Anglo-french Struggle (carnatic Wars)

The Carnatic Wars were fought in 1746-1763. The first Carnatic war was fought in A.D. 1746-A.D. 1748; Second Carnatic war was fought in A.D. 1748-A.D. 1754; Third Carnatic war was fought in A.D. 1756- A.D. 1763.

The battle of Plassey was fought in 1757. The battle of Plassey took place in a village called Plassey near Calcutta on 23rd June 1757. It was fought between the Robert Clive of the British East India Company and the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-daulah.

The founder of the British Empire in India was Robert Clive. It is because Robert Clive became the governor of Bengal after the battle of Buxar which made English East India Company an ultimate power in India. Also, it was his constant victory in the battles and wars which made him the founder of the British Empire in India.

Court-de-Lally was defeated by Sir Eyre Coote in the battle of Wandiwash. The battle was fought between the Count-de-Lally, Bussy with the British General Sir Eyre Coote in 1760. As a result, Court-de-Lally surrendered Pondicherry to the British.

Arcot

Explanation: The capital of Carnatic was Arcot. Carnatic was originally a Mughal Province under the ruler of Nawab Anwar-ud-Din. He was an independent ruler of Carnatic and Arcot was its capital.

Robert Clive

Explanation: The Hero of Arcot was Robert Clive. Robert Clive, who was the Clerk of the English East India Company attacked the capital of Carnatic, Arcot. He made Mohammed Ali the Nawab of Arcot by defeating Chanda Sahib. It is because of this Robert Clive was known as the ‘Hero of Arcot.’

Buxar

Explanation: The Battle of Buxar made the English East India company a sovereign power in India. On October 22, 1764 battle of Buxar was fought between Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-daulah, and Shah Alam II with the Britishers. Britishers defeated all of them, and the treaty of Allahabad was signed. Under which Shuja-ud-daulah paid the war indemnity and gave up Kara and Allahabad to the British. Shah Alam II provided with the annual pension and granted Diwani rights to the British.

NOTES – Indemnity – It means money paid for the loss or damage (in war).

Diwani Rights- It means the Britishers were given rights to collect revenues.

Mauritius

Explanation: La Bourdonnais was the French Governor of Mauritius. Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry called La Bourdonnais, the French Governor of Mauritius to capture Madras. In 1746, La Bourdonnais successfully attacked and captured Madras.

Explanation:

1. The first Carnatic war took place in A.D.1746-A.D.1748. It was fought between the English and the French. The treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle was signed in 1748, and as a result, English got Madras back.

2. The third Carnatic War was fought in A.D.1756-A.D.1763. The treaty of Paris was signed in A.D. 1763 between French and English. French received Pondicherry, Chandranagore, Mahe, and Karaikal but they were ordered not to fortify them. All of this led to the French gradually losing their power and prestige in India. At the end of this war, the British established their stronghold in India.

3. The Battle of Plassey was fought in 23rd June, A.D.1757 at the village called Plassey near Calcutta. It was fought between Robert Clive and the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-daulah. As a result, Mir Jafar became the Nawab of Bengal.

4. The battle of Buxar was fought on October 22, 1764, between the Britishers on one side and Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-daulah and Shah Alam II on the other side. British won the battle, and the treaty of Allahabad was signed. Under which Shuja-ud-daulah paid 50 lakh as the war indemnity and gave up Kara and Allahabad to the British. Shah Alam II provided with the annual pension of 26 Lakh rupees, and he granted Diwani rights to the British Bihar, Bengal, and Orissa.

During the battle of Plassey, the English became the cause of trouble for Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal. When the Nawab of Bengal asked the Britishers not to strengthen their fortification in Bengal, they refused to do so. Also, the Britishers were misusing the power given to them for doing trade in India. This made Nawab angry, and he captured Calcutta along with his army. He locked 146 British soldiers in a small room. Except 23, all of them died due to suffocation. This incident came to be known as the black hole tragedy.

The Britishers came to India for trading purpose, but they generated interest in the internal affairs of the state. Gradually with the power of trade privileges and due to their other policies, they took complete control of India. The three causes for the success of the British power in India are as follows:-

• When the British took complete control of India, they were supported by their home government of England. At that point in time, the British were commercially brilliant.

• While fighting in India with the Britishers, French were also fighting wars in Europe which also affected French capabilities in India.

• As compared to French, the naval power of Britishers was excellent. Also, British officers cooperation was much efficient than their counterparts.

In 1765, Robert Clive became the Governor of Bengal. He made his position stronger by his successful conquests and administrative reforms. He introduces a new system according to which, Britishers will take full advantage of the powers given to them, and at the same time they have no responsibility. And as a result, the Nawabs were given all the responsibilities and no power. This system is known as Dual, Dyarchy, or Double system of Government.

The First Anglo Mysore War took place in A.D. 1767-A.D.1769 between Hyder Ali and the British. As a result, the treaty of Madras was signed in 1769. The causes for the First Anglo Mysore war are as follows:-

• At this time, Mysore was under the control of Hyder Ali which was considered to be one of the powerful kingdoms. Britishers became anxious about the growing power of Hyder Ali.

• Also, Hyder Ali established a friendly relation with the French who are the biggest enemies of English. This led to the First Anglo Mysore war.

The Second Carnatic war was fought in A.D. 1748-A.D. 1754. The various causes of the Second Carnatic war are as follows:-

• The war started with the conflict between the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Carnatic.

• In 1748, Asaf Shah, the Nizam of Hyderabad. This resulted in, his son, and grandson Nasir Jung and Muzzafar Jung respectively competing for the throne. During the same time, Dost Ali, The Nawab of Carnatic died. This resulted in the conflict between Anwar-ud-din and his son-in-law Chanda Sahib who were competing for the throne of Arcot. As a result of all this, Chanda Sahib and Muzzafar Jung were supported by the French. Hence, helplessness made Nasir Jung and Anwar-ud-din to take assistance from the English, due to which the war was started.

In 1754, the war ended, and in 1755 the treaty of Pondicherry was signed according to which both French and English decided to not to interfere in Internal affairs of the princely states and gave back the territories captured during the war.

The third Carnatic War was started between Nawab of Carnatic and Nizam of Hyderabad and ended with the conflict between French and English in A.D.1756-A.D.1763. The causes of the Third Carnatic war were:-

• One of the main cause of the Third Carnatic war was the 7 years war in 1956 between British and French, which started in Europe and America and due to this war, another war began in India which is known as third Carnatic war.

After the end of this war, the British established their stronghold in India. In 1763, the treaty of Paris was signed between French and English. French received Pondicherry, Chandranagore, Mahe, and Karaikal but they ordered not to fortify them. All of this led to the French gradually losing their power and prestige in India.

The Battle of Plassey was fought at the village called Plassey near Calcutta in 23rd June, A.D.1757. It was fought between the British East India Company and the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-Ud-Daulah. Following are the reasons which prove that the Battle of Plassey was a turning point in the history of India.

• The battle of Plassey is considered to be the first victory of the Britishers against the princely states. They got the possession of one of the Indian Territory to rule and establish their power. That is why this battle is the turning point for Indian history.

• The victory of British EIC made them increase their influence in India. They got the Stronghold of Bengal and appointed Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal.

• As Mir Jafar was appointed by the British, he constantly had to fulfill all the demands of the Britishers which ultimately led to the Britishers taking over the control of India.

• As the Britishers consolidated their position in Bengal which helped Britishers to grow economically. This, as a result, made it easy for the British to drive French out of India.

• After this battle, the British started abusing Indians through various policies which only helped them to expand their area of influence.

• The British successfully made Mir Jafar sign a Treaty according to which the land within Mahratta Ditch (Kolkata) and between Calcutta and the sea brought under the control of British.

• The possession of Bengal provided them with the base to fight with other contemporary powers of India such as Marathas, Mysore, etc.

NOTES- Princely states are the small states which are under the control of the local or regional ruler. There were a total of 563 princely states also known as native states.