ANGLO- FRENCH STRUGGLE (CARNATIC WARS)
- The English and the French East India companies were established with the motive of trading with India.
- In course of time their competition turned into rivalry and both the powers tried to remove the other from the Indian scene.
- Their trade interest was also diverted towards politics.
- Making use of the situation and the rivalry among the native rulers, the English and the French tried to capture power in India and to establish their supremacy.
- Between 1740- 1763 the rivalry between the English and the French led to three wars in India.
- These wards were known as Carnatic wars as they were fought in the Carnatic region.
- Carnatic was originally a Mughal province under the Nawab.
- It was ruled by Anwar- ud-din, the Nawab of Carnatic.
- The Nawab ruled the territory as an independent ruler.
- Arcot was the capital of Carnatic.
- The British and the French exploited the region to strengthen their power.
- In the end, the British drove the French out of India by 1763 and established their supremacy over the Carnatic region.
The first Carnatic war (AD 1746-AD 1748) Causes
- This war was an echo of the Austrian war of Succession.
- In this First Carnatic war, the English and the French took opposite sides.
- They began to fight in India in 1746.
- Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry had an ambition to establish French power in India.
Course
- Dupleix wanted to make the French power supreme in South India.
- When the war started in Europe, Dupleix sent an appeal to La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius to capture Madras.
- He besieged Madras and captured it in 1746.
- The Nawab of Carnatic, Anwaruddin did not like this.
- So he sent an army against the French.
- At Santhome on the banks of the river Adayar, Anwaruddin’s army was defeated.
- Then Dupleix tried to capture Fort St. David from the English but failed.
- Later the English attacked Pondicherry but the French successfully defended the city.
- In 1748 the war of Austrian succession came to an end in Europe.
- So the Carnatic war also came to an end in India.
Results
- The First Carnatic war came to an end by the treaty of Aix- la-Chappelle (1748).
- As a result the English got back Madras.
The second Carnatic war (AD 1748-AD 1754) Causes
- The second Carnatic war was connected with the succession disputes between the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Carnatic.
- The Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Shah died in 1748.
- There arose a competition between his osn Nasir Jung and his grandson Muzzafar Jung.
- At the same time the Nawab of Carnatic, Dost Ali died.
- There was a dispute between Anwar- ud- din and his son-in-law Chanda Sahib for the throne of Arcot.
- The French supported Muzzafur Jung and Chanda Sahib.
- Hence Nasir Jung and Anwarud-din were forced to seek the assistance of the English.
- So a war broke out in 1748.
Course
- With the help of the French, Muzzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib defeated and killed.
- Anwar- ud- din at the battle of Ambut in 1749.
- But his son Mohammad Ali took refuge in the fort of Tiruchirappalli.
- Chanda Sahib became the Nawab of Carnatic.
- In Hyderabad. Both Nasir Jung and Muzzaffar Jung were killed General Bussy, the French Governor made Salabat Jung the Nizam of Hydereabad.
- In return for the French help, he handed over the Northern circars to the French.
- The condition of the English became very critical.
- Robert Clive a clerk in the English East India company changed the course of the war.
- He attacked Arcot, the capital of Carnatic.
- He defeated Chanda Sahib and made Mohammad Ali, the Nawab of Arcot.
- Clive was called as the “Hero of Arcot”.
- Dupleix recalled in 1754 and was succeeded by Godeheu.
Results
- The second Carnatic war came to an end with the Treaty of Pondicherry in 1755.
- By this treaty both the sides agreed not to interface in the internal affairs of the Indian princely states and returned each others territories captured during the war.
- Mohammad Ali was acknowledged as the Nawab of Carnatic.
The third Carnatic war (AD 1756-AD 1763) Causes
- In 1756 the seven years war broke out in Europe and the same war echoed in India as the Third Carnatic war.
Course
- The French General Count de Lally captured Fort St. David.
- Bussy the French General at Hyderabad was asked to attack Madras which was a great blunder committed by the French.
- When Bussy left Hyderabad the British captured Hyderabad.
- Count de Lally and Bussy together attacked Madras.
- But the British general, Sir Eyre Coote defeated both the French generals at the battle of Wandiwash in 1760.
- In the nexr year 1761 Count- de- Lally surrendered Pondicherry to the British.
Results
- The war came to an end with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
- Pondicherry, Karaikal, Chandrangore and Mahe were returned to the French but they were not allowed to fortify them.
- The French lost all their prestige and influence in India.
- British became more powerful in India.
Causes for the success of the British
- Britain was commercially superior and the British in India were supported by the Home government.
- The naval power of the British was far superior to that of the French.
- There was full co-operation among the English officers.
- The mistakes committed by Count-de-Lally enabled the British to capture Madras.
- The British could concentrate on wars as there was peace in England while the French were too busy fighting wars in Europe.
Establishment of British supremacy over Bengal
- Bengal a very rich province of the Mughal Empire developed unto an independent kingdom under Alivardi Khan.
- After his death, his grandson Siraj-ud- daulah became the Nawab of Bengal.
- The battle of Plassey was a result of a quarrel that arose between Siraj-ud- daulah and the British in 1757.
Battle of Plassey (AD 1757) Causes
- The English and the French were strengthening their fortification in Bengal.
- Siraj-ud- daulah, Nawab of Bengal asked them not to fortify their forts.
- The French obeyed but the English refused to do so.
- More over the British were misusing their trade privileges.It enraged the Nawab.
- Siraj-ud- daulah marched with his army and captured Calcutta.
- One hundred and forty six British soldiers were taken as captives and they were locked up in a very small room.
- Most of them died due to suffocation.
- Only twenty three of them were survived. This incident in history is called as the Black Hole Tragedy.
- On hearing about this tragedy, Admiral Watson and Robert Clive were sent to Bengal. They recaptured Calcutta.
Course
- On 23rd June 1757 Siraj-ud- daulah met Robert Clive in a village called Plassey near Calcutta.
- Within a few hours, the Nawab was defeated and killed.
- The British appointed Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal.
Battle of Buxar
- After few years Mir Jafar was removed and Mir Qasim was made the Nawab of Bengal.
- A misunderstanding developed between Mir Qasim and the British.
- Mir Qasim was also removed, so he entered into an alliance with Shuja-ud- daulah the Nawab of Oudh and Shah Alam II the Mughal Emperor against the British and invaded Bengal.
- A battle between the combined army of Indian rulers and the British took place at Buxar on October 22, 1764.
- In this battle, Mir Qasim fled from the battlefield while Shuja II surrendered to the British.
Results
- The Treaty of Allahabad was signed in 1765 between the English in one side and Shah Alam II and Shuja-ud- daulah on the other side.
- Shuja-ud- daulah was asked to pay a war indemnity of 50 lakhs to the British and also gave Kara and Allahabad to the British.
- The Mughal Emperor was given an annual pension of rupees 26 lakhs.
- Shah Alam II granted the Diwani rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the English.
- Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Carnatic practically came under the control of the British.
- The Battle of Buxar made the English East India company a sovereign power in India.
- After the Battle of Buxar, Robert Clive became the Governor of Bengal on 1765 AD.