Black Hole of Calcutta

June 20, 1756

The nawab of Bengal, furious at Company fortification, stormed Fort William and locked captured Britons in a tiny airless cell for a June night. How many died - 43? 123? - would be debated for centuries. What was certain: London now had a justification to remake Bengal by force. Clive sailed from Madras with troops and a grudge, and within a year the nawab's throne was empty.