Kaustubh Mani Sengupta - Carving Calcutta: Space, Economy and Law in Eighteenth-Century Bengal - 2026

After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company sought to consolidate its grip on the province of Bengal. At the centre of this project was the fledgling town of Calcutta, destined to become the second city of the British Empire. Our new release, ‘

’, lays out in detail the complex negotiations that played out behind the scenes during this time. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, the book reconstructs the planning and execution of key infrastructural, economic and civic projects, including the construction of Fort William and the city’s dockyards and canals, as well as colonial efforts to regularise bazaars and bring Bengal under a standardised legal framework. It offers fascinating insights into the evolution of the East India Company’s understanding and priorities as it shaped Calcutta into a military stronghold, an administrative centre and an urban space distinct from the rest of the province. Author Kaustubh Mani Sengupta is Associate Professor at the Department of History, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. Get your copies today: https://orientblackswan.com/Carving-Calcutta.../details... Or on Amazon: https://amzn.in/d/0243hvBA #OrientBlackSwan #OBSRead