The 'Black Hole' incident of June 1756, in which English prisoners were said to have died in a small cell, took place at:

The "Black Hole" incident took place in June 1756 at Fort William, in Calcutta, after the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula, captured the English settlement.

The incident:

• After capturing Fort William on 20 June 1756, the Nawab's officers are said to have locked up a number of English prisoners overnight in a small guardroom (about 18 feet by 14 feet), known as the "Black Hole".
• According to the account of John Zephaniah Holwell, one of the survivors, 146 prisoners were locked in the room, and only 23 survived the hot night.

Historians' views:

• Holwell's account has been widely questioned by historians.
• Many historians believe that the number of prisoners and deaths was greatly exaggerated; some estimate that about 64 people were imprisoned and about 43 died.
• There is no evidence that Siraj-ud-Daula ordered the imprisonment or knew about it.
• The story was later used by the British to justify their actions against the Nawab and to portray Indian rulers as cruel.

The Black Hole monument:

• A monument to the victims (the Holwell Monument) was erected in Calcutta.
• During the national movement, Subhas Chandra Bose led a campaign in 1940 to remove the monument, which was seen as an insult to Indians.

The monument was later moved to the churchyard of St. John's Church, Kolkata.

Background:

• The Nawab attacked Calcutta because the English had fortified it without his permission, misused their trading privileges, and sheltered his enemies.
• After capturing the town, he renamed it.

Results:

• The English sent a force from Madras under Robert Clive and Admiral Watson, which recaptured Calcutta in January 1757.
• These events led to the Battle of Plassey in June 1757.

About Fort William:

• The original Fort William was built by the English East India Company at the end of the 17th century, and named after King William III.
• After 1757, a new and much larger Fort William was built in the Maidan area of Calcutta; it is now the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Madras, Murshidabad and Chandernagore were not the site of the incident.