Hooghly district



Hooghly is one of the districts of the state of in. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the.

The headquarters of the district is at. There are 4 subdivisions to the district:, ,  and.

History
The district of Hooghly got its name from the town of Hooghly situated on the west bank of about 40 km north of. This town was a river port in the fifteenth century. The first European to reach this area was the sailor. In 1536 Portuguese traders got a permit from Sultan Mahmud Shah to trade in this area. In those days the Hooghly River was the main way for transportation and Hooghly served as an excellent trading port. Within a few decades the town of Hooghly turned into a major commercial center and the largest port in Bengal. Later in 1579-80 gave permission to a Portuguese captain Pedro Tavares to establish a city anywhere in the Bengal province. They normally chosed Hooghly and thus Hooghly became the first European settlement in Bengal. In 1599 the Portuguese traders built a and a  in. This is the first Christian church in Bengal known as ‘Bandel church’ today.

But the Portuguese traders started misusing their power. They started, and  by pressure. At a time they even stopped paying taxes to the. As a result emperor ordered the then ruler of Bengal province, Kashim Khan Juini to block the city of Hooghly. This eventually led to war in which the Portuguese completely lost their ground here and didn’t become able to rise again. Among other European powers that came to Hooghly were Dutch, Danish, British, French, Belgians and Germans. Dutch traders centered their activities in the town which is just south to Hooghly. became the base of the French and remained under their control from 1816 to 1950. Similarly the Danish settled in. All of these towns are situated on the west bank of the Hooghly River and served as ports. But among these nations the British ultimately became most powerful. Initially they were based in and around the city of Hooghly like traders from other countries but in 1690 an agent of the British East India Company named Job Charnock decided to shift their trading center from the city of Hooghly to Kolkata. The reason behind this decision was the strategically safe location of Kolkata and its proximity to the sea. As a result the center of gravity of trade and commerce in Bengal province shifted from the city Hooghly to Kolkata and Hooghly subsequently lost its importance as Kolkata prospered. Since the ‘Buxar war’ this region was under direct British rule until India’s independence in 1947. After independence this district merged into the state of.

Though the city of Hooghly is more than five hundred years old the district of Hooghly was formed in 1795 with the city of Hooghly as its headquarters. Later the headquarters shifted to the town of. In 1843 the was created from the southern portion of this district. And in 1872 the south-west portion of this district was merged into the. The last change in area occurred in 1966.

is a tourist spot in this district.

Geography


The district is a completely flat land with no place having more than an elevation of 200 meters. The River Hooghly borders it to the east. Another major river is 'Damodar'. The district is bordered by District to the south,  District to the north, and to the east by the. District lies to the north-west, with District to the south-west.

Economy
Hooghly is the one of the most economically developed districts in West Bengal. It is also the main, , and hub in the state_name. There are also a number of engineering farms including one of the largest car manufacturing plants in India, the 'Hindustan Motors' plant located in Hindmotor. The s are located along the banks of the river Hooghly in Tribeni, Bhadreswar, Champdani and Sreerampur.