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'Class 8 - European Powers That Came To India (TRM)
'Class 8 - European Powers That Came To India (TRM)
'Class 8 - European Powers That Came To India (TRM)
i) Vasco-da-gama: In1498, he visited Calicut and was welcomed by Zamorin. His 2nd visit was in 1501. He
defeated Zamorin and captured Calicut (1502).9
He was the 1st Governor General of Portuguese settlement in India. He followed a policy called BLUE
WATERFALLS (strengthening the naval power to expel Arabs from Arabian sea and Indian ocean).
iii) Afonso de Alboquerque (1509-1515):
He was the real founder of Portuguese settlement in India. He captured Goa from Bahamani kingdom. He
maintained good relationship with Vijaynagar ruler Krishnadevaraya. In 1510, Portuguese established
bases at Goa.
Robert Clive: Siege of Arcot 31st August to 15th November 1751 in the War in India
Generals at the Siege of Arcot: Raju Sahib, son of Chunda Sahib, against Robert Clive.
Size of the armies at the Siege of Arcot: The army of Raju Sahib comprised some 11,000 native troops and
150 French troops. Raju Sahib was supported by a train of French siege artillery. Clive’s force comprised
200 British and 300 Sepoy troops and 3 guns. He was able to use the guns he found in the abandoned fort
at Arcot. The number of these pieces is unknown.
Winner of the Siege of Arcot: Robert Clive.
Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Siege of Arcot:
The various native rulers were able to put large armies into the field at short notice. These armies
comprised indisciplined levies armed with bows, swords and spears. There were few firearms. A constant
threat from North-West India were the Mahrattas, better disciplined mounted warriors.
The most significant component in India was the disciplined French and British infantry and artillery armed
with muskets and field guns. There were few of these troops and, while effective in the field against the
native levies, they were susceptible to disease and quickly became casualties.
The answer for the French and the British to the lack of European numbers and their vulnerability to
tropical disease was to recruit native sepoys, arm them with muskets and train them in European battle
drill. This both European nations began to do. For the British, their presence in India was primarily to trade
and there was a reluctance to become involved in the raising, training and paying large bodies of troops,
until it became clear that this was unavoidable if a presence was to be maintained in India in the face of
French ambition and aggrandisement.
Background to the Siege of Arcot:
The Siege of Arcot was among the first significant battles for the British in India. The predominant power
on the Indian sub-continent was the Muslim Mogul Emperor in Delhi. The Emperor maintained a loose rule
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over a system of sub-rulers of varying power and loyalty. These rulers struggled over the suzerainty of a
number of states of differing sizes. These struggles were particularly savage when a ruler died leaving
family and retainers to fight over the succession. In the south of India, the native rulers turned to the two
competing European powers, Britain and France, to assist in these struggles.
Account of the Siege of Arcot:
Robert Clive marched out of Madras on 26th August 1751 for the 65 mile journey to Arcot, crossing the
River Paliar at Conjeveram. After 5 days, Clive’s force was 10 miles short of Arcot.
Clive’s information was that Arcot was unfortified, with a dilapidated fort containing a garrison of 1,000
native soldiers.
Clive began his final approach march in a heavy thunderstorm. News that the British were advancing in
spite of the terrible weather seems to have weighed heavily with the Arcot garrison, which abandoned the
fort and left the town.
Clive’s men took over the fort and began work to put it in a state of defence, mounting the guns left by the
fleeing garrison on the battlements.
Elephants advancing on the gates of Arcot Fort: Siege of Arcot 31st August to 15th November 1751 in the
War in India
Informed by his scouts that the garrison was encamped some 6 miles from the town, where they were
receiving reinforcements, Clive mounted a series of successful attacks which resulted in the garrison
dispersing into the countryside.
As Clive anticipated, the news that his capital had been captured by the enemy was of greater immediate
concern to Chunda Sahib than taking Trichinopoly.
Chunda Sahib dispatched his son, Raju Sahib, with a force of 4,000 native soldiers and 100 French troops,
reluctantly provided by Dupleix, to retake Arcot.
Raju Sahib arrived at Arcot on 23rd September 1751, and invested the fort.
Ever aggressive, on 24th September 1751 Clive launched an attack on his besiegers. Clive’s force was
driven back into the fort with the loss of 2 officers and 31 European soldiers killed and wounded, a heavy
cost in view of his limited numbers.
On 25th September 1751, Raju Sahib received re-enforcements bringing his army to 11,000 native soldiers
and 150 European troops. Clive’s garrison now comprised 120 Europeans and 200 Sepoys.
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Within two weeks heavy guns arrived for Raju Sahib’s assault on the fort and he began a bombardment. By
30th October 1751 a practicable breach had been blown in the walls of the fort. In compliance with
convention, Raju Sahib invited Clive to surrender, but received a reply of ‘contemptuous defiance’. Raju
Sahib hesitated to put his troops to an assault and waited to see if the garrison might be starved into
surrender. Casualties at the Siege of Arcot:
Casualties during the final assault were said to have been 6 of the garrison killed and wounded, while Raju
Sahib lost 400 men.
The whole siege was said to have cost Clive’s force a quarter of its strength in killed alone. Total casualties
for Raju Sahib’s army are unknown.
Battle Honour and Campaign Medal for the Siege of Arcot:
The Battle Honour of ‘Arcot’ was given to the Madras European Regiment, which became the Honourable
East India Company’s Madras European Regiment in 1830. In 1862, after the Indian Mutiny, the regiment
was taken into Crown service as the 102nd (Royal Madras Fusiliers) Regiment. In 1881 the 102nd, with the
103rd (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) Regiment, became the Royal Dublin Fusiliers which retained ‘Arcot’ as a
Battle Honour, the only regiment in the British or Indian Armies to carry the honour.
There is no campaign medal.
Follow-up to the Siege of Arcot: the immediate result of the success of the siege for Clive was that he was
enabled to follow up Raju Sahib’s army and defeat it again in open battle at Arni. The pendulum then
swung in favour of the French before Trichinopoly could be relieved.
Regimental anecdotes and traditions from the Siege of Arcot:
It is reported that Clive’s garrison fired 12,000 musket rounds during the final assault. That is an average of
24 rounds per man.
References for the Siege of Arcot:
History of the British Army by Fortescue Volume II
Robert Clive fires a cannon in the Siege of Arcot 31st August to 15th November 1751 in the War in India
In Madras, Governor Saunders was organising a relief of Arcot. Saunders completed his negotiations with
the Mahratta chief, Morari Rao, whereby the Mahrattas joined the British. A force of British troops and
sepoys with Mahratta cavalry prepared to march to Arcot.
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News of this relief forced Raju Sahib’s hand and an assault was planned on the 13th November 1751 for
the next day, the Muslim fast of Hassan and Hussein.
Clive’s intelligence system warned him of the plan and preparations were made. The attack would
inevitably be focused on the breach made by the siege train’s bombardment. Cannon were positioned to
cover the breach and relays of surplus muskets were loaded and stacked to enable the troops positioned at
the breach to maintain a constant fire.
Elephants battering at the gates of Arcot Fort: Siege of Arcot 31st August to 15th November 1751 in the
War in India
At dawn on 14th November 1751, Raju Sahib’s troops swarmed forward for the escalade of the breach. At
the same time an assault was launched on the fort’s Delhi Gate. Elephants were used, their heads fitted
with armoured plates in an attempt to batter in the gate.
The elephants were subjected to heavy musket fire and, maddened by their injuries, the animals turned on
the accompanying soldiers and trampled to death everyone within reach.
The storming party was equally unsuccessful in the breach. The British fire was so heavy that the attacking
troops were unable to make any headway. At one point Clive took personal charge of a gun, the crew being
struck down, and fired several rounds into the attackers.
The assault was only maintained for an hour, after which Raju Sahib’s men melted back into the town. The
French troops took no part in the attack on the fort, probably because Dupleix considered the operation a
diversion from the more important business of capturing Trichinopoly and did not wish to lose any of his
valuable European troops.
The next day, Raju Sahib marched away with his army, leaving several of his guns and much of his
ammunition for Clive to capture.
Battle of Plassey
The Keystone Battle for the British in India, fought on 23rd June 1757 and won with Treachery and
Tarpaulins
Battle: Plassey
War: Anglo-French Wars in India (The Third Carnatic War)
Date of the Battle of Plassey: 23rd June 1757
Place of the Battle of Plassey: In Bengal on the Bhagirathi River to the north of Calcutta .
Siraj ud Daulah Nawab of Bengal: Battle of Plassey on 23rd June 1757 in the Anglo-French Wars in India
Combatants at the Battle of Plassey: The British East India Company against Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and a small French force. The British were assisted by traitors in the Nawab’s high
command.
Generals at the Battle of Plassey: Colonel Robert Clive against Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal.
Size of the armies at the Battle of Plassey:
Clive’s army at Plassey comprised 950 European Troops (including 250 men of His Majesty’s 39th Foot),
2,100 native troops being sepoys and topazes, 60 sailors and 100 artillerymen, with eight 6 pounder guns
and two howitzers.
Siraj-ud-Daulah’s army comprised 35,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry and 53 pieces of cannon, being 18, 24
and 32 pounders. A small French force commanded by St Frais provided supervision for the artillery and
manned some guns.
Clive sails up the Bay of Bengal to the Ganges River to recapture Calcutta: Battle of Plassey on 23rd June
1757 in the Anglo-French Wars in India.
The East India Company built up an increasing influence in the area. Bengal was subject to repeated
invasions by Afghans and Mahrattas from the north and west and the Company’s substantial financial
contributions to the defence of the area were important to each Nawab, who ruled Bengal.
Black Hole of Calcutta: Battle of Plassey on 23rd June 1757 in the Anglo-French Wars in India: picture by
Cecil Doughty
The Black Hole of Calcutta:
That night the incident took place, subsequently known as the ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’. Traditionally, it is
claimed that 123 of 146 prisoners from the captured British garrison and their families held in the hole died
during the night due to the heat and the number of persons in a cell designed for 2 or 3 prisoners. The
figure was computed by John Holwell, a survivor, and is disputed. It seems clear that Siraj-ud-Daulah did
not directly cause the detention of the prisoners in the cell and that he ordered the release of the survivors
the next morning.
Bribed Indians providing water to the prisoners in the Black Hole: Battle of Plassey on 23rd June 1757 in
the Anglo-French Wars in India: picture by Richard Caton Woodville
Many of the garrison escaped from Calcutta on board English ships and sailed down river to Fulta, to await
the arrival of a relieving force from Madras.
The Re-capture of Calcutta News of the loss of Calcutta reached Madras on 15th July 1756 and a force
under Major Kilpatrick was dispatched to Fulta at the mouth of the Hugli in Bengal.
A Royal Navy squadron was present in the Bay of Bengal, commanded by Vice Admiral Watson. The
Company authorities at Madras resolved to send as many of the troops and ships at their disposal to retake
Calcutta, in spite of the imminence of hostilities with the French, who were present in strength in Southern
India.
Siraj-ud-Daulah resolved to attack Calcutta again. For this operation he raised an army said to have
comprised 18,000 cavalry, 25,000 infantry and 40 guns. He marched on Calcutta arriving at the edge of the
Marratha Ditch, a defensive work intended to provide some protection to the settlement, on 3rd February
1757.
On 4th February 1757, Clive attacked Siraj-ud-Daulah’s camp. He intended a night attack, but being
delayed Clive attacked in a thick fog in the early hours of the morning. The fog lifted, revealing Clive’s small
force in the middle of the camp. Clive fought his way out, leaving Siraj-ud-Daulah so intimidated by the
aggressive assault that he withdrew.
On 9th February 1757 Siraj-ud-Daulah signed a treaty restoring to the Company its former privileges and
agreeing to hand over the property looted in the capture of Calcutta and Cossimbazar.
On 9th February 1757 Siraj-ud-Daulah signed a treaty restoring to the Company its former privileges and
agreeing to hand over the property looted in the capture of Calcutta and Cossimbazar.
Mir Jafar Khan (left) and his son Mir Miran: Battle of Plassey on 23rd
June 1757 in the Anglo-French Wars in India
Casualties at the Battle of Plassey:
Clive’s army suffered casualties of 23 dead and 49 wounded. The
casualties of Siraj-ud-Daulah’s army were around 500 dead and many
wounded. The English captured horses, elephants, and all of the 53
guns brought against them.
The Great Mogul gives Robert Clive dominion over Bengal Orissa and
Bihar: Battle of Plassey on 23rd June 1757 in the Anglo-French Wars
in India
Battle Honour and Campaign Medal for the Battle of Plassey:
The Battle Honour ‘Plassey’ was awarded to the 39th Foot (later the
Dorsetshire Regiment), the 1st Madras Europeans (later the Royal Dublin Fusiliers), and the 1st Bengal
Europeans (later the Royal Munster Fusiliers).
No campaign medal was issued.
Follow-up to the Battle of Plassey:
Following the Battle of Plassey, in accordance with the treaty he had signed with Clive and the East India
Company Committee in Calcutta, Mir Jafa Khan entered Murshidabad with Clive and became Nawab of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It was however largely an empty honour as the real power in Eastern India was
now the English East India Company. Under the treaty, Mir Jafa Khan was compelled to pay substantial
sums of money to the East India Company and also to Clive and the Company and Royal officers of his army
and the Royal Navy squadron of Vice Admiral Watson that supported the land operations. All these men
were enriched by these payments. Those who survived to return to England, Watson and Kilpatrick, and
the several others who died soon after Plassey from infectious disease brought on by the oppressive
climate became known as ‘Nabobs’ from their India derived wealth.
Battle of Arnee Arnee British force under Robert Clive and Franco-
(1751AD) Indian force under Raza Sahib
Battle of Golden Rock Golden Rock, Tiruchirappalli British and French East India Company
(1753 AD)
Siege of Pondicherry Pondicherry British East India Company and French East
(1760 AD) India Company