Why the cities of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay were fortified? How did it lead to the development of White Town and Black Town?
Madras, Calcutta and Bombay had become important ports by the eighteenth century. They had many factories and mercantile offices built by the East India Company. So the British got these cities fortified to ensure protection of both men and the goods. In Madras, the White men settled in Fort St. George. They settled in Fort William in Calcutta. They lived near the Fort in Bombay. On the other hand, the Indians lived outside these forts. They had their own settlements where the merchants, artisans and other workers lived together.
All these cities had separate quarters for the Indians and the Europeans. The Indians lived in the Black Towns wheres the white lived in the
White Town. The Black areas symbolised by chaos and anarchy, filth and disease. But the white areas stood for hygiene and cleanliness.
