Chandradwip

 ( Ancient Divisions In Bengal ) 

Under Raja Ramchandra Basu, it became a part of the Baro-Bhuiyan confederacy of independent chieftains until its formal defeat to the Mughal Empire during the Conquest of Bakla in 1611. From then, it began functioning as a zamindari and the region continued to be known as Bakla-Chandradwip until the time of Agha Baqer Khan. In 1799, the Chandradwip zamindari was auctioned off a few years after the Permanent Settlement had come into force.

In , Raja Jagadananda Basu ascended the throne. His reign coincided with the rise of the Baro-Bhuiyan confederacy, an alliance of independent Bengali and Afghan chieftains resisting the Mughal conquest of Bengal. Chandradwip likely joined this confederacy under Jagadananda’s leadership. He was succeeded in 1584 by his son Raja Kandarpa Narayan, under whom the prosperity of Chandradwip reached its zenith. Kandarpanarayan forged a treaty of friendship with Raja Pratapaditya of Jessore, aimed at expelling the Magh people pirates from the southern coastal regions. Pratapaditya assisted him with soldiers and weapons, and in 1590, he visited Chandradwip to formalize the marriage between Kandarpa’s son, Ramchandra Basu, and his daughter, Bimala who was 4 years old. However, Kandarpa Narayan later signed a treaty with Mughal Subahdar Man Singh I, effectively recognizing Mughal suzerainty and withdrawing himself from the alliance. This decision brought him into conflict with the Afghans who had fled east after their defeat by the Mughals and settled in Barisailla villages such as Mukkarkathi, Lakhutia, Rahmatpur, and Qasbah. When Kandarpa imposed additional taxes on them, they demanded ordinary taxation and urged him to rejoin the resistance. Kandarpa’s refusal and his enforcement of the Mughal treaty led to their expulsion and the establishment of an Afghan rebel base at Hossainpur. The ensuing Battle of Hossainpur saw Kandarpa Narayan launch a campaign against the Afghan settlers. After fierce fighting across the villages of Daharpara and Ghazipara, many were killed, and the remaining Afghans fled the Bakla region altogether. Kandarpa himself was seriously wounded in battle and later died of his injuries in 1598 at the royal palace in Mukkarkathi. The English traveller Ralph Fitch visited Baklanagar that same year and recorded detailed observations of Chandradwip and its ruler Kandarpanarayan, attesting to its wealth and renown.

Kandarpa Narayan was succeeded in 1598 by his son, Raja Ramchandra Basu, who was then eight years old. Fulfilling his father’s wishes, he began constructing a new capital at Hossainpur, where he excavated a large reservoir, built a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Death Kali, and fortified the site with moats and earthworks. As part of his Kulinist policy, he sought to purify the social order of the capital by expelling Muslims and Namasudras while settling elite Brahmins, , and , renaming the city Ramchandrapur in his honor. After several years, Ramchandra relocated the capital to Srinagar Madhabpasha by combining nearby settlements including Badla, Baraikhali, Madhabpasha, Pangsha, and Pratappur. He undertook extensive public works, constructing a canal and building wooden forts. In 1599, the Mughal qanungoh Jumman Khan visited Chandradwip to assess revenue on behalf of the empire. He was cordially received by Ramchandra, whom he praised for his generosity and administrative ability. The same year, Ramchandra welcomed Christian missionaries such as Melchior Fonseca, permitting them to establish a church in Bakla and providing financial support for their travels. Not long after, Ramchandra rejoined the resistance against the Mughals and recruited a mercenary army composed of Biharis and Odia people soldiers, known as the Baksaris. In 1602, his marriage to Princess Bimala of Jessore was consummated. This was a celebrated event that later inspired the Nobel Prize Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s novella Bou Thakuranir Haat. Ramchandra's reign was marked by prosperity through the export of cloth and salt, though his kingdom frequently faced raids by Magh and Portuguese pirates, whom he repeatedly repelled. A long-standing rivalry with Raja Lakshman Manikya of Bhulua Kingdom (Noakhali) led to a notable military campaign supported by Portuguese troops. In 1611, the Mughal Subahdar Islam Khan Chishti launched the Conquest of Bakla. Ramchandra’s forces were eventually defeated, and he was captured and taken to Jahangir Nagar. His kingdom was annexed and divided among Mughal supporters like Ulfat Ghazi, though Ramchandra was kindly permitted to retain much of Chandradwip as a zamindar under imperial authority, marking the end of Chandradwip’s autonomy.

Raja Kirtinarayan Basu succeeded his father Ramchandra and was immediately met by a rebellion led by Chandradwip's Portuguese military commander, João Geri and his 10,000 soldiers. He quelled the rebellion at Ballabhpur with the remnants of the army within three days and Geri fled from the Barisal Division. Following the conflict, Kirtinarayan began a programme of reorganising the army and establishing several forts and moats in Bakla, and also established over eight schools in the Bakla region. He also began to focus on improving relations with the Mughal Empire, and so he expressed his support to the Mughal governor Shaista Khan in his campaign to subdue Portuguese and Maghs pirates in the Bay of Bengal. On one occasion, Raja Kirtinarayan Basu was invited by Subahdar Shaista Khan to his court in Jahangir Nagar to discuss military tactics against the piracy problem where he converted to Islam. His conversion led to social alienation and the Chandradwip zamindari was thereafter passed on to his younger brother Raja Basudev Narayan Basu, with Kirtinarayan remaining a Mughal commander and local taluqdar.

In 1688, Basudev's son Raja Pratap Narayan Basu became zamindar of Chandradwip. His reign was marked by instability, as the region was repeatedly looted and plundered by pirates, and the Raja mounted little resistance. Following his death, his son Prem Narayan Basu succeeded him, ruling only briefly before his untimely death, which brought the Basu dynasty to an end.