On 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey was fought between the British under Robert Clive against the Bengalis under Siraj ud-Daulah during the Seven Years’ War.
Why did it happen?
Founded in 1600, the British East India Company was established to represent British ventures regarding trade and the right to form its own army in the East Indies. Beginning in 1746, the British and French East India Companies fought each other over trading posts in India and sought to influence local Indian rulers. In 1756, Siraj ud-Daulah became Nawab of Bengal and sided with the French East India Company in the conflict. Siraj ud-Daulah overran Calcutta on 9 May, and 145 British prisoners were captured and imprisoned in a tiny room designed for just three people. Overnight, 121 British prisoners suffocated to death in what became known as the “Black Hole of Calcutta.” In response, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clive was sent from Madras to retake Calcutta and overthrow the Nawab. Because of Siraj ud-Daulah’s reputation as a cruel tyrant, Mir Jaffir agreed to betray the Nawab and back the British if he was installed on the throne of Bengal. After marching on the Bengali capital, Murshidabad, Clive met the army of Siraj ud-Daulah at the small village of Plassey by the Bhagirathi River.
Who was involved?
The British army at Plassey numbered 3,000 infantry and 10 artillery. Of this number, 900 were British redcoats, while 2,100 were Indian sepoys employed by the Company. With Robert Clive stationed on the roof of a hunting lodge beside the Bhagirathi River, the British army was stationed in front of a grove of mango trees and planned to focus their musket and artillery fire upon the Bengali right wing. Robert Clive concluded that if he could defeat the Bengali right wing, the other Bengali commanders would almost certainly abandon the battle. The Bengali army at Plassey numbered 35,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry, 50 artillery and 10 war elephants. The entire Bengali army was arrayed in an arc around the British army, with Siraj ud-Daulah himself commanding the right wing, Mir Jaffir leading the left wing and Mir Madan Khan in charge of the centre. The Bengali army was arrayed in three lines: the artillery in the first line, the cavalry and war elephants in the second line, and most of the infantry in the third line.
What happened?
At dawn on 23 June, the Bengali artillery opened fire on the British, who took cover in a mango grove while returning fire with their battery. The Bengali cavalry then charged the British positions, only for them to be driven off by British musket fire. At midday, a monsoon started to fall, with torrential rain soaking the Bengali gunpowder, rendering their muskets and artillery ineffective. The British managed to keep their gunpowder dry by putting tarpaulins over them. After driving off another Bengali cavalry attack, Robert Clive ordered his infantry to advance against the Bengali gunners, who fought to the last man. After the British stormed the Bengali camp, most Bengalis fled the battle, with Mir Jaffir being the last to withdraw his troops. Casualties on both sides were light, with the British losing 22 killed and 50 wounded, while the Bengalis suffered 500 losses.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive British victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Mir Jaffir was installed as Nawab of Bengal, although real power lay with the British East India Company. Over the next one hundred years, the British defeated the other major Indian powers one by one until it controlled all of India. After the Indian Mutiny in 1857, however, the East India Company was abolished, and India came under the direct control of the British Crown. The British victory at Plassey also greatly increased the wealth of the British Empire through the acquisition of the vast treasury of Bengal, which was used to fund the industrial and agricultural changes already taking place in Britain during the eighteenth century. As stated by Geoffrey Regan, “Inventors like Cartwright, Hargreaves, Watt and others at last found financial backing for their ideas, and Britain prospered as no other country” (Regan, 2002, p.129).
Bibliography
Black, Jeremy. Warfare in the Eighteenth Century. London, Cassell, 1999.
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Regan, Geoffrey. Battles That Changed History: Fifty Decisive Battles Spanning Over 2,500 Years of Warfare. London, Andre Deutsch, 2002.