colony · South Asia

Dutch Bengal

1627 CE – 1825 CE · capital Chinsurah

The Dutch East India Company's directorate in Bengal, based at Chinsurah on the Hooghly, a major source of silk, opium and saltpetre.

Origins

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) began trading in Bengal in the 1620s, opening a factory at Pipli and then establishing its main base at Chinsurah on the Hooghly river around 1635. In 1656 it built Fort Gustavus there, and Bengal became a separate directorate with posts at Kasimbazar, Patna and Dhaka.

Rule and society

Bengal supplied raw silk, cotton cloth, saltpetre for gunpowder and opium for the Indonesian trade, and by the late 17th century was among the VOC's most profitable regions. The Dutch operated under the Mughal Empire and later the Nawabate of Bengal, paying duties and seeking privileges by negotiation.

Decline and legacy

The British East India Company's victory at Chinsurah in 1759 ended Dutch ambitions in Bengal. The British occupied the posts during the Napoleonic Wars, and Chinsurah was ceded to Britain in 1825 under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Dutch Bengal. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-bengal
MLA
“Dutch Bengal.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-bengal. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Dutch Bengal.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-bengal.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Dutch Bengal’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-bengal (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻