t an organic outgrowth of Indian culture, but founded specifically as a trading and shipping center by the British East India Company in 1698. In 1773 Calcutta became an administrative center for the subcontinent as well, used by the British as the colonial capital until 1911. By contrast with traditional Indian cities during those two centuries, Calcutta was a venue of open opportunity - regardless of caste. Caste will be discussed in more detail shortly, but the keynote of Calcutta's attraction at this point is how the British city of Calcutta was founded on an essentially caste-less basis. In an ironic twist of racist history, the British considered most Indians to be "wogs," a derogatory term, regardless of their station in Indian society. Consequently, an Untouchable was treated much the same (shabbily, but equally) as a middle-level caste Indian; an ambitious, hardworking or talented individual could find work in the British Army, colonial civil service bureaucracy or in British households (Hazari vi-xii, 138-155).
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