Battle of Plassey (1757) and the Conquest of Bengal

The Battle of Plassey (23 June 1757) was won by Robert Clive through the conspiracy of Mir Jafar, and it laid the foundation of British rule in India.

Background

• Alivardi Khan died in April 1756, and his grandson Siraj-ud-Daula became Nawab. He faced rivals in his family (Ghaseti Begum, Shaukat Jang) and in the court (Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh, Jagat Seth).
• Causes of conflict with the English:
  1. The Company fortified Calcutta without his permission.
  2. Misuse of the dastak (free-pass trade permits) that cost the Nawab revenue.
  3. The English gave shelter to Krishna Das, who had fled with state wealth.
  4. The Nawab was angry about English support for his rivals.
• In June 1756 Siraj-ud-Daula took Fort William (Calcutta). The Black Hole incident (20 to 21 June 1756) is told by J.Z. Holwell, who said 146 people were put in a small room and 23 survived. Modern historians doubt the numbers and the story.
• Clive and Admiral Watson came from Madras and retook Calcutta (January 1757). By the Treaty of Alinagar (February 1757) the Nawab restored the Company's rights. The English then took the French settlement of Chandernagore (March 1757).

The conspiracy

The English made a secret plan with Mir Jafar (the Nawab's commander), Rai Durlabh, Yar Latif Khan and the banker Jagat Seth to put Mir Jafar on the throne. Omichand was tricked with a false treaty (red paper) while the real treaty (white paper) did not give him anything.

The battle

• On 23 June 1757 at Plassey (on the Bhagirathi, near Murshidabad), Clive with about 3,000 men faced the Nawab's army of about 50,000.
• Only a small part of the Nawab's army, led by the loyal Mir Madan and Mohan Lal, fought. Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh and Yar Latif Khan held their men back.
• Siraj-ud-Daula fled and was captured and killed by Mir Jafar's son Miran.
• Plassey was in truth a battle of treachery more than a battle of arms, but it gave the English political control.

Results

• Mir Jafar became Nawab and paid huge sums: the zamindari of the 24 Parganas to the Company and large payments to the Company, to Clive and to the officers.
• Bengal's wealth poured into the Company's treasury, which paid for the wars in the south (against the French) and for exports from India.
• The Company became kingmakers. Clive became Governor of Bengal (1758 to 1760).
• The French were left without a base in Bengal.