Prelims · 2 Modern India · 2.1 Advent of the Europeans
2.1.4 Anglo-French rivalry: the three Carnatic wars
Between 1746 and 1763 the English and French fought three wars in the Carnatic and the Deccan, and the English victory at Wandiwash (1760) ended French hopes of an Indian empire.
- APPSC Group 2 · Prelims
- Standard level
- 5 min read
- Free
Core facts
- First Carnatic War (1746–48): an extension of the War of the Austrian Succession.
- Battle of St. Thome / Adyar (1746): a small French force beat the Nawab of Arcot, Anwaruddin.
- Ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748): Madras went back to the English.
- Second Carnatic War (1749–54): disputed succession in Hyderabad and the Carnatic.
- French side: Muzaffar Jang (Hyderabad), Chanda Sahib (Carnatic).
- English side: Nasir Jang, Muhammad Ali.
- Robert Clive took and held Arcot (1751).
- Ended by the Treaty of Pondicherry (1754); Dupleix was recalled.
- Third Carnatic War (1756–63): the Seven Years' War.
- French commander: Count de Lally. English: Sir Eyre Coote.
- Battle of Wandiwash (22 January 1760): English victory; Bussy captured.
- Pondicherry fell in 1761.
- Treaty of Paris (1763): French factories returned, but not to be fortified.
Explained
Causes
- The two companies were rivals for trade, and wars in Europe spilled over to India.
- Dupleix, the French governor (1742–54), saw that Indian rulers could be used by taking sides in succession quarrels.
First war
- The English fleet threatened the French, so the French governor of Mauritius, La Bourdonnais, came to help. He captured Madras in 1746.
- The Nawab of Arcot objected as it was in his territory. At St. Thome a few hundred French soldiers routed his army of thousands. This showed that disciplined European troops with artillery were superior.
Second war
- After Nizam-ul-Mulk's death (1748), his son Nasir Jang and grandson Muzaffar Jang fought. In the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib challenged Anwaruddin.
- At the Battle of Ambur (1749) Anwaruddin was killed. The French set up their candidates for a short time.
- Clive, a clerk turned soldier, led a diversion and seized Arcot in 1751 and held it for 53 days against a siege. This turned the war.
- Bussy stayed at Hyderabad with French troops and got the Northern Circars in 1753. Dupleix was recalled in 1754 and Godeheu made peace.
Third war
- Count de Lally took Fort St David (1758) but quarrelled with his own officers and lacked money.
- English control of the sea cut French supplies. At Wandiwash Eyre Coote won (1760). Pondicherry was starved into surrender (1761).
- At the Treaty of Paris (1763), Pondicherry and other posts were returned but could not be fortified or used as political bases.
AP angle
- The Northern Circars (coastal Andhra) were granted to the French by Salabat Jang in 1753–54.
- Colonel Forde defeated the French at the Battle of Condore (Chandurthi), 1758, and captured Masulipatnam (April 1759). The English took charge of the region.
- The Mughal emperor Shah Alam II formally granted the Northern Circars to the Company by a farman in 1765 (Clive's settlement).
- Masulipatnam and Yanam show the French and English interest in the Telugu coast.
Common traps
- ✗ "The first Carnatic War ended with the Treaty of Paris." ✓ It ended with Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). Paris (1763) ended the third.
- ✗ "Clive won at Wandiwash." ✓ Eyre Coote won at Wandiwash (1760). Clive's fame came at Arcot (1751).
- ✗ "Dupleix lost at Wandiwash." ✓ He had been recalled in 1754. Lally commanded in the third war.
- ✗ "Pondicherry fell in 1760." ✓ 1761, after Wandiwash.
- ✗ "St. Thome was fought against the Nizam." ✓ It was against the Nawab of Arcot, Anwaruddin.
Quick revision
- First war 1746–48: St. Thome; Aix-la-Chapelle.
- Second war 1749–54: Arcot 1751 (Clive); Treaty of Pondicherry 1754.
- Third war 1756–63: Wandiwash 1760; Pondicherry 1761; Paris 1763.
- Dupleix recalled 1754.
- Lally (French); Eyre Coote (English).
- Northern Circars: Bussy 1753; Forde at Condore 1758.
Go deeper: Deeper, Mains writing (beyond what APPSC Group 2 usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
- Reasons for English success:
- sea power: the Royal Navy controlled supply lines
- Bengal's revenues after 1757 funded the Carnatic army
- three strong bases (Madras, Bombay, Calcutta) against a single French base
- able commanders: Clive, Stringer Lawrence, Eyre Coote
- the French company depended on the Crown, and Dupleix had no steady support at home
- Dupleix's methods. He trained Indian sepoys on European lines, made treaties with Indian rulers and used subsidies. The English adopted these methods and improved on them.
- Result. The wars made the English the arbiters of the Carnatic. The Nawab, Muhammad Ali Walajah, became dependent on them. This later led to the Carnatic debt problem and to annexation of the Carnatic by Wellesley in 1801.
Mains writing Mains writing
- Frame: the Carnatic wars are the first example of Indian politics being shaped by European rivalries, and of European forces fighting on Indian soil for Indian prizes.
- Analysis: military technique (drilled infantry, artillery), financial base, sea power and a clear political plan separated the winners from the losers.
- Way to link: the same approach, taking sides in succession disputes, was later perfected in Bengal at Plassey.
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