Editing Bengal (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Bengal}}

===Antiquity===
{{See also|Vanga Kingdom|Gauda Kingdom|Samatata|Pala Empire|Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah}}
[[File:WLA lacma West Bengal Vase with Processional Scenes ca 100 BC.jpg|thumb|left|Pottery with processional scenes from the [[Chandraketugarh|Chandraketugarh region]] of West Bengal, India, c. 100 BC.]]
[[File:Durga Mahishasuramardini slaying the Buffalo Demon, Bengal, India, or Bangladesh, Pala dynasty, 1100s AD, phyllite - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC05056.jpg|thumb|left|Goddess Durga, Pala period, 10th century.]][[File:Delhi Sultanate Coin from Gaur, Bengal in the British Museum.jpg|thumb|Coin featuring a horseman issued by the [[Delhi Sultanate]] celebrating the Muslim conquest of [[Lakhnauti]]|left]]
[[File:Vanga coin (400-300 BCE).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Coinage of India#Origin of currency in Indian subcontinent|Coinage]] of [[Vanga Kingdom]], 400–300 BCE]]
[[File:Atisha.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Atisa]] of [[Bikrampur]]]]
[[Neolithic]] sites have been found in several parts of the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Prehistory |title=Prehistory |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> In the second millennium BCE, rice-cultivating communities dotted the region. By the eleventh century BCE, people in Bengal lived in systematically aligned homes, produced copper objects, and crafted black and red pottery. Remnants of [[Copper Age]] settlements are located in the region.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-50746 |title=Wari-Bateshwar: In search of origins |work=The Daily Star |date=18 August 2008}}</ref> At the advent of the [[Iron Age]], people in Bengal adopted iron-based weapons, tools and irrigation equipment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=d0e788&toc.depth=100&toc.id=ch01&brand=ucpress |title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760}}</ref> From 600&nbsp;BCE, the second wave of urbanisation engulfed the north Indian subcontinent as part of the [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture. Ancient archaeological sites and cities in [[Dihar (archaeological site)|Dihar]], [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi]], [[Mahasthangarh]], [[Chandraketugarh]] and [[Wari-Bateshwar ruins|Wari-Bateshwar]] emerged. The [[Ganges]], [[Brahmaputra]] and [[Meghna]] rivers were natural arteries for communication and transportation.<ref name="google5" /> [[Estuary|Estuaries]] on the [[Bay of Bengal]] allowed for [[maritime industry|maritime]] trade with distant lands in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.<ref name="google5" />

The ancient geopolitical divisions of Bengal included [[Varendra]], [[Suhma]], [[Anga]], [[Vanga Kingdom|Vanga]], [[Samatata]] and [[Harikela]]. These regions were often independent or under the rule of larger empires. The Mahasthan [[Brahmi]] Inscription indicates that Bengal was ruled by the [[Mauryan Empire]] in the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Mahasthan_Brahmi_Inscription|title=Mahasthan Brahmi Inscription |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The inscription was an administrative order instructing relief for a distressed segment of the population.<ref name="auto1"/> [[Punch-marked coins]] found in the region indicate that [[coin]]s were used as currency during the Iron Age.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Punch_Marked_Coins|title=Punch Marked Coins |website=Banglapedia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bb.org.bd/museum/collections/ancient.php|title=About Taka Museum|website=bb.org.bd}}</ref> The namesake of Bengal is the ancient Vanga Kingdom which was reputed as a naval power with overseas colonies. A prince from Bengal named [[Prince Vijaya|Vijaya]] founded the first kingdom in [[Sri Lanka]]. The two most prominent pan-Indian empires of this period included the Mauryans and the [[Gupta Empire]]. The region was a centre of artistic, political, social, spiritual and scientific thinking, including the invention of [[chess]], [[Indian numerals]], and the concept of [[zero]].<ref name="Murray 1913">{{cite book |last=Murray |first=H. J. R. |author-link=H. J. R. Murray |title=A History of Chess |publisher=Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press) |year=1913 |isbn=978-0-936317-01-4 |oclc=13472872 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchess00murr }}</ref>

The region was known to the ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] and [[Roman world|Romans]] as [[Gangaridai]].<ref name=Gangaridai>{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Gangaridai |title=Gangaridai |access-date=5 August 2015 |last=Chowdhury |first=AM |website=[[Banglapedia]] |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602094443/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Gangaridai |archive-date=2 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Greek ambassador [[Megasthenes]] chronicled its military strength and dominance of the [[Ganges delta]]. The invasion army of [[Alexander the Great]] was deterred by the accounts of Gangaridai's power in 325&nbsp;BCE, including a [[cavalry]] of [[war elephant]]s. Later Roman accounts noted maritime trade routes with Bengal. 1st century Roman coins with images of [[Hercules]] were found in the region and point to trade links with [[Roman Egypt]] through the [[Red Sea]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/112-1311/letter-from/1406-wari-bateshwar-ptolemy-sounagoura-indo-pacific-beads#art_page2 |title=A Family's Passion |magazine=Archaeology Magazine |date=November–December 2013}}</ref> The [[Wari-Bateshwar ruins]] are believed to be the emporium (trading centre) of Sounagoura mentioned by Roman geographer [[Claudius Ptolemy]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081769/1/Man_and_Environment_Bangladesh_Archaeobotany_7_01_2019.pdf |title=Wari-Bateshwar and Vikrampura: 2 Successful Case Studies in Bangladesh 3 Archaeobotany |publisher=University College London |access-date=6 March 2023 |author=Mizanur Rahman |display-authors=et. al.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-28431 |title=Wari-Bateshwar one of earliest kingdoms |first1=Emran |last1=Hossain |date=19 March 2008 |work=The Daily Star}}</ref> A Roman amphora was found in [[Purba Medinipur district]] of West Bengal which was made in [[Aelana]] (present-day Aqaba, [[Jordan]]) between the 4th and 7th centuries AD.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sarkar |first1=Sebanti |date=19 February 2018 |title=In rural Bengal, an indefatigable relic hunter has uncovered a hidden chapter of history |url=https://scroll.in/magazine/868330/in-rural-bengal-an-indefatigable-relic-hunter-has-uncovered-a-hidden-chapter-of-history |work=Scroll.in |access-date=18 February 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Pañcarakṣā (Cambridge University Library MS Add.1688).jpg|thumb|Buddhist palm leaf manuscript, 10th century CE.]]
The first unified Bengali polity can be traced to the reign of [[Shashanka]]. The origins of the [[Bengali calendar]] can be traced to his reign. Shashanka founded the [[Gauda Kingdom]]. After Shashanka's death, Bengal experienced a period of civil war known as Matsyanyayam.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Matsyanyayam | title=Matsyanyayam |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The ancient city of [[Gauda (city)|Gauda]] later gave birth to the [[Pala Empire]]. The first Pala emperor [[Gopala I]] was chosen by an assembly of chieftains in Gauda. The Pala kingdom grew into one of the largest empires in the Indian subcontinent. The Pala period saw advances in linguistics, sculpture, painting, and education. The empire achieved its greatest territorial extent under [[Dharmapala (emperor)|Dharmapala]] and [[Devapala (Pala dynasty)|Devapala]]. The Palas vied for control of [[Kannauj]] with the rival [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] and [[Rashtrakuta]] dynasties. Pala influence also extended to [[Tibet]] and [[Sumatra]] due to the travels and preachings of [[Atisa]]. The university of [[Nalanda]] was established by the Palas. They also built the [[Somapura Mahavihara]], which was the largest monastic institution in the subcontinent. The rule of the Palas eventually disintegrated. The [[Chandra dynasty]] ruled southeastern Bengal and [[Arakan]]. The [[Varman dynasty]] ruled parts of northeastern Bengal and [[Assam]]. The [[Sena dynasty]] emerged as the main successor of the Palas by the 11th century. The Senas were a resurgent Hindu dynasty which ruled much of Bengal. The smaller [[Deva dynasty]] also ruled parts of the region. Ancient Chinese visitors like [[Xuanzang]] provided elaborate accounts of Bengal's cities and monastic institutions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Hiuen-Tsang | title=Hiuen-Tsang |website=Banglapedia}}</ref>

Muslim trade with Bengal flourished after the fall of the [[Sasanian Empire]] and the [[Arab]] takeover of Persian trade routes. Much of this trade occurred with southeastern Bengal in areas east of the [[Meghna River]]. Bengal was probably used as a transit route to China by the earliest Muslims. [[Abbasid]] coins have been discovered in the archaeological ruins of [[Somapura Mahavihara|Paharpur]] and [[Mainamati]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Coins|title=Coins |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> A collection of Sasanian, [[Umayyad]] and Abbasid coins are preserved in the [[Bangladesh National Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.asiaticsociety.org.bd/journal/H_DEC_2017/4_H_Shariful%20%20&%20Monir.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.asiaticsociety.org.bd/journal/H_DEC_2017/4_H_Shariful%20%20&%20Monir.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Microsoft Word – 4_H_942 Revised_ Monir m.doc |access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref>

===Sultanate period===
{{See also|Bengal Sultanate}}
[[File:Tribute Giraffe with Attendant.jpg|thumb|Chinese manuscript showing an African giraffe gifted to China by the [[Sultan of Bengal]] in 1414]]

In 1204, the [[Ghurid Empire|Ghurid]] general [[Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji]] began the Islamic conquest of Bengal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard M. |title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=ch02&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch02&brand=ucpress |year=1993 |publisher=University of California Press |quote=By the time Muhammad Bakhtiyar conquered northwestern Bengal in 1204}}</ref> The fall of Lakhnauti was recounted by historians circa 1243. Lakhnauti was the capital of the Sena dynasty. According to historical accounts, Ghurid cavalry swept across the Gangetic plains towards Bengal. They entered the Bengali capital disguised as horse traders. Once inside the royal compound, Bakhtiyar and his horsemen swiftly overpowered the guards of the Sena king who had just sat down to eat a meal. The king then hastily fled to the forest with his followers.<ref name="auto5">{{cite web |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=intro&toc.depth=1&toc.id=intro&brand=ucpress | title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 }}</ref> The overthrow of the Sena king has been described as a coup d'état, which "inaugurated an era, lasting over five centuries, during which most of Bengal was dominated by rulers professing the Islamic faith. In itself this was not exceptional, since from about this time until the eighteenth century, Muslim sovereigns ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. What was exceptional, however, was that among India's interior provinces only in Bengal—a region approximately the size of England and Scotland combined—did a majority of the indigenous population adopt the religion of the ruling class, Islam".<ref name="auto5"/> Bengal became a province of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. A coin featuring a horseman was issued to celebrate the Muslim conquest of Lakhnauti with inscriptions in Sanskrit and Arabic. An abortive [[Islamic invasion of Tibet]] was also mounted by Bakhtiyar. Bengal was under the formal rule of the Delhi Sultanate for approximately 150 years. Delhi struggled to consolidate control over Bengal. Rebel governors often sought to assert autonomy or independence. Sultan [[Iltutmish]] re-established control over Bengal in 1225 after suppressing the rebels. Due to the considerable overland distance, Delhi's authority in Bengal was relatively weak. It was left to local governors to expand territory and bring new areas under Muslim rule, such as through the [[Conquest of Sylhet]] in 1303.

In 1338, new rebellions sprung up in Bengal's three main towns. Governors in Lakhnauti, [[Satgaon]] and [[Sonargaon]] declared independence from Delhi. This allowed the ruler of Sonargaon, [[Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah]], to annexe [[Chittagong]] to the Islamic administration. By 1352, the ruler of Satgaon, [[Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah]], unified the region into an independent state. Ilyas Shah established his capital in [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Iliyas_Shah | title=Iliyas Shah |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The new breakaway state emerged as the [[Bengal Sultanate]], which developed into a territorial, mercantile and maritime empire. At the time, the [[Islamic world]] stretched from [[Muslim Spain]] in the west to Bengal in the east.

The initial raids of Ilyas Shah saw the first Muslim army enter [[Nepal]] and stretched from [[Varanasi]] in the west to [[Orissa]] in the south to [[Assam]] in the east.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Iliyas_Shah | title=Iliyas Shah |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The Delhi army continued to fend off the new Bengali army. The [[Bengal Sultanate-Delhi Sultanate War|Bengal-Delhi War]] ended in 1359 when Delhi recognised the independence of Bengal. Ilyas Shah's son [[Sikandar Shah]] defeated Delhi Sultan [[Firuz Shah Tughluq]] during the Siege of Ekdala Fort. A subsequent peace treaty recognised Bengal's independence and Sikandar Shah was gifted a golden crown by the Sultan of Delhi.<ref>Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. p. 73. {{ISBN|978-0-14-341678-4}}.</ref> The ruler of [[Arakan]] sought refuge in Bengal during the reign of [[Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah]]. [[Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah]] later helped the Arakanese king to regain control of his throne in exchange for becoming a [[tributary state]] of the Bengal Sultanate. Bengali influence in Arakan persisted for 300 years.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rohuAAAAMAAJ|title=Bengal-Arakan Relations, 1430–1666 A.D.|first=Mohammed Ali|last=Chowdhury|date=25 November 2004|publisher=Firma K.L.M.|isbn=9788171021185}}</ref> Bengal also helped the king of Tripura to regain control of his throne in exchange for becoming a tributary state. The ruler of the [[Jaunpur Sultanate]] also sought refuge in Bengal.<ref name="Hasan2007p16-17">{{cite book |author=Perween Hasan |year=2007 |title=Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uunyz4qFZwEC&pg=PA16 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |pages=16–17 |isbn=978-1-84511-381-0 |quote="[Husayn Shah pushed] its western frontier past Bihar up to Saran in Jaunpur ... when Sultan Husayn Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur fled to Bengal after being defeated in battle by Sultan Sikandar Lodhi of Delhi, the latter attacked Bengal in pursuit of the Jaunpur ruler. Unable to make any gains, Sikandar Lodhi returned home after concluding a peace treaty with the Bengal sultan."}}</ref> The [[vassal state]]s of Bengal included Arakan, Tripura, [[Chandradwip]] and [[Pratapgarh Kingdom|Pratapgarh]]. At its peak, the Bengal Sultanate's territory included parts of Arakan, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, and Tripura.<ref name="auto6"/> The Bengal Sultanate experienced its greatest military success under [[Alauddin Hussain Shah]], who was proclaimed as the conqueror of Assam after his forces led by [[Shah Ismail Ghazi]] overthrew the [[Khen dynasty]] and annexed large parts of Assam. In maritime trade, the Bengal Sultanate benefited from [[Indian Ocean trade]] networks and emerged as a hub of [[re-export]]s. A giraffe was brought by African envoys from [[Malindi]] to Bengal's court and was later gifted to [[Imperial China]]. Ship-owing merchants acted as envoys of the Sultan while travelling to different regions in Asia and Africa. Many rich Bengali merchants lived in Malacca.<ref name="autogenerated185">Irfan Habib (2011). Economic History of Medieval India, 1200–1500. Pearson Education India. p. 185. ISBN 978-81-317-2791-1.</ref> Bengali ships transported embassies from [[Brunei]], [[Aceh Sultanate|Aceh]] and [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]] to China. Bengal and the [[Maldives]] had a vast trade in [[shell currency]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boomgaard |first=P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXphAAAAQBAJ |title=Linking Destinies: Trade, Towns and Kin in Asian History |date=1 January 2008 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004253995 |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106131821/https://books.google.com/books?id=TXphAAAAQBAJ |archive-date=6 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Sultan of Bengal donated funds to build schools in the [[Hejaz]] region of Arabia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ghiyasia_Madrasa|title=Ghiyasia Madrasa |website=Banglapedia}}</ref>

The five dynastic periods of the Bengal Sultanate spanned from the [[Ilyas Shahi dynasty]], to a period of rule by Bengali converts, to the [[Hussain Shahi dynasty]], to a period of rule by Abyssinian usurpers; an interruption by the [[Sur Empire|Suri dynasty]]; and ended with the [[Karrani dynasty]]. The [[Battle of Raj Mahal]] and the capture of [[Daud Khan Karrani]] marked the end of the Bengal Sultanate during the reign of [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]]. In the late 16th-century, a confederation called the [[Baro-Bhuyan]] resisted Mughal invasions in eastern Bengal. The Baro-Bhuyan included twelve Muslim and Hindu leaders of the [[Zamindars of Bengal]]. They were led by [[Isa Khan]], a former prime minister of the Bengal Sultanate. By the 17th century, the Mughals were able to fully absorb the region to their empire.

===Mughal period===
{{See also|Bengal Subah}}
[[File:Akbar prays after Bengal victory.jpg|thumb|[[Mughal painting]] showing [[Emperor Akbar]] offering prayers after the conquest of Bengal]]

[[File:Royal Peacock Barge LACMA M.82.154.jpg|thumb|Art of [[Murshidabad]]. An [[ivory]] [[elephant tusk]] crafted into a model of the Royal Peacock Barge of the [[Nawab of Bengal]]]]
[[Mughal Bengal]] had the richest elite and was the wealthiest region in the subcontinent. Bengal's trade and wealth impressed the Mughals so much that it was described as the ''Paradise of the Nations'' by the [[Mughal Emperor]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Collection of Treaties and Engagements with the Native Princes and States of Asia: Concluded on Behalf of the East India Company by the British Governments in India, Viz. by the Government of Bengal Etc. : Also Copies of Sunnuds Or Grants of Certain Privileges and Imunities to the East India Company by the Mogul and Other Native Princes of Hindustan |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_J_1RAAAAcAAJ |access-date=23 August 2013 |year=1812 |publisher=United East-India Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_J_1RAAAAcAAJ/page/n55 28]}}</ref> A new provincial capital was built in [[Dhaka]]. Members of the imperial family were appointed to positions in Mughal Bengal, including the position of governor (''[[subedar]]''). Dhaka became a centre of palace intrigue and politics. Some of the most prominent governors included [[Rajput]] general [[Man Singh I]], Emperor [[Shah Jahan]]'s son Prince [[Shah Shuja (Mughal prince)|Shah Shuja]], Emperor [[Aurangzeb]]'s son and later Mughal emperor [[Muhammad Azam Shah|Azam Shah]], and the influential aristocrat [[Shaista Khan]]. During the tenure of Shaista Khan, the Portuguese and Arakanese were expelled from the port of Chittagong in 1666. Bengal became the eastern frontier of the Mughal administration. By the 18th century, Bengal became home to a semi-independent aristocracy led by the [[Nawabs of Bengal]].<ref name="google7">{{cite book |title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century |author=Ahmed, F. S. |date=2011 |publisher=Pearson |isbn=9788131732021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxhAtCflwOMC |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> Bengal premier [[Murshid Quli Khan]] managed to curtail the influence of the governor due to his rivalry with Prince Azam Shah. Khan controlled Bengal's finances since he was in charge of the treasury. He shifted the provincial capital from Dhaka to [[Murshidabad]].

In 1717, the Mughal court in Delhi recognised the hereditary monarchy of the Nawab of Bengal. The ruler was officially titled as the "Nawab of Bengal, [[Bihar]] and [[Orissa]]", as the Nawab ruled over the three regions in the eastern subcontinent. The Nawabs began issuing their own coins but continued to pledge nominal allegiance to the Mughal emperor. The wealth of Bengal was vital for the Mughal court because Delhi received its biggest share of revenue from the Nawab's court. The Nawabs presided over a period of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity, including an era of growing organisation in textiles, banking, a military-industrial complex, the production of fine quality [[handicrafts]], and other trades. A process of [[proto-industrialisation]] was underway. Under the Nawabs, the streets of Bengali cities were filled with brokers, workers, peons, naibs, wakils, and ordinary traders.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Murshidabad |title=Murshidabad |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The Nawab's state was a major exporter of [[muslin trade in Bengal|Bengal muslin]], silk, [[gunpowder]] and [[saltpetre]]. The Nawabs also permitted European trading companies to operate in Bengal, including the [[British East India Company]], the [[John Law's Company|French East India Company]], the [[Danish East India Company]], the [[Austrian East India Company]], the [[Ostend Company]], and the [[Dutch East India Company]]. The Nawabs were also suspicious of the growing influence of these companies.
[[File:Krishna traveling to Mathura (Bengal painting).jpg|thumb|Bengali manuscript painting, 17th century.]]

Under Mughal rule, Bengal was a centre of the worldwide [[muslin]] and silk trades. During the Mughal era, the most important centre of cotton production was Bengal, particularly around its capital city of Dhaka, leading to muslin being called "daka" in distant markets such as Central Asia.<ref name="eaton">Richard Maxwell Eaton (1996), [https://books.google.com/books?id=gKhChF3yAOUC&pg=PA202 ''The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760'', page 202], [[University of California Press]]</ref> Domestically, much of India depended on Bengali products such as rice, silks and cotton textiles. Overseas, Europeans depended on Bengali products such as cotton textiles, silks and opium; Bengal accounted for 40% of [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] imports from Asia, for example, including more than 50% of textiles and around 80% of silks.<ref name="Prakash">[[Om Prakash (historian)|Om Prakash]], "[http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3447600139/WHIC?u=seat24826&xid=6b597320 Empire, Mughal]", ''History of World Trade Since 1450'', edited by [[John J. McCusker]], vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 237–240, ''World History in Context''. Retrieved 3 August 2017</ref> From Bengal, saltpetre was also shipped to Europe, opium was sold in [[Indonesia]], raw silk was exported to Japan and the Netherlands, cotton and silk textiles were exported to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan,<ref name="richards95">[[John F. Richards]] (1995), [https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&pg=PA202 ''The Mughal Empire'', page 202], [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref> cotton cloth was exported to the Americas and the Indian Ocean.<ref name="riello">{{cite book |title=How India Clothed the World: The World of South Asian Textiles, 1500–1850 |author=Giorgio Riello, Tirthankar Roy |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] | year=2009 |page=174 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niuwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA174|isbn=9789047429975 }}</ref> Bengal also had a large [[shipbuilding]] industry. In terms of shipbuilding tonnage during the 16th–18th centuries, economic historian Indrajit Ray estimates the annual output of Bengal at 223,250 tons, compared with 23,061 tons produced in nineteen colonies in North America from 1769 to 1771.<ref name="ray174">{{cite book |last=Ray |first=Indrajit |year=2011 |title=Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 |publisher=Routledge |page=174 |isbn=978-1-136-82552-1}}</ref>

Since the 16th century, European traders traversed the sea routes to Bengal, following the Portuguese conquests of Malacca and Goa. The Portuguese established a [[Portuguese Chittagong|settlement in Chittagong]] with permission from the Bengal Sultanate in 1528 but were later expelled by the Mughals in 1666. In the 18th-century, the Mughal Court rapidly disintegrated due to [[Nader Shah's invasion of India|Nader Shah's invasion]] and internal rebellions, allowing European colonial powers to set up trading posts across the territory. The British East India Company eventually emerged as the foremost military power in the region; and defeated the last independent Nawab of Bengal at the [[Battle of Plassey]] in 1757.<ref name="google7" />

=== Colonial era (1757–1947) ===
{{Main|Bengal Presidency}}
[[File:Victoria Memorial, Calcutta - LIFE.jpg|thumb|[[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata|Victoria Memorial]] in [[Calcutta]]]]
[[File:Lord Clive meeting with Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Plassey]] in 1757 ushered British rule]]
The British [[East India Company]] began influencing and controlling the [[Nawab of Bengal]] from 1757 after the Battle of Plassey, thus signalling the start of British influence in India. British control of Bengal increased between 1757 and 1793 while the Nawab was reduced to a puppet figure.<ref>{{cite book |author=Baten, Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=251 |isbn=978-1-107-50718-0}}</ref>
with the [[Presidency of Fort William]] asserting greater control over the entire province of Bengal and neighbouring territories. [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] was named the capital of [[British territories in India]] in 1772. The presidency was run by a military-civil administration, including the [[Bengal Army]], and had the world's sixth earliest railway network. Between 1833 and 1854, the [[Governor of Bengal]] was concurrently the [[Governor-General of India]] for many years. Great [[Famines in India|Bengal famines]] struck several times during colonial rule (notably the [[Great Bengal famine of 1770]] and [[Bengal famine of 1943]]).<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/worst-atrocities-british-empire-amritsar-boer-war-concentration-camp-mau-mau-a6821756.html 5 of the worst atrocities carried out by the British Empire]. ''The Independent''. 19 January 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/29/winston-churchill-policies-contributed-to-1943-bengal-famine-study Churchill's policies contributed to 1943 Bengal famine – study]. ''The Guardian''. 29 March 2019.</ref> Under British rule, Bengal experienced the [[deindustrialisation]] of its pre-colonial economy.<ref name="ray">{{cite book |last=Ray |first=Indrajit |year=2011 |title=Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |publisher=Routledge |pages=7–10 |isbn=978-1-136-82552-1}}</ref>

Company policies led to the deindustrialisation of Bengal's textile industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Cornwallis-Code/26365|title=Cornwallis Code|date=4 February 2009|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=24 February 2017}}</ref> The capital amassed by the East India Company in Bengal was invested in the emerging [[Industrial Revolution]] in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]], in industries such as [[Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution|textile manufacturing]].<ref name="ray"/><ref name="sengupta">Shombit Sengupta, [http://www.financialexpress.com/archive/bengals-plunder-gifted-the-british-industrial-revolution/576476/ Bengals plunder gifted the British Industrial Revolution], ''[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]'', 8 February 2010</ref> Economic mismanagement, alongside drought and a smallpox epidemic, directly led to the Great Bengal famine of 1770, which is estimated to have caused the deaths of between 1 million and 10 million people.<ref name="Roy2019">{{citation|last=Roy|first=Tirthankar|title=How British Rule Changed India's Economy: The Paradox of the Raj|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBWZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|year=2019|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-030-17708-9|pages=117–|quote=The 1769-1770 famine in Bengal followed two years of erratic rainfall worsened by a smallpox epidemic.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Datta|first=Rajat|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44927255|title=Society, economy, and the market : commercialization in rural Bengal, c. 1760–1800|date=2000|publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors|isbn=81-7304-341-8|location=New Delhi|pages=262, 266|oclc=44927255}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Amartya Sen|title=Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation|url=https://archive.org/details/povertyfamineses0000sena|url-access=registration|year=1981|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-828463-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/povertyfamineses0000sena/page/39 39]}}</ref><ref name="Jonsson2013p167">{{cite book|author=Fredrik Albritton Jonsson|title=Enlightenment's Frontier: The Scottish Highlands and the Origins of Environmentalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d9FUmajYyqgC&pg=PT167|date=18 June 2013|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-16374-2|pages=167–170}}</ref>

In 1862, the [[British Bengal Legislative Council|Bengal Legislative Council]] was set up as the first modern [[List of legislatures in South Asia|legislature in India]]. Elected representation was gradually introduced during the early 20th century, including with the [[Morley-Minto reforms]] and the system of [[dyarchy]]. In 1937, the council became the upper chamber of the Bengali legislature while the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly (1937—1947)|Bengal Legislative Assembly]] was created. Between 1937 and 1947, the chief executive of the government was the [[Prime Minister of Bengal]].

The Bengal Presidency was the largest administrative unit in the [[British Empire]]. At its height, it covered large parts of present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, and Singapore. In 1830, the British Straits Settlements on the coast of the [[Malacca Straits]] was made a residency of Bengal. The area included the erstwhile [[Prince of Wales Island (Malaysia)|Prince of Wales Island]], [[Province Wellesley]], [[Malacca]] and [[Singapore]].<ref name="autogenerated2"/> In 1867, [[Penang]], Singapore and Malacca were separated from Bengal into the [[Straits Settlements]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/bd541c73-58ef-4bb1-9de7-173f00913286 |title=The Straits Settlements becomes a residency – Singapore History |website=Eresources.nlb.gov.sg |access-date=30 March 2020}}</ref> [[British Burma]] became a province of India and a later a [[Crown colony]] in itself. Western areas, including the [[Ceded and Conquered Provinces]] and [[Punjab Province (British India)|The Punjab]], were further reorganised. Northeastern areas became [[Colonial Assam]].[[File:Khas Mahal (Agra Fort)-1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bengal roofs]] seen on Mughal architecture, c. 1600s]]

In 1876, about 200,000 people were killed in Bengal by the [[1876 Bangladesh cyclone|Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876]] in the [[Barisal]] region.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Masud Hasan |title=Cyclone |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Cyclone |website=[[Banglapedia]] | publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] | access-date=6 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119131247/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Cyclone |archive-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> About 50 million were killed in Bengal due to massive plague outbreaks and famines which happened in 1895 to 1920, mostly in western Bengal.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The "Gandhians" of Bengal: Nationalism, Social Reconstruction and Cultural Orientations 1920–1942|page=19|quote=Malaria was endemic in rural areas during the 19th century, particularly in western Bengal. This was ... The famine of 1769–70 resulted in about ten million deaths, while 50 million died of malaria, plague and famine between 1895 and 19206.}}</ref>
[[File:Mahomedan wedding at night.jpg|thumb|Wedding at night, [[Murshidabad]], Bengal, 1810]]
[[File:Gangesdelta klein.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[Ganges-Brahmaputra delta]]]]
The [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] was initiated on the outskirts of Calcutta, and spread to Dhaka, Chittagong, Jalpaiguri, Sylhet and Agartala, in solidarity with revolts in North India. The failure of the rebellion led to the abolition of the [[Company Rule in India]] and establishment of direct rule over India by the British, commonly referred to as the [[British Raj]]. The late 19th and early 20th century [[Bengal Renaissance]] had a great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal and started a great advance in the literature and science of Bengal. Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to [[Partition of Bengal (1905)|divide the province of Bengal]] into two: Bengal proper and the short-lived province of [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]] where the [[All India Muslim League]] was founded.<ref name=baxter3>{{cite book |last=Baxter |first=Craig|author-link = Craig Baxter |year=1997 |title=Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State |location=Boulder, CO |publisher=Westview Press |pages=39–40 |isbn=0-8133-2854-3}}</ref> In 1911, the Bengali poet and polymath [[Rabindranath Tagore]] became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].

Bengal played a major role in the [[Indian independence movement]], in which [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|revolutionary groups]] were dominant. Armed attempts to overthrow the British Raj began with the rebellion of [[Titumir]], and reached a climax when [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] led the [[Indian National Army]] against the British. Bengal was also central in the rising political awareness of the Muslim population—the [[All-India Muslim League]] was established in Dhaka in 1906. The Muslim homeland movement pushed for a sovereign state in eastern India with the [[Lahore Resolution]] in 1943. [[Hindu nationalism]] was also strong in Bengal, which was home to groups like the [[Hindu Mahasabha]]. In spite of a last-ditch effort by politicians [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]], [[Sarat Chandra Bose]] to form a [[United Bengal]],<ref name=unitedbengal>{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=United_Independent_Bengal_Movement |title=United Independent Bengal Movement |access-date=5 August 2015 |author=Chitta Ranjan Misra |website=[[Banglapedia]] | publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150805022148/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=United_Independent_Bengal_Movement |archive-date=5 August 2015}}</ref> when India [[History of the Republic of India|gained independence]] in 1947, Bengal was [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partitioned]] along religious lines.<ref name = parttionbanglaped /> The western joined India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called [[East Bengal]] (later renamed [[East Pakistan]], giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The circumstances of partition were bloody, with widespread religious riots in Bengal.<ref name=parttionbanglaped>{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Partition_of_Bengal,_1947 |title=Partition of Bengal, 1947 |access-date=5 August 2015 |author=Harun-or-Rashid |website=[[Banglapedia]] | publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702002256/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Partition_of_Bengal,_1947 |archive-date=2 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=calcuttakilling>{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Calcutta_Riot,_1946 |title=Calcutta Riot (1946) |access-date=5 August 2015 |author=Suranjan Das |website=[[Banglapedia]] | publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801150533/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Calcutta_Riot%2C_1946 |archive-date=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Partition of Bengal (1947)===
{{See also|United Bengal|History of Bangladesh|History of West Bengal}}{{Main|Partition of Bengal (1947)}}

On 27 April 1947, the last [[Prime Minister of Bengal]] [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]] held a press conference in New Delhi where he outlined his vision for an independent Bengal. Suhrawardy said "Let us pause for a moment to consider what Bengal can be if it remains united. It will be a great country, indeed the richest and the most prosperous in India capable of giving to its people a high standard of living, where a great people will be able to rise to the fullest height of their stature, a land that will truly be plentiful. It will be rich in agriculture, rich in industry and commerce and in course of time it will be one of the powerful and progressive states of the world. If Bengal remains united this will be no dream, no fantasy".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://scroll.in/article/907754/why-did-british-prime-minister-attlee-think-bengal-was-going-to-be-an-independent-country-in-1947 |title=Why did British prime minister Attlee think Bengal was going to be an independent country in 1947? |work=Scroll.in |date=6 January 2019}}</ref> On 2 June 1947, [[British Prime Minister]] [[Clement Attlee]] told the [[US Ambassador to the United Kingdom]] that there was a "distinct possibility Bengal might decide against partition and against joining either Hindustan or Pakistan".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1453994/uk-pm-attlee-believed-bengal-may-opt-to-be-a-separate-country |title=UK PM Attlee believed Bengal may opt to be a separate country |newspaper=Dawn|location=Pakistan|date=28 December 2018}}</ref>

On 3 June 1947, the [[Mountbatten Plan]] outlined the [[partition of British India]]. On 20 June, the Bengal Legislative Assembly met to decide on the partition of Bengal. At the preliminary joint meeting, it was decided (126 votes to 90) that if the province remained united, it should join the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]. At a separate meeting of legislators from [[West Bengal]], it was decided (58 votes to 21) that the province should be partitioned and West Bengal should join the [[Constituent Assembly of India]]. At another meeting of legislators from [[East Bengal]], it was decided (106 votes to 35) that the province should not be partitioned and (107 votes to 34) that East Bengal should join the Constituent Assembly of [[Pakistan]] if Bengal was partitioned.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bose |first=Sugata |title=Agrarian Bengal: Economy, Social Structure and Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxXInQEACAAJ |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=230 |isbn=978-0-521-30448-1}}</ref> On 6 July, the [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet district]] of Assam voted in a [[1947 Sylhet referendum|referendum to join East Bengal]].

The English barrister [[Cyril Radcliffe]] was instructed to draw the borders of Pakistan and India. The [[Radcliffe Line]] created the boundary between the [[Dominion of India]] and the [[Dominion of Pakistan]], which later became the [[Bangladesh-India border]]. The Radcliffe Line awarded two-thirds of Bengal as the eastern wing of Pakistan, although the historic Bengali capitals of [[Gauda (city)|Gaur]], [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]], [[Murshidabad]] and Calcutta fell on the Indian side close to the border with Pakistan. Dhaka's status as a capital was also restored.