Malda: The Birth and Growth of a Small Town in Mughal-Period North Bengal

Abstract

Bengal had a long tradition of emergence, growth and decline of towns from the earliest times to the present century. During the rule of the independent Sultans of Bengal, a list of capital towns appeared in the urban history of early medieval Bengal. The trend of urbanisation also continued in Bengal under Mughal rule. But the European companies’ trade with Bengal also contributed. How the factory of the English at Malda during the seventeenth century contributed to the growth of a manufacturing and trade centre is a key issue in this study.