How did Britain gain control of India?
1 Answer
The British East India Company and Robert Clive were major factors in the British takeover of India.
Explanation:
The British East India Company set up trading Posts in India. The French, Portuguese, Danish and the Dutch also set up trading settlements. The Portuguese were the first of European Powers to establish trading settlements in India.
British and French conflicts in the mid 1700s were echoed in conflicts between the respective trading companies and their clients and benefactors in India. Each Company had their own armed units composed of European troops in small numbers and local mercenaries in larger numbers.
Robert Clive started as a minor functionary of the British East India Company. He transferred to the Military arm of the Company and did well in a number of actions. He was eventually given a command.
His most notable success was the Battle of Plassey in negotiating the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah. Clive managed to get the allies of the Nawab to take no part in the fighting. Much of the Battle day it was raining which impaired the Bengal artillery. Siraj-ud-daulah fled the battlefield after a short fight and his troops scattered.
The Nawab had a large treasury and Clive got a good share of it. The rest was divided up by the Company. The Company also subsequently taxed Bengal severely to pay for further Military Expansion.
The eventual result was that India was largely in British hands.
