The Carnatic Wars (also spelled Karnatic Wars) was a series of military contests during the 18th century between
the British, the French, the Marathas, and Mysore for control of the coastal strip of eastern
India from Nellore (north of Madras) southward (the Tamil country). The name Carnatic itself refers
to the region occupied by the Kannada-speaking people, which roughly corresponds to the
modern Indian state of Karnataka (formerly Mysore). In the 18th century the coastal Carnatic
was a dependency of Hyderabad, within the Mughal Empire. There were three Carnatic Wars between 1744 and 1763.
The First Carnatic War (1744-1748)
The Governor of the French East India Company, Dupleix, wanted to achieve a French colony in India, and immediately upon arrival in India,
organized Indian recruits under French officers for the first time. Both English and French wanted to place royal figures on the
throne of Austria, and both wanted also to expand their colonies in the Americas. Since Mughal power was in decline in India, this period was seen as a good opportunity to establish Indian
trade.
After the English initially captured a few French ships, the French called for backup from as far afield as Mauritius, and on
21 September 1746, English held Madras fell to the French. Among the prisoners of war, was
Robert Clive.
With the termination of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe, the
First Carnatic War also came to an end. In the Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle (1748), Madras was given
back to the English.
The Second Carnatic War (1748-1755)
After the death of the Nizam of Hyderabad, a civil war for succession broke out in south between Nasir Jung and Muzaffar Jung.
Also, a person named Chanda Sahib began to conspire against the Nawab Anwaruddin in
Carnatic. Dupleix sided with Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jang to bring them into power in their respective states. But soon the
English intervened. To offset the French influence, they began supporting Nasir Jang and Mohammad Ali (son of deposed Nawab
Anwaruddin). The second carnatic war broke out.
The war ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry signed in 1754. Mohammad Ali was recognized as
the Nawab of Carnatic.
Dupleix was asked to return to France.He was allowed to die in poverty. The directors of the French East India company were
dissatisfied with the political ambitions of Dupleix, which had lead to immense financial loss. In 1754,Godheu replace
Dupleix.
The Third Carnatic War (1756-1763)
The outbreak 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 and into Bengal where British forced captured the French settlement of Chandernagore (now Chandannagar) in 1757. However, the war was decided in the south, as British commander Sir Eyre Coote decisively defeated the French under the Comte de Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in
1760. After Wandiwash, the French capital of Pondicherry fell to the British in 1761. At the
1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the war, Chandernagore and Pondicherry were
returned to France. However, the French agreed to support British client governments, thus ending French ambitions of an Indian
empire and making the British the dominant foreign power in India.tyhr
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
