Relic or Springboard? A note on the 'rebirth' of Portuguese Hughli, ca. 1632-1820

The history of Asian port cities during the early modem period has made undeniable progress of late, as demonstrated by a number of collective works published during recent decades.’ Some of these advances have gone hand in hand with systematic research into maritime establishments built along European lines and which, in the most evident cases, led to successful colonial cities that acted as genuine anchoring points for the various European empires. Just to mention the British colonial experience in the subcontinent, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta are all outstanding examples of this phenomenon. 2