The English and the French : The First Carnatic War
For nearly twenty years the Carnatic–the name given by the Europeans to the Coromandel Coast and its hinterland–became the scene of a long-drawn contest between the French and the English, which led to the ultimate overthrow of the French power in India. It had its repercussions also in Bengal which produced unexpected and momentous results. In the light of later events, we may justly regard this struggle as having decided once for all that the English and not the French were to become masters of India. For these reasons the Carnatic war has attained a celebrity in history which is not fully justified either by the immediate issues involved or by the incidents of the war
itself. In order to understand fully the nature of the struggle, we have to keep in view not only the position of the English and French Companies in India and the relations of the two nations in Europe, but also the prevailing political conditions in the Deccan and the somewhat uncertain relationship subsisting between the English and French merchants on the one hand and the local Indian powers on the other. All these important factors shaped the course of events as they developed from a petty struggle for privileges of trade into a bold bid for the empire of the Mughuls .As has already been noted, Madras and Pondicherry were the chief trading stations of the English and the French on the Coromandel Coast. Each of these was a fortified city
with about 500 Europeans and 25,000 Indians. The English also possessed in addition the Fort of St. David, a little to the south of Pondicherry. All three cities were situated on the sea coast and depended for their safety and fresh supplies of resources from home upon the command of the sea. This aspect was not indeed fully realized at first, but its importance was gradually revealed. It put both the English and the French on a vantage ground in respect of the local authorities, who had no navy, and ultimately made the success of the struggle between the two European Companies dependent upon the power of each to maintain command over the sea.
Not only did the local Indian authorities possess no navy, but their condition was such that they shortly ceased to count as important military powers even on land. Politically, the whole of the Carnatic was almost in the melting-pot. It formed a province under the Subahdar of the Deccan and was ruled by a governor, called the Nawab, with headquarters at Arcot. But as Nizam-ul-mulk, the Subahdar of the Deccan had made himself independent to all intents and purposes, the Nawab of Arcot, in his turn, behaved almost like an independent prince. The Nizam, his nominal suzerain, was so engrossed with the Marathas and the affairs of Northern India that he could hardly exercise any effective authority in the affairs of the Carnatic, except when, on race occasions, he could spare some time and energy to visit the southern province.
One such occasion arose in the beginning of 1743. Three years earlier the Marathas had plundered the Carnatic, killed its governor Nawab Dost Ali, and taken his son-in-law, Chanda Sahib, as prisoner to Satara. Safdar Ali, the son of Dost Ali, had saved his life and kingdom by promising to pay the Marathas a crore of rupees, but he was soon murdered by a cousin, and his young son was proclaimed Nawab. All these incidents created a feeling of panic and uncertainty in the Carnatic and induced the Nizam to come there in person to restore order. It was, however, beyond his power to settle affairs in that troubled region, and although he appointed Anwar-ud-din Khan, a tried servant, Nawab of the Carnatic, things drifted on almost as hopelessly as in previous years. The appointment of the new Nawab made things worse as he was sure to be regarded as an intruder and rival by Nawab Dost Ali’s relatives, who still held many forts and enjoyed extensive jagirs.
While the whole of the Carnatic was being convulsed by these political events, the English and the French settlements were carrying on their peaceful avocations of trades and commerce, without any effective hindrance from any of the combatants. The French and the English had not as yet begun to take any active part in Indian politics except when it directly affected the interests of their trade. Nor did the local authorities regard them as of sufficient importance to be seriously taken notice of. Thus, left to themselves, they mighty have gone on pursuing their normal activities unaffected by what was going on around them.
But this was not to be. In 1740 England was involved in a European war known as the War of the Austrian Succession (1940-1748). It is not necessary to discuss here either the origin or the progress of that war, but it will suffice to state that England and France took opposite sides and fought in the Netherlands for a period of nearly eight years.
The outbreak of war between England and France also placed the two mercantile Companies in India technically in a state of war. But the French authorities, both in Europe and India, at first tried hard to maintain neutrality in this country. There was precedent for such a state of things, and Dupleix, the governor of Pondicherry, opened direct negotiations with the English authorities in India for this purpose. But as the authorities in England declined to accept the proposal, their representatives in India, although willing to avoid hostilities, were unable to guarantee any neutrality, especially in seas where they had no control over His Majesty’s ships.
As a matter of fact, hostilities were opened by the capture of French ships by the English navy under Barnett. As the French had no fleet in Indian waters, Dupleix sent an urgent appeal to La Bourdonnais, the governor of Mauritius, to come to his rescue. After a great deal of difficulty the latter equipped a squadron and reached the Indian seas with eight ships of the line.
The arrival of La Bourdonnais changed the course of the war. The commander of the English ships was either unwilling or unable to engage in a serious contest with the French and sailed to Hugli leaving the whole Madras coast at the mercy of the French squadron. The French now besieged Madras both by land and sea. Within 7 weeks Madras surrendered, after a loss of only six killed. The English had so far displayed an amazing incapacity to fight the French on land or sea, and fortune seemed to smile upon the efforts of Dupleix.
But the greatest surprise of the war was yet in store. Anwar-ud-din, the newly appointed Nawab of the Carnatic, was not a silent spectator of the contest that was raging within his kingdom. As the ruler of the country he was at least a nominal protector of both the English and the French, and each of them openly recognised this position in times of need. Thus, when at the outbreak of hostilities the English were all-powerful at sea, Dupleix had appealed to the Nawab to protect the French ships. The English, however, did not respect his authority and paid no heed to his protests and complaints. But when Madras was besieged by the French, the English in their turn sought the protection of the Nawab. Anwar-ud-din, true to his role of protector, asked Dupleix to raise the siege of Madras, but the French were no more disposed than the English to respect his authority when it suited their purpose not to do so. There was, however, one vital difference. The Nawab was unable to interfere actively in naval affairs as he possessed no navy. It was quite different in the case of warfare on land, as here the Nawab was willing and seemed able to back up his demand by force. Dupleix knew this and sought to pacify him by diplomacy. He told the Nawab that he was taking Madras only to place it in his hands. The Nawab was, however, too astute to believe this and when his repeated warnings went unheeded he sent an army against the French force besieging Madras.
Had the English in Madras resisted a little longer, the French would have been caught between two fires. As it was, the army of the Nawab found the French in possession of the city, and blockaded them. But the tiny French force made a sally and scattered the unwieldy host of the Nawab. The Nawab’s army was forced to retire to St. Thome and was again defeated by a detachment of the French army which was coming to reinforce the French in Madras.
The defeat of the Nawab’s troops had far-reaching consequences which will be discussed in the proper place. For the time being the success of the French seemed complete and their material gains and increase in prestige seemed to exceed their highest ambitions.
