Battle of Plassey
June 23rd, 1757
Bloody day in Plassey
Before the Battle of Plassey, Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah lead is army in an attack on British controlled Culcutta, which the successfully took over. Robert Clive's troops were reinforcements from the East India Company that had orders to reclaim the city which they later did. This break out of invades created tension between Siraj-ud-daulah and the British later leading to a battle in a small village on the banks of the Bhigirathi river. Clives troops who thought they were completely outnumbered by Siraj-ud-daulah's army later defeated the army with ease, the battle only took a few hours to find a victor. After the battle Mir Jafar, a general in Siraj's army was appointed Nawab by Clive. The victory paved way to British expansion further into South Asia. It also helped Britain reclaim the trade revenue they lost during the battles.
Did you know?
When Robert Clive was a child he was very lazy and skipped school often. The reason why he spent so much time in the library in India was to make up for his wasted years in school. Also we all know bout the British east India Company, but did you know that the French also had a French east India Company that rivaled the British in India.
Lord Robert Clive
Clive was born on September 29th, 1725 in England. When he was 18 years old he was sent to India. His first job was at a trade center in Madras. Clive spent most of his time studying in the governor's library. In 1746, the french took Madras, causing Clive to escape and joined the East India company's military force. When peace was made, he went back to his studies, but later war broke out again. He went back into the army as the rank of captain. Clive marched inland from Madras and took the fort of Arcot. This caused some enemies to surrender, he followed and defeated them in battle, which later made the French leave India. Clive went back to England and get married, but since his victories he had a great military reputation. He was sent back to India as Lieutenant colonel. On June 23rd, at the battle of Plassey he defeated an enormous army of Siraj-ud-daula. Clive replaced Siraj-ud-daula with general Mir Jafar to be on the throne of Bengal. Clive was to be the Governor of Bengal and army commander. In the coming years Clive's health would become more fragile forcing him to return to England once more. In 1760, Clive was made a member of the British Parliment. All those years of living in India's harsh climate and witnessing war so often cause Clive to become mentally ill and later committed suicide.
Bibliography
http://knowledge93.blogspot.com/2013/02/battle-of-plassey.html
Knowledge and Fun
Battle of Plassey
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/Plassey.html
History Politics
Battle of Plassey
http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/battle-plassey
History Today
Battle of Plassey