But as throughout most of its history, the real power in India lay with local kings and princes, sometimes called Nawabs. And these princes, just like their European counterparts, were constantly vying for power and control over more territory. And to get it, they often enlisted the help, especially the military help, of Europeans. This is what happened in the most notorious event in the Seven Years' War in India, the Black Hole of Calcutta. In June of 1756, the British governor of Calcutta, Roger Drake, made the mistake of insulting the emissaries sent by the Nawab Siraj ad-Dula, who duly besieged and captured the English garrison of 500 with his own army of 30,000. Drake escaped to nearby ships with the town's women and children. You know the old saying, women, children, and governors first.