SPACEPHOTOS

The city of Calcutta appears in this 24 by 34 km (15 by 21 mile) sub-scene, acquired March 29, 2000. In 1690 the British East India Company founded Calcutta as a trading post on the marshy east bank of the Hugli River. Chosen for its easily defensible location and its access to the Bay of Bengal, the site developed into an important trading port. In 1773 Calcutta was made the capital of British India. As merchants and workers from all over the Indian subcontinent flocked to the city, British interests prospered, and British colonizers built mansions and palaces on land reclaimed from the marshes and swampland. In 1912, however, Calcutta lost its position as the colonial capital to Delhi. The end of British rule in India in 1947 cut off many of Calcutta's sources of trade and brought a deluge of immigrants to the city. The Bangladesh war in 1971 exacerbated the influx of refugees. Today this vibrant city has a population of over 5 million, and continues to sprawl to the north and south from the central grid of its old European section.