What were the circumstances that led to the Battle of Plassey in 1757?
Answers
The battle of Plassey is an important landmark in the history of India. On 23rd june, 1757, the armies of Siraj-ud-Daulah and the English East India company met at murshidabad, the capital of undivided Bengal at the time. British forces were led by Robert Clive and Mir Jafar, commander in chief of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah's army. Mir Jafar betrayed the Nawab and supported Clive.
As a consequence of this, Siraj-ud-Daulah lost the battle, was captured and killed. Mir Jafar was rewarded and was made the Nawab of Bengal. This was the first step of direct administration of Bengal by the company.
Thereafter, in spite of being the Nawab, Mir Jafar was just a puppet in the hands of the British. With a powerless ruler on the throne of Bengal, the company traders exploited the Indian artisans and traders for their commercial interests, making Bengal economically weak. There was no possibility of reversing this deteriorating economic trend. As Mir Jafar started resisting British authirity, the English arbitrarily replaced him with Mir Qasim, to further their interests.