ABSTRACT
The history of urban centres in India in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is a story of decline and renewal. The decline, particularly in the north, followed the collapse of the Mughal Empire, while the beginnings of the British order represented a period of germination. As Dacca's star waned so Calcutta's rose; a natural development in view of its status as capital of British India. The process of decline thus seemed irreversible. However, the assets of Dacca's geographical location, and the richness of its hinterland remained, and were responsible in the period after 1840 for providing the base for the forces of renewal. While the newly-erected administrative framework rekindled the political importance of Dacca, the advent of English education provided the city with yet another opportunity for re-exerting its prominence in Bengal. Even the economic life of Dacca, chiefly through the recovery of its trade and commerce, experienced a considerable revival.
