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First Carnatic War :The War of the Austrian Succession broke out in Europe in 1740.

In this
war Britain and France joined opposite camps. As a result the English and the French Companies
also became engulfed in the war. Thus the First Carnatic War was started.

 . France and Britain wanted to place their candidate on the Austrian throne. Moreover, in
the wake of the declining Mughal authority in India both English and French East India
Companies wanted to have control over the Indian trade.

 In the course of the First Carnatic War the French besieged Madras both by sea and land.
A large British army was sent from in June 1748 to avenge the capture of Madras.
Anwaruddin, the Nawab of Carnatic, did not like these hostilities in his kingdom.

 The English appealed to him to come to their rescue. Responding to their request the
Nawab asked the French to quit Madras. Dupleix at first tried to appease him by saying
that he would hand over Madras to the Nawab at an appropriate time. But the Nawab was
not satisfied with this vague reply. He sent a large army to fight against the French( battle
of thome). But to the surprise of all, a handful of French army and some properly trained
Indian soldiers routed Anwaruddin’s vast army at Mylapore near St. Thomas in 1746.

 In the meantime the War of Austrian succession came to an end by the Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle (1748) on the basis of mutual restitution of conquests. Madras was restored to
the English and the territory the English and the French positions remained unaltered.

 But the First Carnatic War had far reaching consequences. The First Carnatic War totally
changed the character of the commercial companies.

The Second Carnatic War (1749-54)

 The Second Carnatic War (1749-54) broke out due to conflicting ambitions between the
two powers who supported rival claimants to the disputed thrones of Hyderabad and
Carnatic.

 The French sided with Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib while the English supported the
claims of Nasir Jang and Anwar-ud-Din.

 The combined forces of Muzaffar Jang, Chanda Sahib and the French defeated and killed
Anwar-ud-Din at the battle of Ambur near Vellore in 1749. His son Muhammad Ali
sought asylum at Trichinopally and Chanda Shahib ascended the throne.
 The British did not allow this situation to prevail for long and sided with, Nasir Jung and
Muhammad Ali. However Nasir Jung was assassinated and Muzaffar Jung ascended the
throne of Hyderabad as a Nizam

 The English company however, refused to accept this new situation. The English general
Robert Clive captured easily the capital Arcot of the Carnatic. The Treaty of Pondicherry
was signed in 1754 and the second Carnatic war came to an end. Muhammad Ali became
the Nawab with the help of British.

 The whole of the Carnatic fell into the hands of the English. Dupleix tried to recover his
possessions but was soon recalled and replaced by Godeheu. The French and the English
retained their old positions by the terms of the treaty signed after the Second Carnatic
War and promised not to interfere in the local politics in future. However, this marked the
beginning of the decline of the French influence and the ascendancy of the English in
India

3rd Carnatic War (1756-1763)

The issues between the English and French were not settled totally in the 2nd Carnatic War
and due to ongoing struggle Britain and France waged 7 Years War in 1756.

The manifestation of this war in India is known as the 3rd Carnatic War.

During this time, the war was not limited to Carnatic but spread to other parts of India and
reached up to Bengal.

The English captured Chandan Nagar from the French in 1757 by defeating Siraj-ud-Daulah
in the famous Battle of Plassey.

 The British forces under Sir Eyre Coote, defeated the French in the Battle of Wandiwash in
1760 and besieged Pondicherry.

After Wandiwash, the French capital of Pondicherry fell to the British in 1761. When the
Seven Years war ended with The war concluded with the signing of the 1763 Treaty of Paris

 As per parts of this treaty, the Chandranagar and Pondicherry was returned to France. The
French were now allowed to have trading posts in India but forbade French traders from
administering them. The Government of France also agreed to support British client
governments.
 This led to the British imperialism in India and end of the French reign.

CAUSES OF FAILURE

FRENCH CONTINENTAL PREOCCUPATION- The French company gave greater


importance to territorial gains than commerce. This made the French company poor. All
their resources were wasted in wars. This divided her resources and made her unequal to
the task in facing her adverseries.Since the French Government in Europe was busy in war
in Europe and America, it was not in a position to support the ambitious schemes of Duplex.
The French could not give whole hearted attention to India. Because apart from India, the
French were also involved in Europe and North America. This was because geographical
proximity of different countries which involved her in different European Wars.

As most of the French resources in men and money were exhausted in the European battles
she could not provide sufficient funds or money for India. On the other hand England
remained aloof from the European wars, and utilised her man power, and man power
resources for furthering their interest in India. This factor helped the English in establishing
their supremacy in India.

On the other hand, English always kept their eyes on the sea and never neglected their
commerce. On the other hand the English Company always emphasised on promotion of
trade and this made them rich company.

DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE ANAD ENGLAND-

The French Government was despotic in nature and depended on the personality of the
monarch.

It was through the short-sighted, ill-managed European policy of Louis XV, misguided by
his mistresses and by incompetent ministers, that France lost her Indian Settlements in the
Seven Years’ War”.

Approach for empire building was different and diplomatic while france’s was blunt and
direct and ruthless. So they were economically impacted
2. Another potent factor of the English company was naval supremacy. The English
possessed mastery over the seas and could send help to India at will without much
obstruction. On the other hand they could cut off the link between the French possession in
India and France. The French had to avoid the Englishmen on the way while coming to
India. This enabled the English to bring soldiers from Europe and to send supplies from Bengal.
But the French were unable to replenish their resources from outside.

THE DUAL SYSTEM

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