First Carnatic War (1746-48)

Immediate Context: Austrian War of Succession (1740)

• The immediate context for conflict between two European rivals in India was provided by the War of Austrian Succession in Europe which broke out in Europe in 1740 between Austria and Prussia. In this war, Britain and France joined opposite camps.
• Perhaps conscious of their relatively weaker position, the French tried hard to prevent the extension of war to India and Dupleix advised his English counterpart to maintain neutrality. But the English did not agree, instead deliberately adopted aggressive stand and seized some French ships off the south-eastern coast of India.
• The French had no fleet in India, hence Dupleix (the French Governor General) messaged La Bourdonnais (the French Governor of Mauritius) for reinforcements. La Bourdonnais immediately left with a squadron of 3,000 men towards the Coromandel Coast.
• As soon as the help arrived, the French attacked the English and captured the British possessions in Fort St George, Madras and other nearby areas (21 September 1746). Included among the prisoners of war was Robert Clive. The First Carnatic War had begun.

The English Seek Protection from the Nawab of Carnatic, Nawab Anwaruddin

• Anwaruddin, the Nawab of Carnatic, disapproved of hostilities in his kingdom. Thus, when the English appealed to him for protection, the Nawab asked the French to quit Madras.
• But the French were now in no mood to retreat and neglected the advice just as the English had done earlier.

Battle of St. Thomas (or St. Thome, 1746) / Battle of Adyar

• The Nawab now sent a large army to fight against the French. A large Indian army of 10,000 under Mahfuz Khan met a small French army consisting of 230 Europeans and 700 Indian soldiers under Capt. Paradise on the banks of River Adyar at Mylapore near St. Thomas in 1746.
• But to everyone’s surprise, a handful of properly trained soldiers of the French army routed Anwaruddin’s vast army. This amply demonstrated the superiority of the European troops and exposed the military weakness of the Indian rulers.
• Dupleix learnt the lesson that in any quarrel between Indian princes, his disciplined army would be very useful. And in the 18th-century political chaos, there was no dearth of Indian princes who would invite Dupleix’s assistance to turn the scales in their favour.
• At that time, Indian rulers were not guided by patriotism and did not hesitate in inviting foreigners in settling accounts with their rivals. In this way, it was Dupleix who first showed the way of intervening in disputes of the Indian rulers and thereby acquiring political control – a technique which was later perfected by the English Company.

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)

• Even as the French continued the siege, the War of Austrian Succession came to an end by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) between Great Britain, France, and the Dutch; on the basis of mutual restitution of conquests.
• This brought an end to the first round of Anglo-French conflict in India as well. Madras was restored to the English and the French got Louisburg in North America.
• The first round of conflict had ended in a draw.
  • Though the first war ended in 1748, the rivalry in trade and over the possessions in India continued. The English and French continued to take opposite sides in the internal politics of India.

Significance of the First Carnatic War

• For the first time, techniques of 18th-century European warfare were tried out in India.
• The war revealed the superiority of Western armies over Indian armies because of their better equipment and organisation.
• It showed that even a small, disciplined European force could easily defeat a larger Indian army.
• It exposed the weaknesses of the Indian government and armies, thereby arousing the greed of both companies for territorial expansion in India.

Second Carnatic War (1749-54)

Details

• Though the general war between the British and French had ended, the rivalry in trade and over possessions in India continued. Moreover, the war had revealed to them the weakness of Indian administration and armies, and thereby had arisen the greed of both the companies for territorial expansion in India.
• Dupleix, through his experience of working with the Nawab of Carnatic, evolved the strategy of using the welldisciplined, modern French army to intervene in the mutual quarrels of Indian princes and, by supporting one against the other, securing monetary, commercial, or territorial favours from the victor (First example of Subsidiary Alliance in India)
• Dynastic feuds in South India provided the context for the second round of Anglo-French conflict in the south. The succession disputes at both Carnatic and Hyderabad provided the French Governor General Dupleix an opportunity to intervene in Indian politics.

Immediate Context: Succession Disputes in Carnatic and Hyderabad

• Earlier we saw that in 1740, the Marathas had invaded the Carnatic, killed Nawab Dost Ali and took his son-in-law Chanda Sahib as prisoner to Satara.
• In 1743, the Nizam of Hyderabad felt prompted to come to the Carnatic and appoint Anwaruddin Khan as the Nawab of Carnatic. But in 1748, Chanda Sahib was set free by the Marathas and the same year, Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah passed away. He was succeeded by his son Nasir Jung but his grandson, Muzaffar Jung laid claim to the throne.
• Muzaffar Jung now allied with Chanda Sahib to gain their respective seats in Hyderabad and the Carnatic.

Intervention by Dupleix

• In this way, Dupleix soon got his opportunity and astounding success awaited his plans. He was able to interfere in the wars of succession that started after the death of Asaf Jah (1748). He pledged French support to Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib.
• Thus, a tripartite understanding was developed among the French, Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung.

French Install their Protege, Chanda Sahib, in Carnatic (1749)

• In August 1749, the three allies ambushed and killed Anwaruddin at the Battle of Ambur, near Vellore. His son Muhammad Ali fled to Trichinopoly and Chanda Sahib became Nawab of Carnatic. He rewarded the French with a grant of 80 villages near Pondicherry.
• Feeling the extension of French influence, the British decided to support Nasir Jung for the throne of the Nizam and Muhammad Ali for the Nawabship of the Carnatic. Thus, began the second phase of the Anglo-French War, also known as the Second Carnatic War.

French Install their Protege, Muzaffar Jung, in Hyderabad

• Soon the French and their allies marched to the Deccan. The French army surprised and killed Nasir Jung and installed French protege Muzaffar Jung as the Nizam of Hyderabad. Muzaffar Jung amply rewarded Dupleix by appointing him honorary governor of all the Mughal Dominions south of the River Krishna. Territories near Pondicherry as well as the famous market town of Masulipatam in Orissa were also ceded to the French. In return, Dupleix placed at the disposal of Muzaffar Jung the services of his best officer – Marquis de Bussy, with a French army. This was also the best way of safeguarding French interests at the Hyderabad court.
• Dupleix was now at the height of his political power and his dream of an empire now seemed likely to be realised. Soon afterwards, Muzaffar Jung was killed in an accidental skirmish (February 1751). However, Bussy (a French general) maintained French influence in the Deccan by quickly placing his nominee Salabat Jung on the throne.
• In this way, Bussy went on to control the political fortunes of the Deccan for seven years and even induced the Nizam to grant him four rich districts on the Coromandel Coast known as the Northern Circars (or Northern Sarkars), comprising Mustafanagar, Ellore, Rajamundry and Chicacole. The French power in south India was now at its height but not far away from its fall.

Emergence of Robert Clive

• Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali (the son of the late Nawab Anwaruddin) had taken refuge in the fortress of Trichinopoly and the repeated attempts of Chanda Sahib and the French to capture the fortress had failed. The British, realising that the situation implied a serious threat to their position in Southern India, now decided to put their entire strength behind Muhammad Ali.
• At this crucial juncture, there appeared a man on the scene endowed with a daring genius, whose intelligence and bravery saved the fortunes of the English. He was a young clerk of the Company, Robert Clive. He suggested that French pressure on Muhammad Ali could be released by attacking Arcot, the capital of Carnatic. Thus, attack upon Arcot was to be used as a diversionary tactic. Chanda Sahib would have to divert an effective part of his army for the protection of Arcot.

Siege of Arcot (August 1751)

• Clives plan seemed well conceived and once it was approved, Clive stormed Arcot with a small force of only 210 men and captured it (August 1751). The plan had the desired effect and Chanda Sahib, alarmed by the fall of his capital, sent a large portion of his force from Trichinopoly which comprised of 4,000 men to recapture Arcot. Clive successfully sustained the famous siege for 53 days (23 September to 14 November). In the meantime, Clive received help in the form of reinforcements from Madras and some Indian allies (rulers of Mysore, Tanjore and the Marathas). Clive then came out of the besieged town, attacked and defeated Chanda Sahib at several important battles including one fought at Kaveripak.
• Meanwhile, encouraged by the capture of Arcot, a strong English force led by Stringer Lawrence relieved Trichinopoly following the surrender of French forces (June 1752). Chanda Sahib was treacherously captured and beheaded by the Raja of Travancore. Muhammad Ali then became the undisputed Nawab of the Carnatic. Dupleixs high hopes were thus dashed to the ground.

Recall of Dupleix, 1754

• The French defeat at Trichinopoly sealed the fate of Dupleix. The Directors of the French Company did not appreciate his political ambitions and disproved of the expenses they involved and recalled him. On 1 August 1754, Godeheu succeeded Dupleix as French Governor General in India. Recall of Dupleix proved to be a big blow to the fortunes of the French Company in India.

Treaty of Pondicherry, 1755

• In complete reversal to Dupleix’s policy, Godeheu signed a peace treaty, the Treaty of Pondicherry, with the English in 1755.
• As per this treaty, both the companies agreed not to interfere in the quarrels of the Indian princes. The second round of conflict had also proved inconclusive.
• Nevertheless, after this treaty, though the French continued to maintain their hold over Hyderabad for some time, they had lost much of their prestige and their predominant position in the Deccan had been definitely undermined.
• On the other hand, English influence had been established in Carnatic, with their candidate Muhammad Ali installed as the Nawab of Carnatic.

Third Carnatic War (1757-63)

Immediate Context: Seven Years’ War in Europe

• Like the first Carnatic war, even this war was an echo of the hostilities in Europe. In 1756 the Seven Years’ War broke out in Europe.
• In this War, England and France joined opposite camps which ended the short peace between the European companies in India as well.

Arrival of Count de Lally (April 1758)

• This time the French Government made a determined effort to oust the English from India. For this purpose, the French sent an impressive French army headed by Count de Lally, who reached India after a long voyage of 12 months in April 1758. By this time, the English had already won the Battle of Plassey and they returned to India with fresh reinforcements of men and material.

Problems Faced by the French Army

• Lally started his work vigorously. He attacked Fort St. David and captured it and other small English possessions in this region. But the French victory was only short-lived as problems of varying nature began to surface on the horizon. Lally’s attack on Madras ended in failure as he could not get naval support in time. The French Company also faced shortage of ammunition as well as lack of funds to pay the troops. Lally was rude and overbearing in his conduct with the subordinates, i.e. the Company’s servants of Pondicherry. He held a very low opinion of them and looked down upon them as dishonest rogues to be set right with threats and punishment. In such circumstances, both Lally and his soldiers distrusted each other and the French troops felt badly demoralised.
• At this critical juncture, rash and headstrong Lally committed another great blunder of prevailing upon Bussy and recalling him from the Nizam’s court, leaving the French army under incompetent commanders. Having assessed the situation, the English sent an army from Bengal to the Northern Circars. They occupied Rajamundry and Masulipatam and also concluded a favourable treaty with Nizam Salabat Jung.
• French influence in Deccan was thus irrevocably lost.

Battle of Wandiwash (1760)

• The battle still continued and Lally was eventually defeated decisively at the Battle of Wandiwash or Vandvasi now in Tamil Nadu (22 January 1760). The English army led by General Eyre Coot totally routed the French army under Lally and Bussy was taken prisoner.
• Defeated, the French retreated to Pondicherry. But, the English soon laid siege to Pondicherry as well, forcing Lally to ask for help from Nawab Hyder Ali of Mysore. However, due to lack of coordination, the contingent sent by Hyder returned to Mysore without fighting even a single battle.
• The French capital of Pondicherry finally surrendered on 16 January 1761. The fall of Pondicherry sounded the death knell of French dominions in India. Shortly thereafter Jinje and Mahe on the Malabar Coast also surrendered to the English, leaving the French without even a toehold in India.

Peace of Paris, 1763

• The Third Carnatic War ended officially in 1763 with the conclusion of the Peace of Paris, at the end of the Seven Years’ War.
• As per the treaty, Pondicherry and some other French settlements were no doubt returned to France, but these were never to be fortified again and could only function as mere trading centres. The worst fate awaited Lally. He was detained as a prisoner of war for two years, after which he was allowed to return to his home country, where, far from receiving any kind treatment, he was first imprisoned and then executed.
• Thus, the Third Carnatic War brought down the curtain to the Anglo-French rivalry in India and cleared the way for the establishment of the British Empire.

Continental Ambitions of France

• France in the 18th century remained preoccupied with its continental ambitions, which considerably strained its resources. The French monarchs of the time were fighting for the natural frontiers’ of their country, which meant acquisition of territory towards Rhine and towards Italy. Such an expansionist policy of France kept it perpetually trapped in the wars of Europe and diverted its energies away from colonial acquisitions. In the end, the French gained almost nothing on the continent and even lost its colonial possessions.
• On the other hand, England did not covet an inch of European territory but followed its single-minded objective of colonial expansion, an objective in which it achieved considerable success.

Different Systems of Government

• Several historians have attributed the failure of France to its inferior system of government as compared to England. While the French government of the time was autocratic and suffered from corruption and inefficiency, the English government was run by an enlightened oligarchy, under which it was making immense progress towards a constitutional set up.
• Emphasising on the rottenness of the French system of government, historian Alfred Lyall wrote, ‘It was the short sighted, ill managed European policy of Louis XV, misguided by his mistresses and by incompetent ministers, that France lost her Indian settlements’.

Difference in Organisation of two Companies

• The French Company had been formed with a majority of capital contributed by the monarch with a guarantee of dividend to the shareholders. As a result, the directors of the Company, nominated by the king himself, took very little interest in the progress of the Company. Naturally, the financial position of the Company suffered badly and many times it was revived by government subsidy. Such a body was ill-equipped to support the ambitions of Dupleix and his expensive wars.
• On the contrary, the English Company was an independent commercial corporation with a court of Directors who were greatly interested in the welfare of the Company. The Company mostly maintained good financial health and was at one time seen as the milch-cow of the British government.

Over-dependence on France

• Unlike the English East India Company, the French East India Company was a State concern, depending for everything on the home government. Its freedom of action was very much limited by the charter and the whims and fancies of the rulers.
• Growing into a department of state, the Company lost the energy and vigour of a private enterprise. Its limited resources were inadequate for company employees. The viceroys and their subordinates very often indulged in private trade smuggling, slave trade etc. which directly or indirectly contributed much to the deviation from the main purpose and the consequent collapse of the French power in India.

Seats of Power In India

• While the English had three well-established seats of power in India, namely, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, and had in their possession one dockyard and an excellent harbour.
• The French had only one seat of power, Pondicherry, and a harbour and sea base at Mauritius, but it was distant and ill-equipped.

Responsibility of Dupleix

• Despite Dupleix’s political capabilities, he could never escape the responsibility for French defeat. He was so gripped by his political ambitions that he put a blind eye to several other aspects of the struggle. For instance, in his zeal for political conquests, he failed to attend to the fast deteriorating financial and trading aspects of the Company. Hence, Dupleix is also held partly responsible for the French defeat at the hands of the English.

Impact of British Success in Bengal

• Some historians consider the British success in Bengal as the most significant factor for French defeat and English victory in India. According to them, what really turned the tide in Britain’s favour was its recent access to the rich resources of Bengal. British had occupied Bengal and its resources were liberally used in the Third Carnatic War.
• It was rightly said by VA Smith that no General could have won the empire of India by starting from Pondicherry as a base and contending with a power which held Bengal and command of the sea.

Dwindling Naval Strength

• The lack of naval strength of the French compared to that of the English was one of the decisive factors for the failure of the French in India.
• The French success in 1746 was due to its naval superiority in the Coromandel Coast but this superiority could not be maintained by the French beyond 1748 because during the War of Austrian Succession the French naval strength was so greatly reduced that it had hardly any battle ships left with it in the Seven Years’ War

Other Factors

• Recall of Dupleix: Recall of Dupleix proved to be a mistake of the French.
  • The vacuum created was not filled by the generals who succeeded him. Similarly appointment of Count de Lally as the French Governor General and Commander in Chief during the Third Carnatic war proved disastrous as he lacked the foresight and statesmanship of Dupleix. His departure from Hyderabad ended the French influence there
• Rashness and Arrogance of Lally: Count de Lally was rash and arrogant. His behaviour so greatly alienated his subordinates that they openly rejoiced when he was defeated by the English.
• Absence of Permanent Naval Presence: The French had no permanent naval presence in India
  while the British had a formidable naval presence. The British Navy was also superior.

Commercial Superiority and Better Financial Position

• The trade carried on by the English Company was much bigger than the French Company. In between 1736 to 1756, the trade of British Company was many times than that of French company. The English East India Company was an asset to the British Government, for the Government even received loans from it.

Private Character of the English Company

• The British Company was a private enterprise and this created a spirit of self reliance. The British Government interfered in the affairs of the Company only when it was necessary to secure the interests of its shareholders. Thus the English Company moved with its own initiative and with the moral support of the Government at home.

Naval Superiority

• The naval superiority of the English in the Seven Years’ War enabled the English to keep their communication with India undisturbed, to keep their settlements at Bombay and Calcutta supplied with necessary reinforcements and to isolate the French force in the Carnatic.

British Settlement of Bengal

• The early control over Bengal at the start of Third Carnatic War helped the British seize Chandernagore and take the fight to the south. The Battle of Plassey in 1757 proved to be decisive in establishing British supremacy in Bengal as well as Carnatic.

Wars

Associated Battles

Associated Treaties

First Carnatic War (1746-48)

Battle of St. Thome

Treaty of Aix-La-Chappelle (1748)

Second Carnatic War (1749-54)

Battle of Ambur

Treaty of Pondicherry (1754)

Third Carnatic War (1757-63)

Battle of Wandiwash

Treaty of Paris (1763)