Carnatic wars

Carnatic wars
	Part of the Anglo-Indian wars
	; End of the siege of Pondicherry in 1748.
Date	1744–1763
Location	Carnatic region
Result	British victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders

The Carnatic wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. The first Carnatic wars were fought between 1740 and 1748.

The conflicts involved numerous nominally independent rulers and their vassals, struggles for succession and territory, and furthermore included a diplomatic and military struggle between the

Mughal India

with the assistance of various fragmented polities loyal to the "Great Moghul".

As a result of these military contests, the British East India Company established its dominance among the European trading companies within India. The French company was pushed to a corner and was confined primarily to

Pondicherry. The East India Company's dominance eventually led to control by the British Company over most of India and eventually to the establishment of the British Raj

.

Background

The Carnatic Region of what is now India

The

Muzaffar Jung, which soon involved foreign powers eager to expand their influence. France aided Muzaffar Jung while Britain aided Nasir Jung. Several erstwhile Mughal territories were autonomous such as the Carnatic, ruled by Nawab Dost Ali Khan, despite being under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad. French and British support soon became intertwined with the affairs of the Nawab. Dost Ali's death sparked a power struggle between his son-in-law Chanda Sahib, supported by the French, and Muhammad Ali, supported by the British.^[2]

One major instigator of the Carnatic wars was the Frenchman

Pondicherry on the Coromandel Coast. Immediately upon his arrival in India, he organized Indian recruits under French officers for the first time, and engaged in intrigues with local rulers to expand French influence. However, he was met by the equally challenging and determined young officer from the British Army, Robert Clive

.

"The Austrian War of Succession in 1740 and later the war in 1756 automatically led to a conflict in India...and British reverses during the American War of Independence (1775–1783) in the 1770s had an impact on events in India."[2]

First Carnatic War (1746–1748)

Muzaffar Jung

In 1740, the

Pondicherry to Madras for safe custody."^[3] Although French company officials were ordered to avoid conflict, British officials were not, and were furthermore notified that a Royal Navy fleet was en route. After the British initially captured a few French merchant ships, the French called for backup from as far afield as Isle de France (now Mauritius), beginning an escalation in naval forces in the area. In July 1746, French commander La Bourdonnais and British Admiral Edward Peyton fought an indecisive action off Negapatam, after which the British fleet withdrew to Bengal. On 21 September 1746, the French captured the British outpost at Madras. La Bourdonnais had promised to return Madras to the British, but Joseph François Dupleix withdrew that promise, and wanted to give Madras to Anwar-ud-din after the capture. The Nawab then sent a 10,000-man army to take Madras from the French but was decisively repulsed by a small French force in the Battle of Adyar. The French then made several attempts to capture the British Fort St. David at Cuddalore, but the timely arrivals of reinforcements halted these and eventually turned the tables on the French. British Admiral Edward Boscawen besieged Pondicherry in the later months of 1748, but lifted the siege with the advent of the monsoon rains in October.^[2]

With the termination of the War of the Austrian Succession in Europe, the First Carnatic War also came to an end. In the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Madras was given back to the British in exchange for the French fortress of Louisbourg in North America, which the British had captured. The war was principally notable in India as the first military experience of Robert Clive, who was taken prisoner at Madras but managed to escape, and who then participated in the defence of Cuddalore and the siege of Pondicherry. The French retained their position as the protectors of nizams of Hyderabad.

Second Carnatic War (1749–1754)

Though a state of war did not exist in Europe, the

Nawab of the Carnatic. Charles Godeheu replaced Dupleix, who died in poverty back in France.^[2]

Third Carnatic War (1757–1763)

The outbreak of the

Comte de Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760. After Wandiwash, Pondicherry fell to the British in 1761.^[2]

Aftermath

The war concluded with the signing of the

Pondicherry to France, and allowed the French to have trading posts in India, but forbade French traders from administering them. ^{[citation needed}

] The French agreed to support British client governments, thus ending French ambitions of an Indian empire and making the British the dominant foreign power in India.

Gallery

The British surrender of Madras, 1746.
The
Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, assisted by a small number of troops from the French East India Company

Robert Clive fires a cannon in the Siege of Arcot.
French and English boats position near
French National Archives
.
Death of the
Anwaruddin Mohammed Khan
in a battle (battle of Ambur) against the French in 1749 (by Paul Philipoteaux).
Lally at Pondicherry.
The Black Hole of Calcutta, 20 June 1756.
Jean Law's Memoire: Mémoires sur quelques affaires de l'Empire Mogol 1756–1761 contains detailed information about the campaign of the
Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and his French allies against the British East India Company.^[4]

English guns at the battle of
Plassey
, 23 June 1757.
Nawab of Bengal, Mir Qasim at the Battle of Buxar

Mughal artillerymen at Plassey during the Carnatic wars.
Madras^[5]

References

^ Benians, Ernest Alfred; Newton, Arthur Percival; Rose, John Holland (1929). The Cambridge History of the British Empire. p. 126. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
^
ISBN 9788131300343
.

^ Dodwell, H. H. (ed), Cambridge History of India, Vol. v.
^ "Niall Ferguson – Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World – Why Britain? 4/5". Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2014 – via YouTube.
^ Palk Manuscripts, four-volume collection of the correspondence of Sir Robert Palk relating to Indian affairs, Historical Manuscripts Commission: Report on the Palk manuscripts in the possession of Mrs Bannatyne of Haldon, Devon, p.XII [1]

[1] Benians, Ernest Alfred; Newton, Arthur Percival; Rose, John Holland (1929). The Cambridge History of the British Empire. p. 126. Retrieved 16 December 2014.

[Naravane-2] 
ISBN 9788131300343
.

[3] Dodwell, H. H. (ed), Cambridge History of India, Vol. v.

[4] "Niall Ferguson – Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World – Why Britain? 4/5". Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2014 – via YouTube.

[5] Palk Manuscripts, four-volume collection of the correspondence of Sir Robert Palk relating to Indian affairs, Historical Manuscripts Commission: Report on the Palk manuscripts in the possession of Mrs Bannatyne of Haldon, Devon, p.XII [1]

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