Scotch Kirk, Calcutta 1850s

Captain R. B. Hill made this photograph of the Scotch Kirk in Calcutta using a photographic process. Here we see a colonial building, a solid neoclassical temple to the Christian God, transplanted to an Indian context. The architecture speaks of British aspirations to dominance, echoing imperial Roman forms. It's a building that asserts a new social order, one in which the institutions of the colonizer become central. The presence of a horse-drawn carriage reminds us of the practical implications of this new order for transport and trade. Understanding this image requires us to look at both the visual codes of imperial power, and the social and institutional history of British India. We could consult missionary archives, trade records, architectural plans and colonial office documents, for example, to understand more fully the complex interplay of power and culture at play here. By doing so, we can begin to understand the social and political role of imagery in the British Empire.