c. 1908
Publisher No.:
8901
[Original caption] Holwell Monument. John Zephaniah Holwell was the leader of the little band of Europeans left in peril after the Sack of Calcutta by the Nawab of Bengal in June 1756. After a short resistance, Holwell and his gallant party were forced to surrender and were thrust, 146 of them in a guard-room. 18 by 15 feet - the "Black Hole of Calcutta." Only 23 came out alive including Holwell, who wrote an account of their awful sufferings. [end]
While much of this story may have been exaggerated by Holwell, there is little doubt that the "Black Hole" story was used to justify all manner of retribution and control by colonial authorities, and the monument was intended as a lasting marker of shame.