HOOGHLY, an extensive district in the province of Bengal, formerly called Saatgong, situated principally between the 22d and 23d degrees of north latitude, and extending a considerable distance along the right bank of the River Hooghly. It is bounded on the N. by the district of Burdwan, on the S. by the district of Hidjelee, on the E. by the River Hooghly, and on the W. by Midnapoor. This district consists of low flat land, very fertile; but that part which is nearest to the sea is very thinly inhabited; it is called the Sunderbund, is swampy, covered with wood, and remarkably unhealthy. It is intersected in every direction by rivers and their branches, which afford great facilities for internal navigation. Along the shores of the ocean salt of an excellent quality is manufactured on account of the government. The area, according to official return, is 2089 square miles. The population is given at 1,520,840, an amount which, compared with the area, indicates an extraordinary density of 728 to the square mile, and it is nevertheless considered that the numbers of the people are steadily on the increase. The French settlement of Chandernagore is situate within the limits of the district, as are also
Chinsura and Serampore, now British possessions, but formerly belonging the first to the Dutch and the latter to the Danes. The right of the East India Company to the district originated in the treaty concluded with Meer Cassin in 1760.