View of the French settlement of Chandernagore (Bengal) - 28 October 1868
Watercolour painting of the French settlement of Chandernagore by Stanley Leighton (1837-1901) dated 28 October 1868. Inscribed on the mount in pencil is: 'French settlement of Chandernagore on the Hooghly. Wed. 28 Oct. 1868.'
The former French colony of Chandernagore is situated on the bank of the Hooghly River near Calcutta in north-eastern India. Chandernagore was one of a number of competing European enclaves in this area. It was founded in 1673 and gradually expanded to become a great commercial centre. Chandernagore was handed back to India after a referendum in 1950 but still retains the churches, cemeteries and convents of the French.
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