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Carnatic Wars: The Anglo-French Rivalry in India

Last updated on March 17, 2023 by ClearIAS Team

The Carnatic Wars were a direct result of the English-French rivalry in Europe and India. These were a series of military conflicts during the 18 th century in the Carnatic region, especially around the Hyderabad state. There were three Carnatic wars fought between 1744 and 1763. Read here to learn about the Carnatic wars.

The Carnatic wars included battles over territory and succession between various nominally independent kings and their vassals in the Carnatic region.

It was also the result of direct diplomatic and military rivalry between the French and British East India Companies. With the aid of several dispersed polities loyal to the Great Mughal, they were mostly fought within the borders of Mughal India.

Table of Contents

Background: India in the 1700s

After the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, Bahadur Shah I succeeded to the throne of the declining Mughal Empire . The control of the Mughals in central India had started to decline by this time.

During the rule of Jahandar Shah in Delhi, Nizam-ul-Mulk (Asaf Jah I) established the independent kingdom of Hyderabad becoming the first Nizam of Hyderabad in 1724.

In 1720, France nationalized the French East India Company to expand its imperial interests. This became a source of conflict between the British and French in India.

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The Austrian war of succession (1740-48) in Europe led to the first Carnatic war in India. Great Britain and France were at opposite ends in the war. Till this, the trading companies in India maintained cordial relations with each other. The spill of the Austrian war was seen in India, leading to First Carnatic War.

After the death of Asaf Jah I in 1748, a power struggle broke out between the successors of Nizam. The English and French supported opposing claimants leading to the second Carnatic war.

First Carnatic War (1744-48)

1740: The Austrian War of Succession broke out in Europe after the death of Emperor Charles VI. The inheritance of the Habsburg Monarchy was the major cause of the war.

1744: The British were drawn into the war in 1744 on the opposite side of France and its allies. This led to conflict between the trading companies in India as well.

1745: The British Royal Navy attacked the French fleet which led to the French Gove General Dupleix calling for additional forces leading to the escalation of naval forces in the area around Madras and Pondicherry.

1746: The French fleet commanded by La Bourdonnais arrived to aid Dupleix. After a few indecisive fights, the French entered Madras and captured the outpost from the British. The British officers including Robert Clive were held captives.

The British sought help from the Nawab of Arcot Anwar-ud-din who sent out a 10,000 men army against the French. The French forces defeated Nawab’s army in the ‘Battle of Adyar’ .

1748: The Austrian War of Succession came to end after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle restored peace in Europe. Madras was returned to the British in exchange for the French fort captured by the British in North America.

Second Carnatic War (1749-54)

The death of Asaf Jah I in 1748 led to a succession struggle in Hyderabad. A power struggle ensued after his death between his son, Nasir Jung, and his grandson, Muzaffar Jung, which soon involved foreign powers eager to expand their influence.

Similarly, a power struggle was underway in Arcot as well after the death of Nawab of Carnatic Anwar-ud-din between his son-in-law Chanda Sahib and his son Muhammad Ali. Here also, the foreign powers got involved in the struggle.

The French supported Chanda Sahib for the throne of Carnatic and Muzaffar Jung for the throne of Hyderabad.
The British supported Muhammad Ali in Carnatic and Nasir Jung in Hyderabad.

1749: Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib supported by the French (under Dupleix), defeated and killed Anwar-ud-din, the then Nawab of Carnatic in the Battle of Ambur.

Muhammad Ali fled to Trichonopoly under British protection.

Nasir Jung’s death cleared the way to Nizami for Muzaffar Jung.

1750: Chanda Sahib became the Nawab of Carnatic, and Muzaffar Jung became the Nizam of Hyderabad. Both of them were supported by the French, hence establishing French dominance in the region.

1751: Muzaffar Jung’s reign as Nizam of Hyderabad was short-lived as he was killed in a skirmish. The French installed Salabat Jung as the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Robert Clive, the British commander in support of Muhammad Ali, attacked Arcot, the capital of Arcot, and defeated Chanda Sahib. Muhammad Ali became the Nawab of Carnatic and remained so until he died in 1795.

1754: The war ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry. Dupleix was called back to France due to the huge financial losses in the war and replaced by Charles Godeheu.

Third Carnatic War (1758-63)

The Seven Years’ War broke out in Europe in 1756, which led to fresh conflict between French and British soldiers in India.

The French at this time were struggling financially. British soldiers took the French town of Chandernagore (now Chandannagar) in Bengal during the Third Carnatic War, which had stretched beyond southern India.

1757: The British had just won the Battle of Plassey in 1757 against the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies.

1758: The French commander Comte de lally captured fort St. David in Cuddalore and attacked Madras.

1759: The British defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Bedara or Chinsura eliminating them from the scene as well.

1760: Lally was defeated by the British troops under Sir Eyre Coot in the Battle of Wandiwash.

1761: The French capital of Pondicherry also fell to the British.

1763: The war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris , which returned Chandernagore and Pondicherry to the French. The treaty allowed the establishment of factories (trading establishments) by the French in India but barred French businessmen from running them. In exchange for British assistance, the French decided to abandon their plans for an Indian empire, making the British the preeminent foreign force in India.

Impact of Carnatic wars

British supremacy was established in the Indian subcontinent as all other foreign powers were eliminated. The British now had the big port cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras under their control.

The Carnatic wars exposed the weakness of the Indian rulers and showed that even a small but disciplined foreign army can defeat the Indian rulers’ armies.

The Anglo-French battles also brought forward the importance of naval warfare in the Deccan and Carnatic regions.

-Article written by Swathi Satish

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The third and the final round of the Anglo-French struggle proved decisive. The French political cause in India was doomed for good. Analyze the causes for the Failure of the French in India.

Topic: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues;

2. The third and the final round of the Anglo-French struggle proved decisive. The French political cause in India was doomed for good. Analyze the causes for the Failure of the French in India. (250 words)

Reference: A Brief History of Modern India by Spectrum Publishers

Why the question: The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1. Key Demand of the question: To write about the reasons for the defeat of the French in third Carnatic war and how it spelled doom to their dream of having an empire In India. Directive: Analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. Structure of the answer: Introduction: Start by giving context of the impact third Carnatic War for French political ambitions in India. Body: In detail, analyse the casues for the failure of French in India – French continental Preoccupations, Organisation of the two companies, Governemnt support for the two, Role of Navy, Impact of English Success in Bengal and Respecitve Leadership compared. Conclusion: Conclude by summarizing the above and how after defeating the French decisively, English went to establish an empire in India.

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Indian History

Make Your Note

The Carnatic Wars

21 Dec 2020
15 min read
GS Paper - 1
Modern Indian History
Important Personalities

Though the British and the French came to India for trading proposes, they were ultimately drawn into the politics of India.

Both had visions for establishing political power over the region.
The Anglo-French rivalry in India reflected the traditional rivalry of England and France throughout their histories.
Specifically, in India, the rivalry, in the form of three Carnatic wars decided once for all the English and not French were the more suitable ones to establish their rule all over India.

First Carnatic War (1740-48)

Background:

Carnatic was the name given by the Europeans to the Coromandel coast and its hinterland.
The First Carnatic War was an extension of the Anglo-French War in Europe which was caused by the Austrian War of Succession.
The First Carnatic War is remembered for the Battle of St. Thome (in Madras) fought between the French forces and the forces of Anwar-ud-din, the Nawab of Carnatic, to whom the English appealed for help.

The War of Austrian Succession

The war involved all of Europe, with France, Prussia, Spain, Bavaria and Saxony arrayed against Austria and Britain.
The first two series of wars, the First Silesian War (1740–42) and the Second Silesian War (1744–45) were centered around Austria and Prussia.
During the war, British troops proved their worth as soldiers.
Under this treaty, France agreed to leave the Austrian Netherlands and give back Madras to Britain in return for Louisbourg.
Maria Theresa was also confirmed as Austrian ruler.

The Cause of the War:

The French Governor General, the Marquis Joseph-François Dupleix, appealed for protection from Anwar-ud-Din, the Nawab of Carnatic and he in turn warned the British that his province was neutral territory and that no attack on French possessions would be tolerated.
Dupleix wanted to hand the town over to the Nawab, as compensation for breaking the Nawab's decree of neutrality, while La Bourdonnais wanted to ransom the town back to the British.
This dispute dragged on into October, and eventually Anwar-ud-Din decided to intervene. He sent an army of 10,000 men under the command of his son Mahfuzz Khan to besiege the French in Madras.
A small French army under Captain Paradise defeated the strong Indian army under Mahfuz Khan at St.Thome on the banks of the River Adyar.
Under the terms of this treaty, Madras was handed back to the English, and the French, in turn, got their territories in North America.

Significance:

War was an eye-opener for the Europeans in India: it revealed that even a small disciplined army could easily defeat a much larger Indian army.
Further, this war adequately brought out the importance of naval force in the Anglo-French conflict in the Deccan.

Second Carnatic War (1749-54)

The background for the Second Carnatic War was provided by the Anglo-French rivalry in India.
In 1748 Nizam-ul-Mulk, the Mughal governor of the Deccan and semi-independent Nawab of Hyderabad died.
Dupleix, the French governor who had successfully led the French forces in the First Carnatic War, sought to increase his power and French political influence in southern India by interfering in local dynastic disputes to defeat the English.
The resulting Second Carnatic War lasted from 1749 until 1754, and saw the British strengthen their position in southern India.
The opportunity was provided by the death of Nizam-ul-Mulk, the founder of the independent kingdom of Hyderabad, in 1748, and the release of Chanda Sahib, the son-in-law of Dost Ali, the Nawab of Carnatic, by the Marathas in the same year.
In Hyderabad, the accession of Nasir Jang, the son of the Nizam, to the throne of Hyderabad was opposed by Muzaffar Jang, the grandson of the Nawab, who laid claim to the throne saying that the Mughal Emperor had appointed him as the governor of Hyderabad.
Further south there were two candidates for the Nawabship of the Carnatic, a subsidiary post officially dependent on the Nizam.
Anwar-ud-Din was one of the Nizam's officers.
Appointment of Anwar-ud-Din was resented by Chanda Sahib
He had been an effective ally to the French, before in 1741 being besieged in Trichinopoly by the Marathas.
The French supported the claims of Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib in the Deccan and Carnatic, respectively, while the English sided with Nasir Jang and Anwar-ud-din.

Course of the War:

The Nawab was killed early in the war and left behind his son Mohammed Ali to claim the Nawabship.
Territories near Pondicherry and also some areas on the Orissa Coast (including Masulipatnam) were ceded to the French.
However, Muzaffar Jung was killed a couple of months later and the French installed Muzaffar’s uncle Salabat Jung as the new Nizam.
He suggested a sudden raid on Arcot (the capital of the Carnatic) to divert the pressure from Trichinopoly in which the British won.
After several battles fought, Chanda Sahib was executed by Muhammad Ali who was later installed as the Nawab of Carnatic.
The French authorities, annoyed at the heavy financial losses that Dupleix’s policy involved, decided to recall him in 1754.
Charles Robert Godeheu succeeded Dupleix as the French Governor-General in India.
Also, each party was left in possession of the territories actually occupied by them at the time of the treaty.

Implications:

It became evident that the countenance of Indian authority was no longer necessary for European success; rather Indian authority itself was becoming dependent on European support.
Muhammad Ali in the Carnatic and Salabat Jang in Hyderabad became clients rather than patrons.

Third Carnatic War or the Battle of Wandiwash (1758-63)

Britain and France were once again on opposite sides.

Course of War in India:

In 1758, the French army under French General, Count Thomas Arthur de Lally captured the English forts of St. David and Vizianagaram in 1758.
Now, the English became offensive and inflicted heavy losses on the French fleet under Admiral D’Ache at Masulipatnam.

Battle of Wandiwash:

General Eyre Coote of the English totally routed the French army under Count de Lally and took Marquis de Bussy as prisoner.
With the loss of Pondicherry, Gingee and Mahe, the French power in India was reduced to its lowest.
Lally, after being taken as prisoner of war at London, returned to France where he was imprisoned and executed in 1766.

Result and Significance:

The Third Carnatic War proved decisive.
Although the treaty restored to the French their factories in India, the French political influence disappeared after the war.
Thereafter, the French, like their Portuguese and Dutch counterparts in India, confined themselves to their small enclaves and to commerce.
The English became the supreme European power in the Indian subcontinent.
The victory at Wandiwash left the English East India Company with no European rival in India. Thus they were ready to take over the rule of the entire Country.
Significantly, in the Battle of Wandiwash, natives served in both the armies as sepoys.
It makes one think that irrespective of which side won, there was an inevitability about the fall of India to European invaders.

Causes for the English Success and the French Failure

With less governmental control over it, this company could take instant decisions when needed without waiting for the approval of the government.
It was controlled and regulated by the French government and was hemmed in by government policies and delays in decision-making.
The English held three important places, namely, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras whereas the French had only Pondicherry.
The British always had the funds and the consequent sound financial condition to help them significantly in the wars against their rivals.
In comparison to the long list of leaders on the English side - Sir Eyre Coote, Major Stringer Lawrence, Robert Clive and many others, there was only Dupleix on the French side.