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DHAKA

In the past few years the capital city of Dhaka has grown enormously, both in population and area size. As is the case elsewhere around the globe, much of the expansion is due to the influx of economic refugees from the countryside. From a population of around one million in 1971, Dhaka has exploded to close to eight million. It’s now the world’s 19th largest city and is expected to reach the top 10 within 10 to 15 years. The only way to escape the pandemonium of crowded streets is to head out of town!Dhaka is the rickshaw capital of the world. There are more here than in any other city, and they are by far the most colorfully painted as well. Riding one is always a highlight of any trip here, and the art work makes great souvenirs.

HISTORY

 Dhaka, previously merely a small town dating from the 4th century, first received principal status during the reign f the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. In 1608, Empery or Jahangir appointed Islam Khan Chisti as the Subadar of Bengal. Khan then proceeded to transfer the capital from Rajmahal to Dhaka, which upon his arrival in 1610 he renamed Jahangirnagar. it lost its provincial capital status in 1704 to Murshidabad, but for over half a century afterwards it remained the commercial centre of the region until the British centralized everything in Calcutta, reducing Dhaka to a district headquarters. By the end of the 18th century, Dhaka had lost almost three-quarters of its population and the Muslim cloth trade almost completely vanished. 
During the Mughal period, Dhaka became the chief commercial emporium, so much so that forts were built along the riverbanks to protect the city from Portuguese and Mogh pirates. In 1626 the Mogh pirates and there Portuguese allies briefly took Dhaka, and from 1639 to 1659 the capital was moved to Rajmahal, leaving Dhaka as the administrative centre. This had the effect of encouraging a greater concentration of commerce; and maritime trade brought with it industry, Islamic education and increasing sophistication in the arts. As many as 100 vessels arrived annually to unload their cargo at Narayanganj and to load up with rice, sugar, fats, oilseeds and wax. Exotic goods were imported from central Asia, Persia, Afghanistan and Turkey, and the influx of foreign money resulted in cowries shells being replaced by silver as the local currency. 

Dhaka remained the capital under the Mughals until 1704 when they moved it to Murshibad. Under the Mughals, Dhaka's prosperity was considerably enhanced: they built mosque, palaces, caravanserais, bazars and garden. This development began to attract European traders from southern India.

Five Augustinians, led by Father Bernard de Jesus, Arrived in Dhaka in 1599 and established the First Christian mission in the area. In 1616 it became their official missionary centre for the region. They were followed by Portuguese traders who were given the area of Ichamata, about 18 km from the city centre, now called Ferringi Bazar. Some of these traders the service of the Mughals. 

They were soon followed by the Dutch who established their trading posts in Dholai Khal, a mire favored place, right in the centre of the commercial area. In 1682 the French arrived and, like the Dutch, sided with the Mughals against the Portuguese and Mogh pirates, The area north of Dholai khal was assigned to the Europeans by the Mughals, and it was in this section of the city that they had their headquarters, residences and churches, 

The Church of Our lady of the Holy Rosary was built there by the Portuguese in 1677 and it`s the oldest church in Bangladesh. The Portuguese, the Dutch and the French all vied for influevce with the Mughals, the Armenians and Greeks also arrived on the scene, 

Like the Greeks, the Armenians concentrated on inland trade and it was they who pioneered the jute trade in the second half of the 19th century until they were overtaken by the British monopolies. In 1666 the East India Company established a trading post in Dhaka, but fell afoul of the Mughal Viceroy, shaista khan. Dhaka`s decline as a maritime trade centre had already begum, however, as Narayanganj  began to lose ground to the new port of Satgaon, later to become calcutta. 

The East India Company extended its power to such an extent that by 1757 it controlled all of Bangala except Dhaka, which it took eight years later.   

The Mughal Nawab of Bangala, Naim  Nizamat, was allowed to govern under the British, It was under the British auspices during the late 18th  and early 19th centuries that the dominant forms of current ecomomiv development were established: vast plantations of indigo, sugar, tobacco, tea and, of course, Jute. At the same time the other European powers were eased out: the Dutch surrendered their prop erty to the British in 1781. In 1824, after almost six decades of indirect rule, the British finally took over direct control and administration of the city. 

In 1887 Dhaka becsme a district, and in 1905 Bengal was divided into east and west, the eastern section incorporated Assam, with Dhaka as its capital. From this point on, Dhaka again Began to assume some measure of importance as an administrative centre, Government buildings, churches, residential enclaves and educational institutions transformed it into a city of prosperity, During the existence of East Pakistan, Dhaka was classed as a subsidiary capital and it was not until independence in 1971 that Dhaka once again achieved capital city status.