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Subject:
A bit of history: 23 June 1757: The battle of Plassey
tjkhan
6/23/2006 6:27:42 AM
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| I have previously posted a piece dealing with the Fifiteen decisve Battles. The Battle of Plassey was not listed amongst them, but in my view, may well turn out to be one.
Anyway, from Wikipedia, here we go:
Background
The ostensible reason for the battle was Siraj-ud-Daulah's earlier attack and capture of Fort William, Calcutta (which he renamed to Alinagar) during June, 1756, but the battle is today seen as part of the geopolitical ambition of the East India Company and the larger dynamics of colonial conquest.
This conflict was precipitated by a number of disputes [1]:
The illegal use of Mughal Imperial export trade permits (dastaks) granted to the British in 1717 for engaging in internal trade within India. The British cited this permit as their excuse for not paying taxes to the Bengal Nawab.
British interference in the Nawab's court, and particularly their support for one of his aunts, Ghaseti Begum. The son of Ghaseti's treasurer had sought refuge in Fort William and Siraj demanded his return.
Additional fortifications with mounted guns had been placed on Fort William without the consent of the Nawab, and;
Their policy of favouring Hindu Marwari merchants such as Jagat Sheth .
During this capture of Fort William, of June 1756, an event occurred that came to be known as the Black Hole of Calcutta. A narrative by one John Zephaniah Holwell, plus the testimony of another survivor, Cooke, to a select committee of the House of Commons, coupled with subsequent verification by Robert Orme, placed 146 British prisoners into a room measuring 18 by 15 feet, and only 23 survived the night. The story was amplified in colonial literature, but the facts are widely disputed[2]. In any event, the Black Hole incident, which is often cited as a reason for the Battle at Plassey, was not widely known until James Mill's History of India (1858), after which it became the grist of schoolboy texts on India.
As the forces for the battle were building up, the British settlement at Fort William sought assistance from Presidency of Fort St. George at Madras, which sent Colonel Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson. They re-captured Calcutta on January 2, 1757, but the Nawab marched again on Calcutta on February 5, 1757, and was surprised by a dawn attack by the British [2]. This resulted in the Treaty of Alinagar on February 7, 1757 [3].
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Growing French influence
Growing on the sidelines was the French influence, at the urging of the enterprising French Governor-General Joseph François Dupleix, at the court of the Nawab. This was resulting in increasing French trade in Bengal. They lent the Nawab some French soldiers to operate heavy artillery pieces.
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Ahmad Shah Abdali
At the same time, Siraj Ud Daulah was facing conflicts on two fronts. On his Western border was the advancing army of the Afghan, Ahmad Shah Abdali who had captured and looted Delhi in 1756.
So although he was humiliated by the Treaty, Siraj Ud Daulah sent the better part of his troops west under the command of his general, Raja Ram Narain.
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Court intrigue
In the midst of all of this, was an ongoing court intrigue at Siraj Ud Daulah's court at Murshidabad. Siraj was not a particularly well-loved ruler. Young (he succeeded his father in April, 1756 at age 27) and impetuous, he was prone to quickly make enemies. The most dangerous of these was his wealthy and influential aunt, Ghaseti Begum (Meherun-Nisa), who wanted another nephew, Shawkat Jang, installed as Nawab.
Mir Jafar, commander-in-chief of the army, was also uneasy with Siraj, and was courted assiduously by Ghaseti. Eventually, through the connivance of traders such as Umichand (who had suffered as a result of the siege of Calcutta), and William Watts, Mir Jafar was brought into the British fold.
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Company policy
The Company had long decided that a change of regime would be conducive to their interests in Bengal. In 1752, Robert Orme, in a letter to Clive, noted that the company would have to remove Siraj's grandfather, Alivardi Khan, in order to prosper [3].
After the premature death of Alivardi Khan in April, 1756, his nominated successor was Siraj-ud-Daulah, a grandson whom Alivardi had adopted. The circumstances of this transition gave rise to considerable controversy and the British began supporting the intrigues of Alivardi's eldest daughter, Ghaseti Begum against that of his grandson, Siraj.
Instructions dated October 13, 1756 from Fort St. George instructed Robert Clive, "to effect a junction with any powers in the province of Bengal that might be dissatisfied with the violence of the Nawab's government or that might have pretensions to the Nawabship". Accordingly, Robert was negotiating with two potential contenders, one of Siraj's generals, Yar Latif Khan, and Siraj's grand-uncle and army chief, Mir Jafar Ali Khan, through William Watts, chief of the Kasimbazar factory of the Company, who was proficient in Bengali |
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