Battle of Wandiwash,1760

From 1744, the French and English fought a series of Battles for supremacy in the Carnatic region. In the third Carnatic war, the British East India Company defeated the French forces at the battle of Wandiwash ending almost a century of conflict over supremacy in India. This Battle gave the British trading Company a far superior position in India compared to the other Europeans.   

The Battle of Wandiwash was a decisive battle in India during the Seven Years' War. The Count de Lally's army, burdened by a lack of naval support and funds, attempted to regain the fort at Vandavasi near Pondicherry. He was attacked by Sir Eyre Coote's forces and decisively defeated. The French general Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau and the French were then restricted to Pondicherry, where they surrendered on 16 January 1761. Wandiwash is the Anglicised pronunciation of Vandavasi.[1]

This was the Third Carnatic War fought between the French and the British. After making substantial gains in Bengal and Hyderabad, the British, after collecting huge amount of revenue, were fully equipped to face the French in Wandiwash. Thus, they defeated the French comprehensively in this Battle.

According to the 19th century book ("Annals of the wars of the eighteenth century") by Author Eduard Cust, the French Army has used 300 European Cavalry, 2250 European Infantries, 1300 Sepoys, 3000 Mahrattas with 16 pieces of Artillery and the English had used about 80 European Horses, 250 Native horses, 1900 European Infantries, 2100 Sepoys and 26 pieces of Artillery.[2]. Battle of Wandiwash involved capture of Chetpattu (Chengalpattu), Tirunomalai(Thiruvannaamalai), Tindivanam and Perumukkal.

2nd and 3rd Carnatic wars

Second Carnatic War (1749-1754)

After the death of Nizam-ul-Mulk in 1748, the Nizam of Hyderabad,  a civil war for succession , known as the 2nd Carnatic War, broke out in the south between Mir Ahmad Ali Khan ( Nasir Jung), the son of the Nizam-ul-Mulk, and Hidayat Muhi ud-Din Sa'adullah Khan ( Muzaffar Jung), the grand son of Nizam-ul-Mulk.

This opened a window of opportunity for Chand Sahib, who wanted to become Nawab of Arcot. He joined the cause of Muzaffar Jung and began to conspire against the Nawab Awaruddin Muhammed Khan in Arcot. The French allied with Chand Sahib and Muzaffar Jung to bring them into power in their respective states. But soon the British also intervened. To effect the French influence, they began supporting Nasir Jung and Muhammad Ali Khan  Walajah (son of the deposed Nawab Anwarauddin Muhammad Khan of Arcot). Initially, the French succeeded in both states in defeating and murdering their opponents and placing their supporters on thrones in 1749. In 1751, however, Robert Clive led British troops to capture Arcot. Clive's success led to additional victories for the British and their Nizam and Arcot allies. The War ended with the treaty of Pondichery, signed in 1754. Muhammad Ali Khan Walajah was recognised as the Nawab of Arcot. The French leader Dupleix was asked to return to France. The Directors of the French East India Company wer dissatisfied with Dupleix's political ambitions, which had led to immense financial loss. In 1754, Charles Godeheu replaced Dupleix.     

Third Carnatic War

The outbreak in 1756 of the Seven Years' War in Europe resulted in renewed conflict between French and British forces in India. The Third Carnatic War spread beyond southern India into Bengal where British forces captured the French settlement of Chndernagore (now Chandannagar) in 1757. However the war was to decide in the south , as British Commander Sir Eyre Coote decisively defeated the French under the Comte sw Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760.The French capital Pondichery fell to the British in 1761,.The treaty of Paris in 1763 decided the result of both the parties. France to have factories ( trading posts) and British would get dominant foreign power in India. 'Let there be light, and there was light' for British in India.

Carnatic Wars (1746-1763)

The Carnatic Wars, 1st,2nd, and 3rd were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th  century on the Indian Subcontinent. The conflicts involved many independent rulers for succession of their territories and between the two European forces the French and the British. 

First Carnatic war (1746-1748)    

The Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb died in 1707 CE.He was succeeded by Bahadur Shah I but there had been a general decline of the central control over the entire empire after the death of Aurangazeb. Several erstwhile Mughal colonies revolted. Carnatic was ruled by Nawab Dost Ali, despite being under the legal perview of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Dost Ali's death spurked a power struggle between his son-in-law Chand Sahib and the Nizam;s nominee, Anwar-ud-Din. The British enlisted the help of Anwar-ud-Din to oust Joseph Francois Dupleix and the French from Madras.

The Genesis of the Carnatic wars are generally attributed to the ambition of Dupleix. As governor of the French East India Company , Dupleix sought to establish a French colony in India. Immediately upon his arrival in india, he organized Indian recruits under French officers for the first time in 1740.

In the mean time the British and the French went to war over the succession of the throne of Austria in 1740. The decline of Mughal power in India provided an opportunity for the contending European trading Companies to venture out brazen use of intrigues for obtaining hold over the land for the benefit of their respective companies.By that time, the French and the British trading companies had the largest presence among all the European Companies trading in India, dominating in influence those of the Dutch Republic and Portugal.

After the British initially captured a few  French Ships ,  the French, in return,  captured  , in 21 Sept. 1746, the British city Madras. Among the prisoners  of war was Robert Clive.

With the termination of the war of Austrian Succession in European, the first Carnatic War also came to an end. In the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Madras was given back to the British in exchange for the French fortress of Louisbourg in north America, which the British had captured.     

Chennai-Formally Madras Presidency

The name Chennai came from the word Chennaipattinam, the name of the town that grew around the Fort St. George, which was built by the English in 1640. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a sale deed, dated August 1639, to Francis day of the English East India Company. Chennai in Tamil means face, and  the temple is regarded as the face of the city.The region around Chennai has served as an administrative, military, and economic centre since the 1st century.The area was ruled by various South Indian Dynasties notably the Pallava, the Chera, The Chola, The Pandya, and Vijaynagar.The Portuguese arrived in 1522 and built a port called Sao Tome after the christian apostle, St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the area between 1552 and 1570 AD. In 1612, the Dutch established themselves near Pulicat, just north of the City.

On 22nd August 1639, Francis Day of the British East India Company bought a small strip of land on the Coromandel coast. The region was ruled by the Nataka of Vandavasi. He granted British permission to build a factory and warehouse for their trading enterprises.A year later the British built Fort St. George and Madras was captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius, who plundered the town and its outlying villages. the British gained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelleand fortified the town's fortress wall to  withstand further attacks from the French and another looming threat , Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore.By the late 18th century , the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnatak , establishing the Madras Presidency with Madras as capital.    

Indian History - British Period

After getting entry in Gujarat to construct three trade posts, 1. Surat, 2. Ahmadabad, and 3. Bharuch,  and factories following the permission of Emperor Jahangir they also constructed a trade post and factory in Agra, Uttarpradesh.
In 1633, in the Mahanadi delta of Haripura at Balasore in Orissa, factories were set up.
In 1640, East India Company established an outpost at Madras. In 1661, the company obtained  Bombay from Charles II and converted it to a flourishing center of trade by 1668. English settlement rose in Orissa and Bengal.
In 1650, Gabriel Boughtonn , an employee of the Company, obtained a license for trade in Bengal. An English factory was set up in 1651 at Hugli. In 1690 Job Charnock established a factory. In1698 the factory was fortified and Called Fort William. The villages of Sutanati, Kalikata, and Gobindapore were developed into a single area called Calcutta. Calcutta became a trading center for East India Company. Once in India, the British began to compete with the Portuguese, Dutch, and the French. Through a combination of outright combat and deft alliance with local princes, the East India Company gained control of all European trade in India by 1769. In 1672 the French established themselves at Pondichery and stage was set for a rivalry between the British and French for control of Indian trade.  

History of Gujarat

Gujarat is a state in the western coast of India with 1,600 km along the coast line and 75,686 sq. miles in area. It began its settlements with the Indus Valley Civilisation. British established three trade centers here. 1. Surat, 2. Ahmadabad, and 3. Broach ( present name Bharuch).

Bharuch served as ports and trading centers in the Nanda, Maurya, Satavahana and Gupta empires. After the fall of Gupta Empire in the 6th century , Gujarat flourished as an independent Hindu/Budhist states. The 11th century history of Gijarat saw  the emergence of Muslim rule. The first Muslim conqueror was Mahmud of Gazni whose conquest of  Somnath effectively ended the rule of Solankis.

From 1297 to 1300, Allauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, destroyed Anhilwara and incorporated Gujarat into the Delhi Sultanate.The Sultanate of Gujarat remained independent until 1576, when the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great conquered  and annexed it to the Mughal empire. The port of Surat become the prominent and main port of India during Mughal Rule. Gujarat remained a province of the Mughal empire until the Marathas occupied eastern and central Gujarat in the eighteenth century.

After battle of Panipath in 1761, all Maratha general established themself as autonomous Government . The British East India Company wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas during the second Anglo-Maratha war.Portugal was the first European power to arrive in Gujarat, acquiring several enclaves along the Gujarati coast, including Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagarhaveli. When British opened trade post in Gujarat , Mughal emperor Jahangir was in power their. 

Maratha and British

When the cracks had started developing in the edifice of the Mughal Empire in the mid 17th century, the Marathas were consolidating their power in the west., Chatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler attacked Surat twice , first in 1664 and again in 1672. These attacks marked the entry of the Marathas in Gujarat, the Europeans had made their presence felt, with the portuguese leading them, followed by the Dutch and the English.

The Peshwas had established their sovereignty over Gujarat including Saurashtra, and collected taxes and tributes through their representatives.The war between Marathas and Peshwas were fully exploited by the British. British had also created their alliances Gujarat.

Indian History : British Period

British period was divided in the following stages;
i) Creation of Trade post (1601-1769)
ii) Winning battles after battles (1757 - 1849)
iii) War of Independence - 1857
iv) Colonial rule  I (1858 - 1918)
v) Colonial rule II (1819 - 1947)
i) Creation of Trade Posts; In 1601 the East India Company was chartered, and the English began their first inroads into the Indian Ocean. In 1610, the British chased away a Portuguese naval squadron, and the East India Company created its own outpost at Surat.

The small outpost marked the beginning of a remarkable presence that would last over 300 years and eventually dominate the entire subcontinent. In 1612 British established a trading post in Gujarat. As a result of English disappointments with dislodging the Dutch from the Spice Islands, they turned instead to India. In 1614 Sir Thomas Roe was instructed by James I to visit the Court of Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor of Hindustan. Sir Thomas was to arrange a commercial treaty and to secure for the East India Company sites for commercial agencies, - "factories" as they were called. Sir Thomas was successful in getting permission from Jahangir for setting up factories. East India Company set up factories in Ahmedabad, Broach (Bharuch) and Agra.

Other than Agra three trade centers belonged to Gujarat.