The Armenians most probably came to Bengal before any other European merchants
They reached Bengal-Bihar in the early 17th century if not earlier, as there are inscriptions (now preserved in Kolkata Museum) which were found in Bihar dating from the 1630–1640s.
According to Ahmad Hasan Dani (author of the Dacca: a record of its changing fortunes), Armenians settled and founded a colony at Dacca in the early part of the 18th century at Tejgaon
According to John Taylor (who was the Commercial Resident of Dhaka in 1800), in 1747, Armenians were the largest exporters of cloth from Dhaka, far ahead of English, Dutch or French. With their profits and huge resources, they became very influential and rich; their affluence resulted in the construction of a church of their own and other private mansions.
Prior to the construction of the church in Armanitola, they worshipped at a small chapel which they had built in the same locality. In 1781, the beautiful church of the Holy Resurrection was erected on the site of the old chapel through subscriptions from Michael Sarkies, Astwasatoor Gavork, (George) Margar Pogose and Khojah Petrus.
The Armenians were famous as merchants from ancient times and their guiding philosophy was to get involved with any business which brought profit. They brought the jute business here in the second half of the 19th century and were pioneers in the jute trade. Names of 12 eminent merchants of Bengal engaged in jute trading in Dhaka and Narayanganj in the late 19th and early 20th century can be found. Some of the most prominent were Abraham Pogose, Margar David, J C Sarkies, M Catchatoor, A Thomas, J G N Pogose, Michael Sarkies and P Aratoon. Among them, M David & Co sometimes bypassed Kolkata to export jute directly to London through Chittagong.
It became such a success that many other Armenian and local businessmen followed suit. The Armenians were the first to introduce European and British goods in the city and set up the departmental stores of the style we know today. These stores also provided the supply of tea in those days and popularised it as a drink of the elites.
The Armenian community contributed a lot to the civil society and the life of the city. Nicholas Pogose in the early 19th century established the Pogose School, which was one of the only three English schools in Dhaka back then. He was also a founding member of the Dhaka Municipality (established in 1864) and served as one of the nine commissioners between 1874–75. Furthermore, they had a big impact not only in Dhaka but also neighbouring towns including Narayanganj and Mymensingh. Herbert Michael Shircore, son of Stephen Aratoon Shircore, served as the chairman of Narayanganj Municipality. Today, a school and a road named after him can still be found there.
