Dhaka

Decca, the contemporary Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, was situated on the eastern mouth of the Ganges River. Until 1704 Decca was the seat of the Nawab of Bengal, Sjah Estachan. From 1664 the Nawab functioned as the viceroy of Bengal. He sent an emissary to the administration of the Company in Batavia requesting aid in his battle against the Arrakan. Both the Dutch and the English established a presence in Decca because, along with Malda in the north of the Ganges delta, the town constituted the centre of the textile district. The settlement comprised several wattle houses with mud roots. According to the traveller and writer Tavernier, who visited the area around 1665, Decca boasted an attractive house that was built by the Dutch and which was used for storing goods.