It’s a little known fact that the French once had a large, successful trading operation here in Bengal.
They established their city Chandernagore (Chandannagar) in 1673, a full 17 years before the British built Calcutta (Kolkata) further to the south.
Chandernagore rapidly became an important city and, after paying 40,000 rupees to Mughal Emperor Aurungzeb in 1688, it obtained permission to conduct duty free trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It overtook the Dutch city of Cinsura (Hooghly-Chinsura) and British Calcutta to become the most important European city on the delta.
But Mughal authority was on the wane, and new political configurations were imposing themselves on South Asia, particularly in Bengal.
A tale of two East India Companies
Departing from their policy of political non-interference, by the 18th century European traders were trying their hands at empire-building. They began fighting proxy wars with each other through alliances with competing Indian princes, and offering themselves as security against invaders.
Alivardi Khan, Bengal’s independent and powerful ruler, had little use for British mercenaries, but collected money from them to fund his own war against the Marathas in exchange for letting the British fortify their positions in his land.
The British and the French then carried their rivalry into the Carnatic Wars, with each backing rival candidates for the throne of Hyderabad.
The Governor-General of the French East India Company, Joseph Dupleix, used the modern, well-disciplined French army to intervene in the quarrel, securing commercial and territorial favours in return for assistance. The British employed Maratha warlords and British East India Company troops, headed by the infamous Robert Clive.
The French won a series of battles quite comfortably (under the command of the Marquis de Bussy, who went on to fight in the American War of Independence). But the British managed to reverse their fortunes and succeeded in installing Muhammad Ali, their man in the Deccan, on the throne.
This was the beginning of the British ascendancy in India, which came at the expense of the French.
Siraj-ud-Daula, the last king of Bengal Alivardi Khan died in 1756 and was succeeded by his grandson Siraj-ud-Daula.
Siraj was uncomfortable with the strong European presence on his territory, and sought to strip the British of the ‘favoured-nation’ trade status they had enjoyed since 1717, courtesy of a Mughal edict.
Naturally the French saw an ally in Siraj and encouraged him to attack Calcutta, following a British refusal to scale down their militarisation in Bengal. With munitions and financial support from the French, Siraj-ud-Daula, successfully attacked and captured Calcutta, effectively establishing his authority over Britain’s nascent colonial project.
But this was short lived. Robert Clive recaptured Calcutta, then set his eyes on French Chandernagore.
He made sure Siraj wouldn’t come to the assistance of the French by poisoning the nawab’s mind into believing the French meant to do him harm in the long run. Clive then proceeded to destroy Chandernagore, putting the French, who had been counting on the nawab’s support, out of the game altogether.
Alliance in the Battle of Polashi
The infuriated Siraj-ud-Daula declared war on the British, but Clive had fostered a relationship with Siraj’s jealous uncle, Mir Jafar, who betrayed him on the battlefield, giving Clive a calamitous victory over Bengal.
The French, even after being let down by Siraj-ud-Daula earlier, fought alongside him against the British at the 1757 Battle of Polashi (Plassey)
The nawab’s army included a detachment of about 50 French artillerymen, capable of field manoeuvres, and led by de St Frais; while a French infantry detachment, under Jean Law was also on its way to join them.
It was the French, in fact, who fired the first shot of the battle and fought valiantly throughout it, often with no support, as the nawab’s soldiers either betrayed them or deserted the field.
The French later backed Hyder Ali of Mysore and his son Tipu Sultan, but were unable to hold off any longer against the British, who went from strength to strength, conquering one Indian kingdom after another until they were the only remaining power in the land.
Indian kings could at best hope to be vassals, while the French were confined to Pondicherry, which like all their other possessions, including Chandernagore (returned to the French in 1816) was little more than a vassal too.
WWI and ‘Quit India’
The British maintained their empire by using local Indian forces. During the First World War, the Entente nations also relied heavily on Indian troops, and many victories in Iraq and East Africa were won almost entirely by Indians.
In December 1915, 26 young men from Chandernagore enlisted in the French Army, and were assigned to artillery units in France, Morocco and Tunisia.
More than a hundred years after the French fought for a nawab of Bengal, Bangalis fought for France, and were commemorated for their valour in battle. One of them was also awarded the Croix de Guerre.
The British went back on their promise of greater political autonomy, or ‘Home Rule,’ for India in exchange for Indian participation during the war. This lead to the ‘Quit India’ movement and demands for full independence, which was finally achieved in 1947, exactly 190 years after Siraj-ud-Daula and his French allies were defeated in Bengal.