The historic land of ancient Vaṅga (
Bôngô in Bengali), situated in present-day
Barisal. Barishal was likely slowly built over time from silt from the
Padma,
Jamuna and
Meghna Rivers. The region was part of ancient
Gangaridai empire. Barisal was part of the early empires of Bengal like Palas and Senas. A copper plate has been found in present
Mehendiganj upazila showing a land grant made to a Brahmin by Keshab Sen. However, the Hindu kings only controlled the northern part of the district, while dense forests covered the southern part and isolated the inhabitants from outside influence. After the conquest of the Senas by
Bakhtiyar Khilji, various Hindu nobles spread out over the eastern delta. The royal family of
Chandradwip, also called Bakla, was originally one of these families. Throughout the period of the Bengal sultanate, the rulers of Chandradwip managed to retain somewhat of their independence. However, when the Mughals overthrew the Bengal Sultanate in 1576, they began to reorganise the province for easier governance. In the
Ain-i-Akbari, the Bakla Sarkar of the Bengal Subah included present-day Barisal division. However the rulers of Chandradwip were still independent and were part of the
Baro-Bhuiyans of Bengal. In 1584,
Abul Fazl recorded a large stormwave impacting Chandradwip which he says killed the king and 2,00,000 of his subjects. At this time, the Barisal region was subjected to the raids of the Maghs supported by the Portuguese. Portuguese mercenaries were employed by the Raja of Chandradwip, but they mainly aided the King of Arakan in raiding the Meghna estuary. After a force of Portuguese pirates was defeated by the Mughals in 1608 in the Meghna, Sebastian Gonzales Tilao, with the support of the Raja of Chandradwip, took over
Sandwip. Although they had agreed to divide the revenue of the island, Tilao soon betrayed his ally and began raiding the eastern part of Chandradwip. In 1615, the Arakanese took back Sandwip, but they soon extended their own piracy to Chandradwip and caused a mass flight of nobles to Madhabpasha in present Babuganj Upazila. In 1639,
Shah Shuja defeated the Maghs in battle in present Jhalokati district and built a ring of forts to the south of Barisal largely in present Jhalokati district to protect the region from Magh attacks. After this time, the Barisal region passed under direct Mughal control and the Chandradwip rajas faded into obscurity, with much of the southern part of the district being cleared and settled by mainly Muslim pirs who spread their Islamic cosmology among the local tribes of the region. The early 18th century was tumultuous for the district due to the movement of the Subah capital from Dhaka to
Murshidabad. Adventurers began preying on existing Zamindars. One of these was
Mirza Agha Baqer, who had suppressed a rebellion of a Hindu zamindar. In 1730, he became Governor of Chittagong and lived in Dhaka. In 1753, he assassinated a naib nazim and was killed himself a day later. Aga Bakhar's heir inherited his land in Selimabad but was overthrown by the Naib Nazim
Nawazish Muhammad Khan, advised by his diwan
Raja Rajballabh. He was killed by
Mir Qasim after the
Battle of Plassey. At this time the Maghs also restarted their raids so that in British records the southern part of Barisal Division is depopulated. Barisal District traces its origins to
Bakerganj district which was established in 1797. It was placed in
Barisal Division on 1 January 1993. ==Demographics==