The Danes in India
The Danes in India
- Encouraged by the other European merchants, the people of Denmark also thought of having a share in the Indian trade. For that purpose, they founded a settlement in 1620 at Tranquebar in the Tanjore District. In 1676, they occupied Serampore. However, the Danes did not find a foothold in India and consequently they sold their settlements in India to the British Government in 1845.
The French East India Company
The French were the last of the European powers to enter the eastern trade. The French East India Company was established in 1664. In 1668 the first French factory was established in Surat. The French established their second factory at Masulipatnam in 1669. The French obtained Pondicherry in 1673 and they built Chandernagore in 1690-92. There was rivalry between the French and the British and the Dutch for major share in the eastern trade.
Further the hostile relations between these powers in Europe also led to war in India. There was hostility between the French and the Dutch in India in 1690 and again in 1721. The French and the British companies clashed in India between 1742 and 1766. The French hopes of establishing their political powers came to an end in 18th century. In the beginning the French had their headquarters at Surat but later they shifted it to Pondicherry. The supreme body of the French was known as “Superior Council of the Indies”. It was headed by a Director General and he was placed in charge of the French affairs in India. The superior council consisted of a Governor and five members.
The French East India Company was a state controlled organization and from 1723, it was almost wholly controlled by the French government. The Directors now have become its representatives. After 1730 the French East India Company had become the national East India Company.
After 1789, the French East India trade was thrown open to individuals. In a way it is the French who initiated the strategy of interfering in internal affairs of the Indian states to obtain political mileage and showed the way to the British. While the French failed in their strategy, it is the British who were successful.
In 1667, the French East India Company sent an expedition under the command of Francois Caron which reached India in 1668. In the same year, the French established their first factory at Surat in Gujarat. In the next year, they established another French factory at Masulipatnam. In 1673, the French obtained permission from Shaista Khan, the Mughal Subedar (governor) of Bengal to establish a township at Chandernagore (present Chandan Nagar), near Calcutta.
Francois Martin the French Governor in 1674, acquired a village called Pondicherry from the Sultan of Bijapur and founded a prosperous city on that site. Pondicherry, thus, became the main stronghold of the French in India. The French company established its factories in different parts of India, particularly in the coastal regions. Mahe, Karaikal, Balasore, Qasim Bazar etc. were a few important trading centres of the French East India Company.
In the initial years, the French objectives in India were mainly commercial. But with the progress of time, there came a change in their policies. The vision of the French power in India was further reinforced by the appointment of Joseph Francois Dupleix as the Governor of the French East India Company in 1741. In fact, Dupleix was the first European statesman to dream of establishing an empire in India. During his time political motives began to overshadow business interests. Dupleix successfully used the mutual untrust and weakness of the local rulers for securing more and more political benefits. By exercising his talent in diplomacy and intrigue, he earned for the French Company a respectable position in the Indian political scenario. But the French were not unrivalled in their ambition of political supremacy in India. In this regard, their dream was always challenged by their European neighbour, the British.
The desire for monopoly made them enter into conflicts with one another both on land and sea. By 1750, the fortune smiled at the British and the British emerged victorious and developed designs to establish their political supremacy in India. In the following sections we will be studying the strategies adopted by them to achieve their objective.
Anglo-French Rivalry:
The Anglo-French rivalry in India began with the outbreak of Austrian war of Succession and ended with the conclusion of the Seven years’ war. The rivalry in the form of three Carnatic wars, decided once for all that English and not the French were to become masters of India. In other words, the Anglo-French rivalry in India reflected the traditional rivalry of France and England throughout their histories.
Both the English and the French East India Companies began as trading companies in India. But gradually they were drawn into the internal politics in India. To protect their own trading interests, both the English and the French engaged in opportunities of trade and looked for huge profit margins.
These mercantilist companies engaged in competition with each other and wanted to sell their manufacturers in India and buy raw material at cheap rates. For achieving their aims they needed political control over the country they traded with. In most of the European conflicts England and France were on opposite sides. India too became the scene of their rivalry.
First Carnatic War (1746 - 1748):
This war was the fallout of the Austrian war of Succession. This started on 1740 and ended on 1748. But in India the struggle started in 1746. The First Carnatic war is memorable for the battle of St. Thome fought between the French and the Indian forces of Anwaruddin, the Nawab of Carnatic (1744-49). The First Carnatic War came to an end with the termination of hostilities in Europe. Further a treaty was signed, the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle.
Terms under treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle:
- Madras was handed back to the English.
- Pondicherry was handed back to French.
Second Carnatic War (1749 - 1754):
On one side were Nasir Jung, the Nizam and his protege Muhammad Ali, supported by the English and on the other were Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung, supported by the French, vying for the Nawabship of Arcot. Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib were able to capture Arcot while Nasir Jung's subsequent death allowed Muzaffar Jung to take control of Hyderabad. Muzaffar Jung’s reign was short as he was soon killed, and Salabat Jung became Nawab. In 1751, however, Robert Clive led British troops to capture Arcot, and successfully defend it. The war ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry, signed in 1754, which recognised Muhammad Ali Khan Walajah as the Nawab of the Carnatic.
Battle of Ambur (1749): Muzaffar Jung, Chanda Sahib and the French combind forces defeated and killed Anwar-ud-deen at battle of ambur (Near Vellore) in the year 1749. The Nawab was killed in the battle and left his son Muhammad Ali as hier to claim the Nawab. Robert Clive of the East India Company, after failing to provide effective aid to Muhammad Ali at Tiruchirappalli, proposed to him a diversion attack on Sanders, the Governor of Madras. He suggested a hidden gorilla attack on Arcot (Capital of Carnatic) to remove millitary pressure on tiruchirappalli in which the British won after fighting many was, Chanda Sahib was assassinated by Muhammad Ali and became Nawab.
1.5.3 Third Carnatic War (1758 - 1763):
The battle in India was the fallout of the Seven years’ war between English and French. During this period, in India British governor was Sir Eyre Coote and french governor was Comte De Lally. The Third Carnatic War spread beyond southern India and into Bengal where British forces captured the French settlement of Chandernagore in 1757. However, the war was decided in the south, where the British successfully defended Madras, and Sir Eyre Coote decisively defeated the French, commanded by Comte de Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760. After Wandiwash, the French capital of Pondicherry fell to the British in 1761.
Battle of Wandiwash (1760):
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, now in Tamil Nadu. 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 Pondichéry, where they surrendered on 16 January 1761. Wandiwash is the Anglicised pronunciation of Wandavasi.
Treaty of Paris (1763AD):
The Seven year's war ended in 1763 with signing of the teaty of Paris between the British and the French their factories in India were returned back, but now they could neither be fortifiednor soldiers coulds camp there. The French could now only do the work of merchant. The Third Carnatic war proved decisive. As a result of the defeat in the war, all the opportunities for establishment of French empire in India were destroyed, now they were left only traders.