Black Hole of Calcutta.
The dungeon in which some 200 English prisoners were confined when Calcutta was taken by Surabjah Dowlah, the Subahdar of Bengal, in 1756. Only twenty-three survived the night.
Black Monday.
The name given to an Irish rising in County Dublin in 1209, which nearly exterminated the newly-established English Colony.
Black Popes.
The chiefs of the Society of Jesus, during the Papacy of Pius IX, were known by this name, their power in Rome being almost as great as that of the Pope himself.
Black Prince.
The sobriquet of Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III, from the black armour which he habitually wore.
Black Rent.
An annual stipend paid by the English settlers within the Pale to the Irish chieftains on their borders, in consideration of their restraining their followers from raiding the English settlements. Black Rent was first paid about 1410.