a town situated in the western bank of the Bhagarat or Hooghly river, 24 miles above Calcutta, and formerly the principal Dutch settlement in Bengal. It was among the cessions on the continent of India made by the king of the Netherlands in 1824 in exchange for the British possessions in the island of Sumatra. The Dutch erected a factory here in 1656, on a clear and healthy spot of ground, much preferable to that on which Calcutta is situated, and soon attracted a considerable number of natives to settle in the vicinity. About thirty-five years after this they fell under the displeasure of one of the native potentates, who sequestered their property and prohibited their traffic. In 1866 all their factories were re-established, and their trade long continued to flourish. In 1759 a British force under Colonel Forde was attacked by the garrison of Chinsura on its march to Chandernagore. The action was short but decisive; for in less than half an hour the Dutch were entirely routed. In 1795, when Holland became a province of France, the British offered to retain Chinsura for the stadtholder; but the governor having declined to surrender, the settlement was reduced by a detachment from the military stations at Barrackpore, and was occupied by a British garrison during the whole war. At the general peace of 1814 it was restored to the Dutch. The town, which extends for half a mile along the banks of the river, is built neatly, and with great solidity, of brick and mortar. The houses are plastered with fine lime, and have flat roofs and green Venetian windows. Long. 88° 23' E., Lat. 22° 52' N.