The Carnatic Wars

The Carnatic Wars

The Carnatic Wars were a string of military battles that took place primarily in Hyderabad State, India’s coastal Carnatic region, in the middle of the 18th century.  Between 1744 and 1763, there were three Carnatic Wars.

Carnatic was the name given by the Europeans to the Coromandel coast. Not to be confused with the modern state of Karnataka

The conflicts involved numerous seemingly independent rulers and their vassals, battles for territory and succession, as well as a diplomatic and military conflict between the French and British East India Companies.

With the aid of numerous dispersed territories loyal to the Mughal empire, they were primarily fought within the borders of Mughal India.

The principal belligerents of the war were the French East India Company under the Kingdom of France and the East India Company under the Kingdom of Great Britain. The various rulers within the Mughal empire like the nawabs of Hyderabad and nizams of Carnatic and other neighboring regions chose to fight alongside the imperial power that suited their interests.

As a result of the Carnatic wars

The British East India Company established its dominance among the European trading companies within India because of these military battles.

The French company was trapped and forced into Pondicherry.

Background

Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, passed away in 1707.

He was succeeded by Bahadur Shah I. After defeating his brothers, he became the Mughal emperor in 1707 and ruled until his death in 1712 aged 68.

While Jahandar Shah and later emperors held power, there was a general decline in centralized control over the empire.

Hyderabad was established as a separate kingdom by Nizam-ul-Mulk. The first Nizam of Hyderabad conquered the city in 1724

After his passing, a power struggle developed between his son Nasir Jung and his grandson Muzaffar Jung that soon involved outside forces looking to increase their influence. Britain supported Nasir Jung, while France supported Muzaffar Jung.

Succession Problems were happening in other areas of the Mughal empire as well.

Several former Mughal provinces, including the Carnatic, which a Nawab governed under the legal control of the Nizam of Hyderabad, had their own independent governments.

Dost Ali Khan was the nawab of Carnatic (Arcot) 1732 to 1740. Support from the French and the British quickly entangled with Nawab’s affairs.

Safdar Ali Khan became the nawab for two years following his father Dost Ali Khan’s death. He sent some of his family to madras for safety under the protection of the British. However, he was murdered by his brother-in-law Murtaza ali khan in 1742. Murtaza Ali khan claimed himself the nawab and took over the throne.

The son of Safdar Ali Khan named Muhammad Sayyid got support from the Nizam of Hyderabad and the British and reclaimed the throne. Since he was a minor, he placed Anwaruddin Khan as his regent. A person the British and the nizam approved of. Unfortunately, he was as unlucky as his father and was murdered 2 years later in 1744. With this, the first dynasty of Nawabs of Carnatic came to an end. The nizam confirmed Anwaruddin Khan as the new Nawab.  He was offered support from both the French and the British, but he supported the English. He died fighting at the age of 77 in 1749 at the battle of Ambur (in present-day Tamilnadu) against a battle with the French army.

A power struggle between Dost Ali’s son-in-law Chanda Sahib, backed by the French, and Muhammad Ali, backed by the British, was sparked by Anwaruddins passing.

The Frenchman Joseph François Dupleix, who arrived in India in 1715 and eventually rose to become the governor of the French East India Company in 1742, was a significant instigator of the Carnatic Wars. Dupleix sought to expand French influence in India, which was limited to a few trading outposts, the chief one being Pondicherry on the Coromandel Coast. He organized Indian recruits under French officers for the first time as soon as he arrived in India, and he also got involved in plots with local leaders to increase French influence.

He was confronted, though, by Robert Clive, a similarly ambitious and driven young officer from the British Army. Clive has been credited by many for laying the foundation of the British East India Company rule in Bengal.

The First Carnatic War

1744 till 1748

The War of the Austrian Succession began in Europe in 1740 and it began to involve several European powers. In 1744, Great Britain was entangled in a conflict with France and its allies. While their parent countries were fierce rivals on the European continent, the trading companies of the two nations maintained friendly relations in India.

According to some sources, cordial ties between the English and the French existed at the time. Goods and merchandise were sent from Pondicherry a French trade centre at the time to Madras a British trade centre for storage.

However, things were about to change.

British company officials were not given the same directive to avoid conflict as French company officials did, and they were also informed that a fleet of the Royal Navy was on its way.

The French requested assistance from as far away as Isle de France after the British initially captured a few French merchant ships, which started an expansion of naval forces in the region. Isle de France eventually became the country we call Mauritius today.

The British fleet withdrew to Bengal after fighting the French commander La Bourdonnais in an inconclusive action off Negapatam in July 1746. Negapatam is a coastal town in the current state of Tamil Nadu.

The French took control of the British outpost in Madras on September 21, 1746.

After the capture, Dupleix refused his promise to La Bourdonnais to give Madras back to the British and instead wanted to hand it over to Anwaruddin Khan. He had promised the return of the town to the nawab of Carnatic (also known as the nawab of arcot) before the siege of madras.

However, Dupleix broke the promise he had made to the nawab seeking to keep madras for the French East India Company.

The Nawab then dispatched a 10,000-man army to retake Madras from the French, but the Battle of Adyar saw a small French force soundly defeat Nawab’s attempt.

The British Fort St. David at Cuddalore was repeatedly attacked by the French, but each time they were repulsed by timely reinforcements, who ultimately turned the tide against the French. Cuddalore is also a coastal town in Tamil Nadu.

With the arrival of the monsoon rains in October, British Admiral Edward Boscawen had to end the siege on Pondicherry he had started in the later months of 1748.

The end of the War of the Austrian Succession in Europe resulted in similar outcomes in India.

The First Carnatic War came to a conclusion together with the end of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe. Madras was returned to the British at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) in exchange for the French fortress of Louisbourg in North America, which the British had taken control of.

Robert Clive, who was taken prisoner at Madras but eventually managed to escape, took part in the defence of Cuddalore and the siege of Pondicherry, making the war primarily notable in India as his first military experience.

Over the next years, Joseph Dupleix dramatically increased French power in south India by making use of his advantage of having well-trained French and Indian soldiers.

The French continued to serve as the nizams of Hyderabad’s guardians.

The Second Carnatic War

1749 to 1754

Even though Europe was not in a state of war, the proxy conflict continued in India. Both the Nizam of Hyderabad and Nawab of Carnatic position were seeing conflicts by claimants.

The French supported Chanda Sahib for Nawab of Carnatic and Muzaffar Jung for Nizam Of Hyderabad. The British supported Nasir Jung for nizam of Hyderabad and his protégé Muhammad Ali for Nawab of Carnatic

As a result of Nasir Jung’s subsequent demise, Muzaffar Jung was able to seize control of Hyderabad. The alliance between the French, Chanda Sahib, and Muzaffar Jung managed to capture Arcot the capital of the Carnatic Sultanate.

Muzaffar’s reign was brief because he was assassinated not long after, and Salabat Jung took over as Nizam.  Salabat however remained loyal to the French and build greater alliances with them.

But in 1751, Robert Clive led British forces to seize and successfully defend Arcot.

The Second Carnatic War concluded in 1754 with the signing of the Treaty of Pondicherry. It was negotiated and signed in French India’s Puducherry, a French colony. By signing this treaty, both parties committed to refrain from meddling in the internal affairs of princely states and to return each other’s territory that had been taken during the conflict.

The Treaty of Pondicherry recognized Muhammad Ali Khan Walajah as the Nawab of the Carnatic. Dupleix was replaced by Charles Godeheu after he passed away in poverty in France.

The Third Carnatic War

1756 to 1763

French and British forces once again engaged in combat in India after the Seven Years’ War broke out in Europe in 1756. The majority of the European great powers took part in the Seven Years’ War, which took place largely in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific.

The French at this time had numerous financial issues. While due to exploitation of regional rulers the British had strengthened their local economy.

Beyond southern India, the Third Carnatic War spread to Bengal, where British forces in 1757 conquered the French settlement of Chandernagore. Currently known as Chandannagar.

Thomas Arthur French general of Irish Jacobite descent was known as Comte de Lally. In India during the Seven Years’ War, Lally oversaw French forces that included two battalions of his own, a red-coated regiment, an Irish Brigade. Following a failed attempt to seize Madras, he was defeated by British forces led by Eyre Coote at the Battle of Wandiwash and ultimately was compelled to hand over the last remaining French garrison at Pondicherry.

After serving time as a Prisoner in Britain, Lally voluntarily went back to France to stand trial, where he was executed for his supposed faults in India. Lally was ultimately unsuccessful in gaining India for France due to the rivalries and betrayals of other officers, a lack of funding, and a weak naval presence.

Following Wandiwash, the Brits captured Pondicherry, the French capital, in 1761. the war was ultimately decided in the south, where the British successfully defended Madras.

Upon the Seven Years’ War’s conclusion, The 1763 Treaty of Paris, often known as the Peace of Paris or the Treaty of 1763, marked the end of the conflict. According to the treaty, Chandranagar and Pondicherry were restored to France, and although the French were permitted to have trading posts in India, they were not permitted to manage them.

With the end of the third Carnatic war, the entire saga of Carnatic wars comes to a close.

Aftermath

Due to the Carnatic Wars, the dreams of the French to establish an empire in India were entirely crushed.

In exchange for British support, the French agreed to abandon their plans for colonial Expansion in India and put their focus in other areas of the world. As a result, Britain became the dominant European power in India. The way was open for British colonial rule to be established in India.

What followed was the East India Companies’ supremacy over Bengal and the eventual creation of the British Raj.

British Supremacy

So why were the British able to overcome the French? What were the reasons for their supremacy?

One of the reasons for the British Supremacy Governance Structure. The East India Company was a private enterprise with more authority in colonial matters. Due to less government influence over the company, choices could be made sooner as deemed necessary without waiting for approval. The French East India Company, however, was a state-owned enterprise. It was administered and controlled by the French government, which constrained it by policies and delays in decision-making.

Other reasons for British Supremacy were their Royal Navy. The important naval link between France and the French colonies in India has severed thanks in part to the English navy’s superior strength to that of the French. The British navy clearly outclassed the French.

The British also had an advantage due to their control of major port cities. When compared to the French, who only had Pondicherry, the English held the three important cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras.

 The British were able to Balance Territorial and financial ambition. Because they prioritized their territorial goals over their financial objectives, the French corporation ran out of money. Their finances were also depleted by the European conflicts. Despite their desire to expand their empire, the British never disregarded business concerns. They accumulated wealth via trade and alliances with local rulers and independent kingdoms. The British always possessed the assets and good financial position required to greatly back them in their confrontations with their rivals.

The British Leaders gave them a significant advantage over the French. The English were successful in India in large part due to the superiority of the British commanders and other leaders. On the French side, there was just Dupleix who played a major role as contrasted to a vast list of English leaders like Sir Eyre Coote, Major Stringer Lawrence, Robert Clive, and many others.

Sources

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

Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East India Company. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. pp. 150–159.

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