# black hole of calcutta **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 28, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009 "2007-11-28T07:02:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wordcreatr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/898d66/32.png) [@wordcreatr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wordcreatr)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009/1 "2007-11-28T07:02:57Z")
I’ve read that there were also sepots, topazs, and Anglo-Indians (not considered part of the English garrison) who were imprisoned in the Black Hole–that would have raised the number above the total that your article gives. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009/2 "2007-11-28T09:53:40Z")
[Link.](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mblackhole.html) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009/3 "2007-12-01T06:22:58Z")
[QUOTE=wordcreatr] I’ve read that there were also sepots, **topazs** , and Anglo-Indians (not considered part of the English garrison) who were imprisoned in the Black Hole–that would have raised the number above the total that your article gives. [/QUOTE] But no aquamarines, I’ll wager. They’re always down on the yellowish and pellucid\* but the pale green and transparent are left to go free as you please. There’s no justice in the world. (Except for Mr. Shine. Him diamond.) \*(Check liver function _before_ making the trip.) (If you’re talking about hummingbirds, you’ll have to demonstrate they’re a migratory species. Or can be carried by an unladen tern with tailfeathers of unusual size.) In case it isn’t obvious, _what is the definition of the word ‘topaz’ in this context_? ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009/4 "2007-12-02T20:11:16Z")
This is from [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hole_of_Calcutta) so the usual caveats apply: > [@](#): > > Holwell’s account included a summary of the alleged victims: > > "List of the smothered in the Black Hole prison, exclusive of sixty-nine, consisting of Dutch and English sergeants, corporals, soldiers, topazes,[3] militia, whites, and Portuguese,[4] (whose names I am unacquainted with), making on the whole one hundred and twenty-three persons. > > Of Council — E. Eyre, Wm. Baillie,. Esqrs., the Rev. Jervas Bellamy. > Gentlemen in the Service — Messrs. Jenks, Revely, Law, Coales, Valicourt, Jeb, Torriano, E. Page, S. Page, Grub, Street, Harod, P. Johnstone, Ballard, N. > Drake, Carse, Knapton, Gosling, Bing, Dod, Dalrymple. > Military Captains — Clayton, Buchanan, Witherington. > Lieutenants — Bishop, Ifays, Blagg, Simson, Bellamy. > Ensigns — Paccard, Scot, Hastings, C. Wedderburn, Dumbleton. > Sergeants, &c. — Sergeant-Major Abraham, Quartermaster Cartwright, Sergeant Bleau (these were sergeants of militia). > Sea Captains — Hunt, Osburne, Purnell (survived the night, but died next day), Messrs. Carey, Stephenson, Guy, Porter, W. Parker, Caulker, Bendall, Atkinson, Leech, &c., &c." Note 3 informs that a topaz was an Indian soldier fighting for the British. Also from the OP, ‘sepot’ should surely read [‘sepoy’](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepoys). The topazes seem to be included in Holwell’s 69 (the named fatalities below total 54 - if the legend _&c_ represents an unknown sea captain - giving his figure of 123 persons as above). Concerning the total number of fatalities, there’s a conflict between John Corrado (64-69) and John Holwell (123). From John’s column: > [@](#): > > In 1915, scholar J.H. Little published an article entitled, “The Black Hole–The Question of Holwell’s Veracity,” in which he pointed out the flaws in Holwell’s story. He showed Holwell to be an unreliable witness and claimed the entire incident–if it occurred at all–was exaggerated by Holwell in an attempt to pass himself off as a hero (successfully, I might add, for Holwell eventually rose to become Governor of Bengal). Other scholars have since studied the issue, including Indian scholar Brijen Gupta, and claimed that Little vastly underplayed the matter, while Holwell vastly overplayed it. Presumably he is taking Little’s statistics as gospel, although he doesn’t state that unequivocally, and discounting the views of the scholars who believe the exact number lies somewhere in between. John, still an SDSAB, hasn’t been active for 7 months so it might be difficult to confirm exactly whose numbers he reported. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009/5 "2007-12-02T20:43:28Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Concerning the total number of fatalities, there’s a conflict between John Corrado (64-69) and John Holwell (123). From John’s column: [/QUOTE] Let that read: ‘Concerning the total number of fatalities, there’s a conflict between John Corrado (43) and John Holwell (123). From John Corrado’s column:’