"lege and right to protect their property and to re"taliate attack." In the year 1616 the Company on the continent of India were confined to Surat and Amadavad in the Mogul's dominions; to Calicut, on the Malabar coast, and to Masulipatam, on the Coromandel coast. At the conclusion of the seventeenth century the English in Bengal were settled at Calcutta, the French at Chandernagore, and the Dutch at Chinsurah, all situated on the river Hooghly. The Rajahs of the country surrounding those settlements having revolted against the Mogul government and plundered several towns belonging to the Nabob of Bengal, the three European nations, for their own defence, immediately fortified their settlements. Aurungzebe, then Mogul, sent one of his grandsons to suppress the rebellion and superintend the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; through whom the English obtained permission, in 1698, to purchase from the Indian proprietors the villages of Soota Nutty, Calcutta, and Govindpore, on which ground the city of Calcutta now stands. In 1715 the factory of Calcutta, hitherto subordinate to Madras, was declared an independent presidency. The English were soon involved in controversies with Jaffir Khan, the nabob of Bengal, who, jealous of their prosperity, moved from Dacca to Muxadavad, on the Hooghly, that he might be at hand to control the Company's servants. He committed every sort of extortion. The Company made a representation to the Emperor Ferokshere, which was favourably received; and various privileges, as to trade and other points, were conferred upon them by the Mogul. L 1616. Bengal. 1715. 1746-1755. With the exception of the Company's commercial concerns, few matters of moment occurred until the year 1746, when hostilities commenced between the French and English forces. The former having fitted out an expedition at Pondicherry (where they established themselves in 1692), besieged and took Madras. Madras. It was restored to the English by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1749. The French under Dupleix were shortly afterwards involved in contentions with two rival native chiefs, who respectively claimed the nabobship of the Carnatic. The English supported Mahomed Ali. It was during the abovementioned operations that Captain Clive (afterwards Lord Clive) first displayed those extraordinary talents which laid the foundation of the extensive empire we have acquired in the East, and obtained for him the honours which he so justly merited for his valuable services to his country. Mahomed Ali was declared nabob of the Carnatic, under the provisional treaty signed at Pondicherry on the 23d December 1754. Malabar In 1755 the pirate forces of Angria, which had overpowered many merchant vessels, received a severe check by a fleet under Commodore James, the commander of the Company's ships of war in India. The presidency of Bombay was, at the same time, encouraged by the success of Commodore James to follow it up by attempting a decisive blow at Gheria, the principal station of the pirates. Accordingly in February 1756 a considerable fleet of his Majesty's ships, accompanied by the Commodore with the Company's ships, the troops on board being commanded by Colonel Clive (who had only lately returned from England), stood into the river, burnt the whole whole of the enemy's feet, and compelled the garrison 1756-7. to surrender. Shortly after these occurrences on the Malabar coast, intelligence was received at Madras of the hostility manifested towards the English in Bengal by Seraje-ud- Bengal. Dowlah, and of the inhuman incarceration of one hundred and forty-six Europeans in the Black-hole at Calcutta. Succours were despatched to Bengal under Admirals Watson and Pocock, and Colonel Clive, then at Madras. The expedition proceeded to Hooghly, which place they captured, destroying the resources of the enemy. The forces under Colonel Clive having disembarked encamped near Calcutta, and awaited the approach of the Nabob, with whom a partial action took place, in which the Nabob was defeated. Intelligence of war between France and England having reached Calcutta, it was judged expedient to enter into negociations with the Nabob, in order to prevent his joining the French, then at Chandernagore. A treaty was effected; but the insincerity of the Nabob, as well as the intrigues of the French, were soon apparent. Colonel Clive, with that decision which he invariably manifested, at once resolved on war, and determined to attack their united forces. A conspiracy which had been entered into against the Nabob, at the head of which was one of his principal officers, favoured the operations. At the battle of Plassey, which decided the interests of the English in Bengal, the Nabob was totally defeated, his troops dispersed, and himself made prisoner and subsequently put to death by some natives, who had suffered under his vindictive and cruel conduct. Meer Jaffir was raised to the musnud, the territories of the English were ́enlarged, indemnification to a considerable amount was granted Madras and Carnatic. granted to them for their sufferings at Calcutta, and a sum of money was presented by the Nabob as a gratuity to the sea forces and troops. 1759-1760. On the coast of Coromandel, the siege of Fort St. George by the French was raised in February 1759 by the force under Major Brereton, and Masulipatam was taken by Major Forde; but the attempt against the French settlement of Pondicherry was unsuccessful, and M. Lally laid siege to Trichinopoly. His progress was, however, checked by the operations of Colonel Coote, who invested and took Wandewash. M. Lally, alive to the importance of Wandewash, made every effort to recover it. A long and obstinate engagement took place, in which the French were completely defeated, General Bussy and many other officers being made prisoners by Colonel Coote, who followed up his victory by the captures of Chittaput and Arcot. During these operations on shore, Admiral Pocock defeated the fleet of M. D'Ache, although greatly superior in ships and guns. The engagement was extremely severe, eight of the English ships having at one period withstood the fire of the whole of the French fleet, consisting of sixteen ships. The arrival of Admiral Cornish, who joined Admiral Pocock, gave the English so decided a superiority, that the French ultimately withdrew from the Indian seas. In November 1760 the operations against Pondicherry were carried on by Colonel Coote, and the blockade by sea under Admiral Stevens. The siege was continued, under a variety of adverse circumstances, for a period of eight months, during which the garrison suffered the utmost extremity of distress. In January 1761 the city was given up at discretion 1761-1767. to our arms, the enemy having refused to capitulate. Thus, through the valour and judgment of Colonel Coote, the British became the masters of the coast of Coromandel, and the French were driven out of the Carnatic. Arrangments were made with the Nabob, and treaties concluded as to the grant of territory to the Company, which were confirmed by the Mogul. In 1765 the Northern Circars were granted to the Company by a firmaun from the Mogul, on the 12th August. The events which took place in Bengal, from the departure of Colonel Clive for Europe in 1760, to his return theretò as Lord Clive, in the station of governor and commander-in-chief, in 1765, including the grant of the Dewanny, are briefly noticed under the head "Governments in India," p. 363. Bengal. In 1767, Hyder Ali, one of the most formidable Carnatic, enemies that the English had to contend with in India, and whose possessions embraced a considerable part of the Malabar coast, jealous of the rising power of the Company, induced the Nizam to renounce his alliance with the Company and to join in a war against them. A force was sent against the allied troops of Hyder and the Nizam, under Colonel Smith, who brought them to an engagement in September near Trinomallee, and completely defeated them, taking seventy pieces of cannon. The Nizam concluded a treaty with the Company, but the war was continued against Hyder. In the course of the operations some ships were fitted out from Bombay to attack Mangalore, one of Hyder's principal seaports; the enterprize succeeded, nine Malabar. с |