they were not military men. I believe the French adventure Lebeaume was also there. It's a proper campfire story! All the best & Godspeed!
Where are the best accounts of the fighting in India in the 1750s and 1760s? I find a lot of information regarding North America during this time, but not so much regarding India.
@@larrygiesbrecht3428 indeed this period is a bit thin on the ground concerning accounts, but I'm sure there's plenty of info out there on Plassey. My own personal knowledge is only from two little books but these just cover the Black hole with some background info. They are: 'The Black Hole' by Jan Dalley 'The Black Hole of Calcutta' by Noel Barber Both available in paperback and I highly recommend them, they make great reading! Hope this helps.
I was taught a different account in school. A Maharaj wanted to see how long humans could survive in the mentioned conditions. He decided to imprison a number of people over night and in the morning only 1 woman and a few men survived!
A term well known in my generation (Gen X) here in Denmark. Great to know the real story. The British Raj was ofcourse the greatest period of Indian history, although these days some less informed people think, we should focus on the eggs that were broken instead of the amazing omelette, that was created.
How much of Indian history have you even read? Also did you ever think why all these European countries were so eager to trade with India, if India was such a horrible place before colonization? When the British left India in 1947, it was seen as one of the poorest places in the world and was a poster child of poverty and deprivation so what " amazing omelette " are you talking about? The colonial apologists credit the recent progress of India to British empire which is ridiculous and illogical, if British empire was so beneficial then India should become one of the top 10 economies by 1947 itself.
@@uhura647 u can say that again. Not one not even 1 person thanks the colonizers in any way - no administrative skills/ neither infra dev/ nor political reforms- democracy . None of our ancestors had any nice things to share about them. I was bought up in a very wealthy area of India. mostly inhabited by foreigners/whites in India, educated in catholic school..even in this rare area almost everyone frowns upon the colonizers as looters.
Excellent work! One thing I'm not happy about, though, is the reference to sentiment back in Britain (15:19). Before electric telegraphy, news travelled at a few miles per hour, and the fall of Calcutta was not described in London newspapers until the beginning of June 1757, by which time it was back in Company control, and Clive was busy making arrangements for regime change in Bengal.
Hey Chris! Im not sure if i ever commented on one of your videos, however now i couldnt miss the chance do so. I am a historian who specialized in the BEIC, so this video caughty my eye immediately when i saw it in my inbox. Some historians suspect that the British purposely increased their fortifications (going against what had been agreed upon with the nawab) in order to provoke Ud-Daula into an escalation, which they could use as a pretense to strike at him. The scientific community has casted numerous doubt in the entire Black hole incident, and its often believed to be an exaggeration of the true event, in order to create as much outrage back home as possible, which it did. Because when Clive returned home to Britain after having conquered Bengal, he was hailed as a national hero and a liberator. (Also very convenient: Mir-Jafar, the new puppet ruler of Bengal gave him roughly 240,000 pounds out of his treasury - whoch would be around 30 million pounds today, making Clive the richest Man in Britain almost immediately. Which not only allowed him to buy himself into British parliament, he also is credited to be the inventor of stock-splitting = giving his friends and allies enough money/shares in Company stock so they were eligible to vote there and in return would vote in his favour). The battle of Plassey also serves as the starting point of British conquest in India, as beforehand they were limited to several outposts for trading, now they had become a proper territorial power, and they realized they not only could conquer vast spaces of land, it was also profitable, as the tax revenue they would get after 1765 (provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa) would be worth between 2 and 4 million pounds per year. Anyway, great video :)
"The scientific community" are not historians - and I don't think 99% give a stuff about 18th century Bengali history anyway. There were actually 2 eye witness testimonies to the atrocity, and anecdotal evidence of a third, there was a detailed and long list of victims, i.e.: Europeans that had verifiably died, and it's known that all Anglo Indians and even Indian Sepoys were incarcerated too - so they definitely had 140+ people to lock-up after the siege, but only the names of the English were preserved. So, actually the evidence is very strong, and it all made perfect sense. As for "240,000 pounds out of his treasury" - yes, but after the company and the army got their cut, he was left with £70,000 - which is about 10 million in today's money as you point out - but in 18th century England there were millionaires, so I don't know where you get the idea that Lord Clive having a small box full of gold coins made him the richest man in England. An EIC or government warship or large trading vessel would cost about £15,000 to build, and there were hundreds of them! So Clive could basically buy himself a small London mansion and a few ships - not such a big deal actually, considering he was one of the most successful British generals ever. And as for "stock-splitting", well that's a very simple and obvious thing to do, and selling stocks in companies, had been around for centuries before Clive was even born, in many countries - I really can't imagine Clive was the first, if he did it at all.
@@zaclang6472 Historians are scientists, people like H V Bowen for example, Philip Stern, Anthony Wild, Jean sutton, James Thomas. What i mean with ''stock-splitting'' was not that companies split their stock into packages that can be aquired by people who thus would hold stock IN the company, but that one would divide his own shares he already held IN the stock into smaller packages to create more votes, and in the EICs case, Clive started it., as for the other stuff, i'll look into my notes for reference. - Since the amount of stock youd need to have for voting or to be a candidate as a director varied over time, lets make it hypothetical. Voting in the General Court of the EIC necessitates 50 pounds worth of stock, Clive buys/holds shares worth 5,000 pounds. if memory serves more stock allows for more votes up to a maximum of 10, but i'll have to look that up again. But if he now divides his stock into 100 different packages of 50 pounds each among his freinds, he gets to have 100 people vote in his favour. Thats the stock-splitting im talking about. Thats one of the things the Regulating Act of 1773 sought to change. People now would have had to hold their respective shares for at least 6 months (later 12) to be eligible to vote. EDIT: Clive was the richest man in England at the age of 35 years - see ''Gardner, Brian. The East India Company. London 1971. P. 94.''
Another commendable work, thank you! Like many others I occasionally heard the expression, but didn't know the story behind it. Growing up in Texas (more years ago than I care to think about) the phrase was used occasionally, but I can't recall hearing it lately. Thanks to the demise of our education system, I doubt most younger Americans could find Calcutta on a map. Or India. Or Asia.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Since Calcutta was renamed Kolkata a while back you'd struggle to find it on a map these days!
@@TheHistoryChapso sir I assume anglo-maratha, anglo-mysore,etc and british conquest of india videos are coming?
So, do you always vote "yes' on school bonds, etc.?
My grandmother told me that even in the Great Depression people always voted "yes" to support schools.
@@PaIaeoCIive1648 --- THERE YOU GO! . . . IGNORANCE is the only product you people get when you allow non-professionals (parents, politicians, priests) access to the curriculum.
Brilliant rendition of the event. I remember learning about this as a child from both my Father ( who grew up in India ) and at Primary school during history lessons. I doubt they would teach such things today!
Probably not!
Europeans being cruelly treated by non-whites? Terribly unfashionable in educational settings nowadays.
Love a mid week History Chap video...very informative as always, and keeps you going till the weekend!
If only I could find the time to do two a week
Ha, Waa this a not so subtle request for two videos this week?
“Black as Newgate’s knocker” is another good one.
Oooh, that would be a great story too.
Growing up always wondered what my dad meant when using this phrase 🤔
I missed seeing you on-camera, Chris, but enjoyed the thrilling story behind "The Black Hole of Calcutta ".
In our house we use the word dobey, char and this term along with others. The terms are mainly used in the military. I remember my father telling me this story although not so detailed as your informative depiction.
I like to sit on the verandah with the Mem enjoying an evening chotapeg. A punkah wallah would have been handy in this warm weather but you can’t have everything. 😊
@@bobroberts6155 A punkah wallah would be great in this heat in the Uk at the moment.
Thank you for taking the time to share.
@@bobroberts6155 It Ain't Half Hot Mum! 😆
Is that the verandah of your bungalow? And do you wear khakis while sitting there?
@@douglasherron7534 No, he was in mufti.....
Really enjoyed this, I found it genuinely informative. Thank you .
Thanks for watching.
Excellent video! I wondered about that term. However I was in Kolkata or Calcutta (a lot of Indians still prefer the old name) and it's still a black hole but in the generally understood sense of the word. Crowded, smelly and not a very pleasant experience. I've traveled all over the world and one thing I experienced that I have never experienced anywhere else in the third world, is the pavement surfaces. They were so thick with dirt and grease your shoes would feel sticky and slippery at the same time, as if you were walking on a giant frying pan that had never been cleaned. Absolutely horrible.
Thank you for taking the time to comment
Another day, another banger! Keep it up!
Very kind of you. Please do join my supporter's club at www.thehistorychap.com
Well done A speaker that has a voice that is easy to listen to and sound knowledge of his subject!
Very kind of you. Thanks
Another well done video Chris...
Thank you.
I was born and brought up in Calcutta, it a shame that I learned my history from a foreigner. Thank you.
Thanks for watching my video.
@@Ray-ty9hnjust want I was thinking. Seek and ye shall find is my motto, no excuse for not learning.
Brilliant story and really interesting in learning where these old sayings come from, thanks. Stay well.
Glad you enjoyed it
There was a brass inlay on the stone steps at the Kolkata Post Office that marked out the dimensions of the Black Hole.
I cannot recall if this designated the exact place of the cell, before the PO was built. But I guess it was likely it did.
I remember reading the plague and visibly tracing its outline the late 1970's.
I believe there was. Not sure if it is still there.
Thank you Chris, enjoyed that slot of history 😮
Glad you enjoyed it.
Namaste all...I am from Kolkata / Calcutta ...
The precise location of that guardroom is in an alleyway between the General Post Office and the adjacent Collectorate Building to the north, in the north west corner of B.B.D. Bagh. The memorial tablet which was once on the wall of that building beside the GPO can now be found in the nearby postal museum.
Thanks for watching my video & your interesting feedback
I knew the origin but this puts all the information together..thanks
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Sadly history is not taught today, my daughter asked what I meant about an exhibit in a museum when I said it was like the black hole of Calcutta, (It was some sort of scary dungeon). I find it strange about the quibbling about numbers, 146 or 64, both are appalling in such a space. Another excellent presentation.
Thanks for your interesting comments.
About 20 years ago a BBC cameraman walked off the set when he heard one of the guests say the words ' the black hole of Calcutta ' as in his ignorance he thought it was a racist comment, so piss poor education is not a modern thing
Thanks for sharing.
Was in Kolkata,talking to a few locals in the pub,I was telling them I was going to visit the site.
Got the feeling it wasn't a subject they were comfortable with although they did laugh when I told them I wanted a postcard of it so I could write 'wish you were here' on it.
At St Mary's Church in Eastbourne there is a beautifully decorated tablet to Henry Lushington who actually SURVIVED the Black hole of Calcutta, but then was murdered during another imprisonment at Patma in 1763, and the memorial goes into great detail about how Lushington grabbed a sword from one of his assassins and took out 5 Indians before he was done to death by overwhelming numbers (bit far fetched) 😁
Thanks for sharing. It is interesting to see how history and present are linked.
Is patma a real place. I think you are referring to Patna.
@@sirushti1132 yes smartarse
@@invisibleray6987 glad you confirmed. Almost made me believe that it happened in east sussex.
Super interesting Chris, thank you!
My pleasure.
Very interesting, thanks a lot!
My pleasure!
Lord but you get better and better old chap, props once again.
Thank you for your support.
Never heard the expression. But raised in USA and I've never studied the Brits in India although i knew from Kipling it had happened. Thanks for the education!
My pleasure. If you want to learn more about British history, please sign up for my free weekly newsletter at www.Thehistorychap.com
The more things change, the more they stay the same? Hit rewind. Start plan #whatever, again. Corporate spin. Humanity casualties? Your impartial informative historical information is fascinating and enlightening. Deep Thanks.
Thanks for your kind words.
14:45... That elephant giving the stink eye to the royal colors.
Really?
Small correction : At 6:25, Siraj-ud-Dawlah didn't succeed his father, but his maternal grandfather Ali-Vardi Khan.
Thank you for taking the time to advise me. I find Indian history from this period fascinating (and also chaotic!).
In Spain we say "It's like the Marx brothers' cabin" in reference to their film xd
Hmmm, we often talk of somewhere smelly and untidy (generally a teenage boy's bedroom) as being "like a Spanish brothel"
@@Mr.MFuckingYTchangedmyname well... That's funny
Interesting. Thanks for sahring.
We use it all the time to describe the son's room.
my daughter used to be like that 😂
I know how you feel!
That was my sisters room when we were young, I'm Irish ☘☘
Smiling.
Magnificent video
Thank you very much!
@@TheHistoryChap Sent you two e-mails Sunday Chris.
Excellent sir.
Thanks for watching.
Kitchener was the architect
Hello?
Thanks.
My pleasure.
Commercial entities don't always look to govt to help them increase their profits. That's just what the ones who do that say to make excuses, and politicians say to drive business to their extortion racket.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Just another reminder how much society sucks and will always suck.
Thank you
My pleasure
You can bet that this phrase will not be used anymore.
FYI, 35 - 40 degrees celsius is 95 - 104 fahrenheit.
Thank you for sharing.
I was thinking when this was going to get mentioned.
Wonder what modern-day Indian people say or other parts of the world say as a analogy to said situation?
thank gods the Muslims don't rule us?
Some reckon it never happened. Just used by British to oppress India.
Interesting story and very true and I noticed that just like today there were people who tried to minimize the tragedy.
Some of them are in India.
The expression is used in Canada, but the meaning of it isn't. 😥
I am from Calcutta 😊
I want to visit your city sometime
@@TheHistoryChap You are alaways welcome to Calcutta
Daugherty Neck
Thanks for watching my video
Excellent video
BLACK HOLES,
...I am a sci-fi fan.
I wish you never associated it.
I could never read another astronomy article without the uncomfortable historical association.
Maybe ,leave history to history 🤔.
Thanks for commenting.
Cushty.
Thank you, Del boy
@@TheHistoryChap 😉😂
Assume this history is no longer part of the school curriculum!? Replaced by gender studies no doubt.
Thanks for adding your thoughts.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍🥵
Thanks for watching
Colonizers got what they deserved, I'd have left the scoundrels in there until the rats had finished with them all.
Thanks for your well-thought through argument.
I'm sure it was propaganda to attack Calcutta.
@@herrhelmerich but I do know your mother extremely personally
@@Filthy_rabbit69
Upon seeing your statement for the first time, I thought that i would never stoop so low to dignify this insult of yours with a reply. But then I realised how helplessly uneducated you are, that instead of arguing your views academically, in the comments section of an academic video, you resort to using obscene language.
Evidently two centuries of british rule proved too short a time to civilise these people. Anyway, I provide the following information to help you with your much needed education, and to show you how one argues his case. And please do everyone a favour, refrain from watching educational content until you acquire the basic literacy to do so.
@@Filthy_rabbit69
At first glance, I didn't want to stoop so low as to dignify your statement with a reply. But then I realised how helpless you must be- being clearly devoid of any education, how could any sane person expect you to argue your case academically, when all you can do in such situations is use obscene language.
Evidently, two hundred years of british rule proved too short a period to civilise you lot.
You ought to refrain from watching educational videos like this one, until you are literate enough to do so, for the sake of people expecting a spirited academic debate.
I really pity you, and to help you educate yourself, I provide the following information, though you could just as easily get the same, if you could muster enough patience to watch the video till the end.
No history or study has ever doubted the legitimacy of this incident, and there was no study in the mid 19th century (as you claim, a hundred years after this incident) at all concerning the Black Hole. Although Holwell's account (who experienced this inhumane atrocity first hand) can be taken with a grain of salt, owing to how much emotional trauma he might have had to ensure, all historians agree that this indeed happened, though the number of people who were incarcerated is disputed. The incident was mentioned in Clive's letters, and also at the mughal court by a chronicler named Yusuf Ali Khan, who did not lament the demise of the Europeans. A British parliamentary committee also confirmed the Black Hole incident from another survivor, by the name of Watney.
Historians employed by Viceroy Lord Curzon, in 1902, confirmed Holwell's account, but later studies by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in 1912 and by Professor Brijen K. Gupta confirmed the incident, but only mentioned the incarceration and deaths of fewer prisoners.
@@Filthy_rabbit69
At first glance, I didn't want to stoop so low as to dignify your statement with a reply. But then I realised how helpless you must be- being clearly devoid of any education, how could any sane person expect you to argue your case academically, when all you can do in such situations is use obscene language.
Evidently, two hundred years of british rule proved too short a period to civilise you lot.
You ought to refrain from watching educational videos like this one, until you are literate enough to do so, for the sake of people expecting a spirited academic debate.
I really pity you, and to help you educate yourself, I provide the following information, though you could just as easily get the same, if you could muster enough patience to watch the video till the end.
No history or study has ever doubted the legitimacy of this incident, and there was no study in the mid 19th century (as you claim, a hundred years after this incident) at all concerning the Black Hole. Although Holwell's account (who experienced this inhumane atrocity first hand) can be taken with a grain of salt, owing to how much emotional trauma he might have had to ensure, all historians agree that this indeed happened, though the number of people who were incarcerated is disputed. The incident was mentioned in Clive's letters, and also at the mughal court by a chronicler named Yusuf Ali Khan, who did not lament the demise of the Europeans. A British parliamentary committee also confirmed the Black Hole incident from another survivor, by the name of Watney.
Historians employed by Viceroy Lord Curzon, in 1902, confirmed Holwell's account, but later studies by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in 1912 and by Professor Brijen K. Gupta confirmed the incident, but only mentioned the incarceration and deaths of fewer prisoners.
@@Filthy_rabbit69
At first glance, I didn't want to stoop so low as to dignify your statement with a reply. But then I realised how helpless you must be- being clearly devoid of any education, how could any sane person expect you to argue your case academically, when all you can do in such situations is use obscene language.
You ought to refrain from watching educational videos like this one, until you are literate enough to do so.
I really pity you, and to help you educate yourself, I provide the following information:
No history or study has ever doubted the legitimacy of this incident, and there was no study in the mid 19th century (as you claim, a hundred years after this incident) at all concerning the Black Hole. Although Holwell's account (who experienced this inhumane atrocity first hand) can be taken with a grain of salt, owing to how much emotional trauma he might have had to ensure, all historians agree that this indeed happened, though the number of people who were incarcerated is disputed. The incident was mentioned in Clive's letters, and also at the mughal court by a chronicler named Yusuf Ali Khan, who did not lament the demise of the Europeans. A British parliamentary committee also confirmed the Black Hole incident from another survivor, by the name of Watney.
Historians employed by Viceroy Lord Curzon, in 1902, confirmed Holwell's account, but later studies by Sir Jadunath Sarkar in 1912 and by Professor Brijen Gupta confirmed the incident, but only mentioned the incarceration and deaths of fewer prisoners.
Prisoners of war were put in overcrowded cargo holds for transport to Japan during World War II. Because too many prisoners were packed into the airless holds, many of the prisoners died of suffocation and dehydration. I always thought this tragedy was analogous to the story of the Black Hole of Calcutta.
Thanks for sharing.
Sadly, large numbers of allied POWs were also drowned when submarines torpedoed the cargo ships - which were often not marked as 'hospital ships' - en-route. These 150 or so 'Hell Ships' carried nearly 130,000 POWs into captivity, nearly 20 being sunk with their human cargo.
We get crate fulls (shipping containers) of dead Asians in the US occasionally. disturbing.
Yet we do SO much commerce with Japan & they don't even teach this in their schools! I was in Pearl Harbor & saw a Jap couple on honeymoon. They were reading a plaque commemorating the Jap bombing. The man looked at me and actually said "WE did this???" He had never been taught this!
It was a term used often in Australia in past times. Here in Australia, l sometimes used it myself to describe a dark or forbidding place,just vaguely aware it was a hell-hole prison for some British soldiers. Thanks for telling their story
Glad you enjoyed it.
I believed " Black hole of Calcutta "
To be a place of total hell on earth 🌎
Where people lived in extreme conditions ,
squalor in Victorian London was a horror story
Calcutta,
In these same times " A black hole " in human suffering ?
@@kimsherlock8969 Actually watch the piece don't piggyback it with polemics
@@Blissblizzard History is not polemic
immediately no but
Eventually polarity will change once again and again....
Noun
POLEMIC
contentione vesanus
Latin .
@@kimsherlock8969 Sorry, BLUFF/Doubledown is what drives Historical revisionism on YT.
To be less patient now, l could have written "attempted polemic" and "hijacked".
Numquam iterum.
Because you didn't watch you don't know the topic, and go off at a tangent, riding your hobby horse, and even then your point is unclear?
I will give you a clue, the Black Hole (Not a singularity) of Calcutta (Not about slums/famine in Kolkata) is about an overnight incident.
Now actually watch the video, and drop the virtue signalling about the dead, and vow to help the living - how very prescriptive of me!
"
Another great video! I knew the Black Hole of Calcutta was some kind of dungeon, but I never knew it was linked to an actual historical event. One of the Nuns in my grade school referred to our classroom as the "Black Hole of Calcutta," Geesh!
Thanks for watching and for commenting
Wow that must have been some classroom.
American here. Thank you for clearing that up. I always wondered what that expression was referring to. The expression made me think is was some sort of social deficit going on in India. Glad to hear that was not the case. Just war. Something bad, but temporary.
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment.
Your documentaries are great and informative. Your diction is clear and easy to follow.
British history in India is not exactly exemplary, and some dark events should not be forgotten.
Thanks for those kind words. You are right that British history isn’t exemplary but it does s art of the story of why we are where we are now.
2:12 It was a timely intervention. Otherwise India might have also succumbed to Muslim conquest. The Sikhs were by this time, barely holding their murderous attackers back.
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.
Fascinating story from the point of history of how this incident came to pass and how an act so cruel done with such indifference gave to a saying that most people probably have no idea of the actual suffering behind it much l Sweet Fanny Adams l am sure that if people knew the story of the saying they would not wish to use it thank you of all the time you put into your channel 👍
Yes, your example of another phrase has a ghastly real story behind it.
This massacre never gets taught in schools, only bad things we supposedly did
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Hi Chris, very well recounted story, thank you.
Interesting to see the other Europeans had similar companies to East India. I remember reading about the Dutch one in Simon Winchesters book on Kraktatoa (well worth a read if you havent already I'm sure you would enjoy it as it tackles the subject very completely as do your videos).
I like the way these events blend themselves into the language or in place names or memorials, I think it gives a chance of the story surviving.
Have a great week
Glad you enjoyed it. It is easy to overlook the fact that it wasn't just the British who were in the empire building game.
The defence of Calcutta was heroic - 250 in a half-finished fort, against 50,000 - and Siraj's army took some severe damage, it was epic. This made the Bengalis obviously angry with the survivors for having caused them so much grief. Important stuff!!!! Then when the British returned with a very small army, the more numerous Bengali garrison did the complete opposite - they fled without a fight. Again, Important stuff!!!! But such historical facts must not be mentioned lest you be accused of upsetting certain people, is that it?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Black Hole.
Yeah cos it's heroic to go around invading other people's countries and exploiting their resources
@@underdawg2743 It's called "history" - everybody did it (almost). The Ancient Greeks, the Moguls, the Muslims, the Romans, the Mongols, the Persians, the Turks, the Aztecs, China, Japan - there were even Empires in Africa. Even India today occupies land where if there was a fair referendum, the people there would go independent (eg Nagaland, Kashmir), and those lands have to be maintained by the army, so modern India, in a sense, is an Empire too. The heroism I speak of, is about the ordinary soldier following orders against terrible odds (any nationality, any race, any time ) - it's not about the generals, kings and politicians.
@@zaclang6472 India doesn't occupy any land you fool. Kashmir and Nagaland have been part of India for millenia. The British came and carved up these states to make their ability to exploit Indian resources more easily as is why they developed the railway and telegraph systems relatively quickly. Especially in the last 100 years of their presence they knew that they wouldn't be able to keep hold of India for long so they geared it into an exercise of wholesale looting. An amount equivalent to 3 trillion dollars worth of loot in today's money to be precise. They left having carved up the country by meddling with and exploiting the political system and religious/ cultural differences as well, in order to make the whole subcontinent more dependent on foreign intervention in the form of military aid. This would come from the USA after Britain finally left in 1947 however as it inherited the influence over Britain's former empire, post WW2. However India knew this and allied itself strongly with the USSR instead. Pakistan, being weaker sided with the USA however and they provided it with the military arms and technology which it used to form the military state it's become now. The USA still provides covert funding to jihadist groups in Pakistan to create regional instability and greater dependence on their arms and munitions.
@@underdawg2743 Always the victim eh?
Those who highlight the cruelty of whites as pronounced and special need to read history.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
@@TheHistoryChap NP
Great story. Used the saying several times in my military career without recourse. Its in the details of this story i now know who and when it came into being. Thanks Chris.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment.
In the world of today, to say the phrase would bring shout's of racism, even though it was us that died🗣️💯🆘
🇬🇧😓🙈🙉🙊
😢👁️☠️👁️🧐
Seem's we still have a long road to travel✌️🙏
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Great presentation as always Chris. I always thought that the Black Hole occurred during the Sepoy mutiny a hundred years later! Keep them coming!
So did I. I thought it was in Victorian times, so when he said '17 blah blah, I raised an eyebrow.
There you go!
If it's any consolation, the term "thug" comes from the Sepoy Rebellion. The Thuggis were devotees of Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, whose killing of British troops was particularly brutal.
@@robertlevine2827 Sorry, that's no consolation- the Thugs were a problem for the East India Company long before 1857, and there was even a Thug Police force (see "The Thugs Or Phansigars of India" by William Henry Sleeman, 1839)
@@robertlevine2827thugs preceded the rebellion and were well known to kill Indians too. There’s a famous picture of a Sikh sitting with some others Indians under a tree, little known to him is a Thugee sitting behind him preparing to garrotte the poor fellow
My school history teachers never taught me this, but just two weeks ago I was reading a story book about history of British rule in India and came to know about this incident.
Thanks for watching the story on my channel.
Because only the British can be the bad guys, it doesn't really fit the narrative.
All downhill since 1947. Indians did not know when they were well off, under pukka rulers.
That holier than thou attitude is really tiresome
The fact was there was great optimism and most of it quickly dissipated when many things the common population valued (like a fair legal system, lack of corruption, effective administration and continuing economic development) failed to continue. Certainly many nationalists would say that it was worth it but none can claim that the period after independence lived up to expectation, though some typically claim the British were responsible for that as well (and not the attempt at introducing socialism so successful that most people have never heard of it and economic growth was stifled for decades). The issue was however big enough to inspire considerable efforts through education to give a nationalist interpretation and suppress the sentiment in much of the older population that things were much better before the current regime. They were successful as it happens as most of that generation are now dead and none of their concerns were even addressed. India has great potential but as I've heard many investors say it has no hope of ever fulfilling any as things stand.
Who were exploiting us like leeches and contributing to Britain's GDP at the expense of India's ?
@@vorynrosethorn903 Quite ironic I must say.
They fought for independence and a better world than the one under the British, only to end up with something far worse.
@@sukritbanerjee Many people profit from international trade, so long as they are at the top. Personally I have never earned a penny or a rupee from it. I don't suppose you have either. The bankers ,new industrial Maharajas , Russian Mafia, internet billionaires, Eurotrash bankers and politicians will always do well. To them we are all Dhalits to be treated like shit. Now look at how China is conducting global corporate and political malfeasance.
Unfathomable how cruel people could be back then.
yes this was bad but u know not only indians killed british, British also did Jallianwala bagh massacre killing more than 1000 you can search about it... plus british were responsible for many famines, hunger , poverty causing death of many Indians..... and even while leaving India they divided us in 3 parts causing death of thousands people on both side of india and pakistan.. eventually british raj caused death of thousands to millions people in 200 years...
Thank you Chris for sharing this awful story. I remember reading about in a BBC Magazine called "The British Empire" it was published in line with the tv series. Do you remember it?
I have a whole series of magazines called The British Empire but I wasn't aware that they went with a BBC series.
@@TheHistoryChap Yes I had the whole serious but I have lost them😿 It was in conjunction with the BBC television series 👍P.S. It was aired in early 70's but never repeated can't find it on You Tube!
That takes me back. I remember buying those in the early 70’s as a weekly magazine, then the binders to put them in. 😃🇦🇺
@@oscardog6719 I bought the whole series but I didn't have the binders 👍
Another wonderfully informative presentation.
Thank you. i enjoyed researching it.
The story of the Black Hole of Calcutta was in one of my textbooks in Primary school in Trinidad in the 1960s. The series was called Nelson’s West Indian Readers. As far as I could remember, the books started with Introduction for 5 year olds and then Book one etc for each following year. I can’t remember which Reader had the story of the Black Hole. We got Independence from Britain in 1963. It would be interesting to look back at this series to see how the history of the British Empire was presented to the children of the colonies.
By the way, Chris, you’re tops.
Thanks for sharing
I do not know of anyone who is grateful to British for colonizing. History lessons are taught from the perspective of - learn how badly the divided fall - Stand united. However today in unision everyone wonders why the British/Dutch and other had to get on boats to conquer the Indian markets in 1600s. We all wonder whether they had other less painful options to grow their markets. Few phds/thesis are being done in this regard. Indians are largely very peaceful and non-aggressive population. Naturally we can't fathom why world wars etc were necessary at all for western folks to live/prosper.
My name is David Thompson and i live in East Barnet, North London, England. My Fathers Mother was a direct descendent of Clive of India, her maiden name being Clive.
I grew up hearing my mom & Nan use it so, of course it became part of my vocabulary. My son was in his teens when he said to me, never knew it was a real place 😂
Good work Chris.
Really enjoy your work & appreciate the time you take to make the videos.
Very kind of you. Thanks for your support.
Thank you for this, for I've wondered what the "Black Hole of Calcutta" meant and only thought it was a phrase but not an actual event. Most grateful.
Glad you found it interesting
The real history of how the various European trade companies were drawn in to inter-Indian conflicts, which later led to the British Govt being pulled in,...as opposed to the usual false narrative of 'British Empire conquered and oppressed India',...should be far more widely known.
Thank you
I was aware of the expression and where it came from (thanks for the video with all the details, though!). However, about 15 years ago I was working in an office, the lights have gone out downstairs and somebody said: “It’s like the black hole of Calcutta down there.” I wonder if that was a one off or if other people are also using the phrase to mean simply “very dark”!
Possibly. I guess it probably was dark that particular night too.
I never knew there were so many EIC's Chris - fascinating stuff as always - cheers ! 👍
Surprises most folk.
A came across that expression ages ago, thanks to my british friends I learnt its meaning and origins, great content video where you have an excellent historic context, great job indeed. One of my uncles was a prisoner in 1960 when the Indian Union invade Goa, those chaps were the last portuguese troops sent to India.
Wow, that is a great story about your uncle being taken prisoner in Goa. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, the Portuguese stayed in Goa even after the British left the rest of India.
My grandfather was in the Indian force when India took Goa back from Portuguese.
World is really small..😃
A similar colloquial expression “ it looks like the Johnstown Flood hit this place!” I never knew what it meant, I just knew that I had better straighten up my room!
Ha ha, I like it!
I walked past the site of this behind the GPO in Calcutta and stepped in poo.
Ouch!
Thans again Chris, brilliant telling. When I was a young NCO, I would often use the phrase, especially when inspecting lockers in the Barracks. Cheers
Thanks for sharing your memories as a young NCO.
Ah yes, used to great effect by Del Boy in fools and horses, after finding out - in court - that Uncle Albert had a history of falling down
Pub cellars for compensation money. " I don't believe it Rodney, He's been down more holes than Tony Jacklyn". Then. "The only hole he hasn't been down is the Black Hole of Calcutta"! Heh Heh.
A great episode
My new favourite channel on UA-cam. You’re a master storyteller of our interlinked history
Thank you very much. Please join my supporter's club: www.thehistorychap.com
Brilliant Chris thanks for sharing this story with us..... we often use the phrase in my family, along wiith many others inc cup of char, dobey bag, jildy etc.
Glad you enjoyed it.
make a video on jalianwalalbagh massacre.
Thank you for the suggestion.
Ponticherry was good for a cup of coffee and a pain au chocolat , after passing a temple with a mob with wet leprosy, I cowardly threw the money to hand and ran away
Thanks for sharing your travel experiences.
A great presentation, like always Mr Green. I love how you present controversial topics without bias, and pointing out all the available evidences.
Thanks for watching my video, glad you enjoyed it.
@@TheHistoryChap
A question, sir, how do you manage to respond to so many comments on your videos?
It reminded me of the "Hell's Ships" of the Second World War.
The Grand Tour brought me here.
Brilliant Chris thank you. I love this story but a little sad that you didn't go into detail regarding the fighting leading up to the siege. Some great characters here emerge like the hero Ensign John Piccard defending a trench on the left flank of the city with a cannon & handful of men, & the drunk & incompetent Capt. George Minchin doing a terrible job on the opposite side of the city. Then there was weak & innefective Govenor Roger Drake who made two of his friends active Colonels on the spot even though they were not military men. I believe the French adventure Lebeaume was also there. It's a proper campfire story! All the best & Godspeed!
Where are the best accounts of the fighting in India in the 1750s and 1760s? I find a lot of information regarding North America during this time, but not so much regarding India.
Maybe for another time :)
@@larrygiesbrecht3428 indeed this period is a bit thin on the ground concerning accounts, but I'm sure there's plenty of info out there on Plassey. My own personal knowledge is only from two little books but these just cover the Black hole with some background info. They are:
'The Black Hole' by Jan Dalley
'The Black Hole of Calcutta' by Noel Barber
Both available in paperback and I highly recommend them, they make great reading!
Hope this helps.
I was taught a different account in school.
A Maharaj wanted to see how long humans could survive in the mentioned conditions. He decided to imprison a number of people over night and in the morning only 1 woman and a few men survived!
I haven't come across that version of events.
This scientific study showed that women are stronger than men: 100% of the women survived but only a small percentage of the men came out alive. ;)
A term well known in my generation (Gen X) here in Denmark. Great to know the real story. The British Raj was ofcourse the greatest period of Indian history, although these days some less informed people think, we should focus on the eggs that were broken instead of the amazing omelette, that was created.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment.
All the millenia of history of India and you chose the British era? You're clearly a deluded white supremacist
How much of Indian history have you even read? Also did you ever think why all these European countries were so eager to trade with India, if India was such a horrible place before colonization? When the British left India in 1947, it was seen as one of the poorest places in the world and was a poster child of poverty and deprivation so what " amazing omelette " are you talking about?
The colonial apologists credit the recent progress of India to British empire which is ridiculous and illogical, if British empire was so beneficial then India should become one of the top 10 economies by 1947 itself.
@@uhura647 u can say that again. Not one not even 1 person thanks the colonizers in any way - no administrative skills/ neither infra dev/ nor political reforms- democracy . None of our ancestors had any nice things to share about them. I was bought up in a very wealthy area of India. mostly inhabited by foreigners/whites in India, educated in catholic school..even in this rare area almost everyone frowns upon the colonizers as looters.
Good to see , history of Indian imperialism time thank you sir ✨
Glad you found it interesting.
Excellent work! One thing I'm not happy about, though, is the reference to sentiment back in Britain (15:19). Before electric telegraphy, news travelled at a few miles per hour, and the fall of Calcutta was not described in London newspapers until the beginning of June 1757, by which time it was back in Company control, and Clive was busy making arrangements for regime change in Bengal.
Thanks for contributing.
Hey Chris! Im not sure if i ever commented on one of your videos, however now i couldnt miss the chance do so. I am a historian who specialized in the BEIC, so this video caughty my eye immediately when i saw it in my inbox. Some historians suspect that the British purposely increased their fortifications (going against what had been agreed upon with the nawab) in order to provoke Ud-Daula into an escalation, which they could use as a pretense to strike at him.
The scientific community has casted numerous doubt in the entire Black hole incident, and its often believed to be an exaggeration of the true event, in order to create as much outrage back home as possible, which it did. Because when Clive returned home to Britain after having conquered Bengal, he was hailed as a national hero and a liberator. (Also very convenient: Mir-Jafar, the new puppet ruler of Bengal gave him roughly 240,000 pounds out of his treasury - whoch would be around 30 million pounds today, making Clive the richest Man in Britain almost immediately. Which not only allowed him to buy himself into British parliament, he also is credited to be the inventor of stock-splitting = giving his friends and allies enough money/shares in Company stock so they were eligible to vote there and in return would vote in his favour).
The battle of Plassey also serves as the starting point of British conquest in India, as beforehand they were limited to several outposts for trading, now they had become a proper territorial power, and they realized they not only could conquer vast spaces of land, it was also profitable, as the tax revenue they would get after 1765 (provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa) would be worth between 2 and 4 million pounds per year.
Anyway, great video :)
Thanks for sharing your in-depth knowledge.
"The scientific community" are not historians - and I don't think 99% give a stuff about 18th century Bengali history anyway. There were actually 2 eye witness testimonies to the atrocity, and anecdotal evidence of a third, there was a detailed and long list of victims, i.e.: Europeans that had verifiably died, and it's known that all Anglo Indians and even Indian Sepoys were incarcerated too - so they definitely had 140+ people to lock-up after the siege, but only the names of the English were preserved. So, actually the evidence is very strong, and it all made perfect sense. As for "240,000 pounds out of his treasury" - yes, but after the company and the army got their cut, he was left with £70,000 - which is about 10 million in today's money as you point out - but in 18th century England there were millionaires, so I don't know where you get the idea that Lord Clive having a small box full of gold coins made him the richest man in England. An EIC or government warship or large trading vessel would cost about £15,000 to build, and there were hundreds of them! So Clive could basically buy himself a small London mansion and a few ships - not such a big deal actually, considering he was one of the most successful British generals ever. And as for "stock-splitting", well that's a very simple and obvious thing to do, and selling stocks in companies, had been around for centuries before Clive was even born, in many countries - I really can't imagine Clive was the first, if he did it at all.
@@zaclang6472 Historians are scientists, people like H V Bowen for example, Philip Stern, Anthony Wild, Jean sutton, James Thomas.
What i mean with ''stock-splitting'' was not that companies split their stock into packages that can be aquired by people who thus would hold stock IN the company, but that one would divide his own shares he already held IN the stock into smaller packages to create more votes, and in the EICs case, Clive started it., as for the other stuff, i'll look into my notes for reference. - Since the amount of stock youd need to have for voting or to be a candidate as a director varied over time, lets make it hypothetical. Voting in the General Court of the EIC necessitates 50 pounds worth of stock, Clive buys/holds shares worth 5,000 pounds. if memory serves more stock allows for more votes up to a maximum of 10, but i'll have to look that up again. But if he now divides his stock into 100 different packages of 50 pounds each among his freinds, he gets to have 100 people vote in his favour. Thats the stock-splitting im talking about. Thats one of the things the Regulating Act of 1773 sought to change. People now would have had to hold their respective shares for at least 6 months (later 12) to be eligible to vote.
EDIT: Clive was the richest man in England at the age of 35 years - see ''Gardner, Brian. The East India Company. London 1971. P. 94.''
Another great episode. You’re a fine chap, Chap!
Thank you.
My Mother used this phrase frequently along with Sweet Fanny Adams and many others
I could do a whole series on phrases and expressions
Sweet fanny Adams was a child murdered 😓🇬🇧 in England, by one of the first child murders, it is documented 🤫😱☠️🙏very 😭
Nice job. Thanks!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
I only know this history due from work, as I work in HVAC and this history explain why "Ventilation is important"