As missionaries were prohibited from working in areas controlled by the British East India Company, they selected as their base a Danish trading post in the village of Serampore, 13 km (8.1 miles) north of Calcutta.
On 5 July 1818, Carey, Marshman and Ward issued a prospectus (written by Marshman) for a proposed new "College for the instruction of Asiatic, Christian, and other youth in Eastern literature and European science".
I might have had large possessions, but I have given my all, except what I ate, drank, and wore, to the cause of missions, and Dr. Marshman has done the same, and so did Mr.
The trio's aim was to give an education in arts and sciences to students of every "caste, colour or country" and to train people for ministry in the growing church in India (See: Christianity in India).
From its beginning the College has been ecumenical but this means that it has no automatic basis of support from any one branch of the Christian church.