History: Ancient Bengal to the Mughal Empire
Posted on 01. Sep, 2009 by Mikey Leung in 1. General Information, Podcast
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Bangladeshi terracotta is visible on its many Hindu and Buddhist temples.
To see the Bangladesh of today against its glorious history, it is both enlightening and depressing to imagine that Bengal used to occupy such a place of glory and power in the subcontinent. During the 16th century, its wealth supported the Mughal Empire, and at its zenith in the mid-18th century, Bengal’s cotton and silk textiles were in demand worldwide with Dutch, Portuguese, British and French traders landing on its shores. However, the late colonial period marked a substantial change as the British proved themselves successful at draining Bengal of its wealth and destroying its cotton industry. Despite its past triumphs, 1943 proved to be the watershed year in this demise, when a terrible famine gripped the people, leaving an estimated three to five million dead from starvation, a tragedy from which modern Bangladesh has yet to fully recover. To understand such atmospheric heights and catastrophic falls, let us start from the beginning. The site is membership-based, with free and paid memberships available. To see the rest of this entry, you need to [ Register ], and [ Login ] to read the rest. Click here to learn more about all-access membership.
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