#robertclive

Battle of Plassey

The Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 saw Robert Clive's East India Company army defeat a larger force of the Nawab of Bengal. Victory brought the Company new wealth and marked the beginning of its territorial expansion in the subcontinent. Not much more than a skirmish, Plassey has often been cited as the beginning of British rule in India.

Clive & the Expansion of the EIC

The East India Company (EIC) was founded in 1600, and by the mid-18th century, it was benefiting from its trade monopoly in India to make its shareholders immensely rich. The Company was effectively the colonial arm of the British government in India, but it protected its interests using its own private army and hired troops from the regular British army. By the 1750s, the Company was keen to expand its trade network and begin a more active territorial control in the subcontinent.

Robert Clive

Robert Clive (1725-1774), also known as 'Clive of India' and Baron Clive of Plassey, masterminded the expansion of the East India Company in India. Best known for his victory at Plassey in Bengal in 1757, Clive's reputation suffered in his own lifetime from charges of corruption and subsequently as one of the main architects of British imperialism in India.

The East India Company

Robert Clive was born into a country gentry family at the ancestral home of Styche Hall in Shropshire, England, on 29 September 1725. His father was Richard Clive and his mother Rebecca Gaskell. He studied at Merchant Taylor's school in London from 1737 and then accounting in a specialist school in Hemel Hempstead. At just 17, Clive joined the East India Company (EIC) as a humble 'writer' or clerk in December 1742. He arrived in India in 1744 after an unusually long 15-month voyage since his ship had run aground on the coast of Brazil. It was here in India that he would fulfil his ambiguous destiny as both champion of the British Empire and utterly ruthless colonialist. The historian S. Mansingh gives the following summary of Clive's character: "sturdy, violent, self-centred, emotional, generous, courageous, and brilliant in adversity" (101).

Bataille de Plassey

La bataille de Plassey, le 23 juin 1757, vit l'armée de la Compagnie des Indes orientales de Robert Clive vaincre une force plus importante du Nabab du Bengale. La victoire apporta de nouvelles richesses à la Compagnie et marqua le début de son expansion territoriale dans le sous-continent. Plassey, qui n'était guère plus qu'une escarmouche, a souvent été cité comme le début de la domination britannique en Inde.

Robert Clive

Robert Clive (1725-1774), también conocido como "Clive de la India" y barón Clive de Plassey, fue el artífice de la expansión de la Compañía de las Indias Orientales en la India. Más conocido por su victoria en Plassey (Bengala) en 1757, la reputación de Clive se resintió en vida por las acusaciones de corrupción y, posteriormente, por ser uno de los principales arquitectos del imperialismo británico en la India.

Batalla de Plassey

En la batalla de Plassey, el 23 de junio de 1757, el ejército de la Compañía de las Indias Orientales de Robert Clive derrotó a una fuerza mayor del Nawab de Bengala. La victoria aportó a la Compañía nuevas riquezas y marcó el inicio de su expansión territorial en el subcontinente. Aunque no fue más que una escaramuza, Plassey se ha citado a menudo como el inicio del dominio británico en la India.

Robert Clive

Robert Clive (1725-1774), également connu sous le nom de "Clive of India" et de baron Clive de Plassey, dirigea l'expansion de la Compagnie des Indes orientales en Inde. Surtout connu pour sa victoire à Plassey, au Bengale, en 1757, la réputation de Clive fut ternie d'accusations de corruption (de son vivant) et il fut ensuite considéré comme l'un des principaux architectes de l'impérialisme britannique en Inde.