What were the issues between Nawab of Bengal and Britishers which led to the Battle of Plassey
Answers
The Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-daulah on 23 June 1757. The battle established the Company rule in Bengal which expanded over much of India for the next hundred years. The battle took place at Plassey on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, about 150 km north of Calcutta and south of Murshidabad, then capital of Bengal.
Background and Causes of Battle
By the early 18th century, the British East India Company had a strong presence in India with the three main stations of Fort St. George in Madras, Fort William in Calcutta and Bombay Castle in western India. These stations were independent presidencies governed by a President and a Council, appointed by the Court of Directors in England. The British adopted a policy of allying themselves with various princes and Nawabs, promising security against usurpers and rebels. The Nawabs often gave them concessions in return for the security.
By then, all rivalry had ceased between the British East India Company and the Dutch or Portuguese. The French had also established an East India Company under Louis XIV and had two important stations in India – Chandernagar in Bengal and Pondicherry on the Carnatic coast, both governed by the presidency of Pondicherry. The French were a late comer in India trade, but they quickly established themselves in India and were poised to overtake Britain for control.
Alwardi Khan ascended to the throne of the Nawab of Bengal in 1740 after his army attacked and captured the capital of Bengal, Murshidabad. Alivardi’s attitude to the Europeans in Bengal was strict. During his wars with the Marathas, he allowed the strengthening of fortifications by the Europeans and the construction of the Maratha Ditch in Calcutta by the British. On the other hand, he collected large amounts of money from them for the upkeep of his war.
(Maratha Ditch was a three-mile long moat excavated by British around Calcutta in 1742, as a protection against possible attacks by Marathas. The “natives” had to pay for the construction of the Maratha Ditch to protect the British seat of power, Fort William.The Marathas, however, never came to the city. Later, the ditch proved to be useless when the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, came and ransacked the British settlement in 1756. It was mostly filled up in 1799 to build the Circular Road. The area bound by the ditch was considered to be the original town of Calcutta.)
Alwardi Khan was well-informed of the situation in southern India, where the British and the French had started a proxy war using the local princes and rulers. He did not wish such a situation to transpire in his province and thus exercised caution in his dealings with the Europeans.
However, there was continual friction; the British always complained that they were prevented from the full enjoyment of the farman of 1717 issued by Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar. (British East India Company had purchased duty-free trading rights in all of Bengal for a mere three thousand rupees a year from Farrukhsiyar. It is said that the Company’s surgeon, William Hamilton, cured Farrukhsiyar and the Emperor was moved to grant trading rights to the Company.)
The British used to give passes to native traders to trade custom-free and levied large duties on goods coming to their districts – actions which were detrimental to the Nawab’s revenue.
In April 1756, Alwardi Khan died and was succeeded by his twenty-three-year-old grandson, Siraj-ud-daulah. His personality was said to be a combination of a ferocious temper and a feeble understanding. He was particularly suspicious of the large profits made by the European companies in India.
The British wanted to occupy the rich and prosperous region of Bengal by subjugating the power of the Nawab and the other European powers.
Fort William was established to permission. When the British refused to cease their constructions, the Nawab led a detachment to surround the fort and factory of Cossimbazar and took several British officials as prisoners, before moving to Calcutta. The defenses of Calcutta were weak and negligible especially against the Nawab’s force of nearly 50,000 infantry and cavalry.
The city was occupied on 16 June by Siraj’s force and the fort surrendered.The garrison’s commander organised an escape, leaving behind 146 soldiers under the command of Holwell, a senior East India Company bureaucrat who had been a military surgeon.The fort fell on 20 June.
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◾ Aurangzeb allowed the British to build a fort near Bengal .
◾ The British started to build Fort William .
◾ When Siraj - ud - Daulah sat on the throne , he did not like the actions the East India Company .
◾ The Nawab wanted to check their growing power and thus requested them not to fortify .
◾ The English didn't pay any heed to Nawab's repeated requests .
◾ Thus , Siraj attacked and occupied the Fort William .
◾ On getting this news , Robert Clive immediately arrived to Bengal and the Nawab was forced to come to terms .
Thus , Clive began to hatch a conspiracy against Nawab and started war against Siraj .
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