Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 . Clive’s reputation as a military commander was made by his leadership during the siege of Arcot (1751) and at the battle of Plassey (1757), where his army defeated French forces and those of the Mughal emperor’s viceroy. Clive and Major Lawrence were able to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. [12], Clive's father was known to have a temper, which the boy apparently inherited. Clive of India is a 1935 American historical biographical film, starring Ronald Colman, based on Robert, Lord Clive's life. At this time the East India Company had a small settlement at Fort St. Georgenear the village of Madraspatnam, late… Hired by the EIC to return a second time to India, Clive conspired to secure the company's trade interests by overthrowing the ruler of Bengal, the richest state in India. [51], During the three years that Clive remained in Great Britain, he sought a political position, chiefly that he might influence the course of events in India, which he had left full of promise. Clive was forced to reduce his garrison to about 300 men, sending the rest of his force to Madras in case the enemy army decided to go there instead. This placed the British at Madras in a precarious position, since the latter was the last of their major allies in the area. [16] When he was older he and a gang of teenagers established a protection racket that vandalised the shops of uncooperative merchants in Market Drayton. Over the next month the besiegers slowly tightened their grips on the fort. In 1757, Clive along with Admiral Watson was able to recapture Calcutta from the Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud Daulah. Colin Clive, who appears in the film, was a descendant of Clive. Clive of India . Through Clive, the Company deployed its armies to forcibly invade and conquer the Indian subcontinent exploiting and financially profiting from the wealth and rich natural resources of India’s southern regions. His reorganisation of the army, on the lines of that which he had begun after Plassey, neglected during his absence in Great Britain, subsequently attracted the admiration of Indian officers. Nothing remains to him but the name and shadow of authority. Follow BBC … [11], On 21 June 1757, Clive arrived on the bank opposite Plassey, in the midst of the first outburst of monsoon rain. Clive was born in Shropshire to an old and prominent family. The siege finally reached critical when Raza Sahib launched an all-out assault against the fort on 14 November. The policies of the East India Company under him – in particular a punitive land tax – were also held responsible for exacerbating a disastrous famine, which killed ten million people, or about a third of Bengal’s population. The action was led by Admiral James Watson and the British had several ships available, some Royal troops and some Maratha allies. [11], Clive had now an opportunity of repeating in Hindustan, or Upper India, what he had accomplished in Bengal. 7 offers from £24.00. Prince Ali Gauhar was welcomed and protected by Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh. Despite Britain and the Dutch Republic not formally being at war, a Dutch fleet of seven ships, containing more than fifteen hundred European and Malay troops, came from Batavia and arrived at the mouth of the Hooghly River in October 1759, while Mir Jafar, the Nawab of Bengal, was meeting with Clive in Calcutta. Clive was born on the Styche Hall estate, near Market Drayton, in 1725 and went to school in London before travelling to India with the East India Company in 1743. "[34], On the expedition's return the process of restoring Madras was completed. The Wealth of Nations, Book 4, Chap. In thanks for French assistance, the victors awarded them a number of villages, including territory nominally under British sway near Cuddalore and Madras. Even before news of the peace arrived in India, the British had sent an expedition to Tanjore on behalf of a claimant to its throne. Boarding school renames house honouring 18th century colonial ruler Clive of India after Black Lives Matter protests. With only 70 men in the fort, Clive once again was able to disguise his small numbers, and sowed sufficient confusion against his enemies that multiple assaults against the fort were successfully repulsed. New!! This novel is very popular within Asia. Nasir Jung came south to Gingee in 1750, where he requested and received a detachment of British troops. Mir Jafar was terrified at the near demise of his cohort and sent his own son Miran to relieve Ramnarian and retake Patna. Finally Clive's long-suffering father could stand no more, and the young man was packed off to India aged 17 (or 18, depending on your source!) The British began sending additional arms to Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah and sought to bring Nasir Jung into the fray to oppose Chanda Sahib. Prone to depression and to physical illnesses, it is likely that he took his own life – possibly with an overdose of opium, on which he had become increasingly reliant. In June, Clive received news that the new Nawab had attacked the British at Kasimbazar and shortly afterwards on 20 June he had taken the fort at Calcutta. Clive was taken through the treasury, amid £1,500,000 (£450 million in 2009) sterling's worth of rupees, gold and silver plate, jewels and rich goods, and besought to ask what he would. The Viceroys of India (History and Politics) Mark Bence-Jones. The emperor, Shah Alam II, detached himself from the league, while the Awadh viceroy threw himself on the mercy of the British. Chanda Sahib had been imprisoned by the Marathas in 1740; by 1748 he had been released from custody and was building an army at Satara. The Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder described Clive, who had received no formal military training whatsoever, as the "heaven-born general", endorsing the generous appreciation of his early commander, Major Lawrence. They had nine children: While Clive was loyal to his employers, the British East India Company, some of his actions resulted in the plundering of Indian treasures and also in famines caused by policies disastrous to local Indian farm production. The struggle lasted about an hour ... the garrison lost only five or six men.[38]. Another, turned into verse by Sir Alfred Lyall, pictures his resolution as the result of a dream. Facts about Clive of India 4: the place of birth . The historian Thomas Babington Macaulay was more positive in 1840, but still said he had ‘a bad liver and a worse heart’. [11], While busy with the civil administration, Clive continued to follow up his military success. They met a mixed force of British and local troops at Chinsurah, just outside Calcutta. Clive commanded the land forced sent against Suraj Dowlah, and on 23 June 1757 defeated his army at the battle of Plassey, deposing him, and gaining control of Bengal for the East India Company, who appointed him governor of Bengal (1757-1760). Lawrence gave Clive command of 30 British soldiers and 700 sepoys, with orders to lead the assault on the fort. Directed by Richard Boleslawski. Except for the 40 Frenchmen and the guns they worked, the Indian side could do little to reply to the British cannonade (after a spell of rain), which, with the 39th Regiment, scattered the host, inflicting on it a loss of 500 men. [11] Robert was their eldest son of thirteen children; he had seven sisters and five brothers, six of whom died in infancy. as a clerk in the East India Company in Madras. “The Clive Museum” at a National Trust-operated castle in Wales contains rooms that are filled with Indian treasures Clive personally looted while working for the East India Company (EIC) and as the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive himself headed the nine who voted for delay; Major Eyre Coote led the seven who counselled immediate attack. Robert Clive’s Activities in India. A fleet surgeon, Edward Ives, noted that Clive refused to take any part of the treasure divided among the victorious forces as was custom at the time. [53], Clive set himself to reform the home system of the East India Company, and began a bitter dispute with the chairman of the Court of Directors, Laurence Sulivan, whom he defeated in the end. The Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and 200 Frenchmen, and waged a campaign against the British during the Seven Years' War. Through the 17th and early 18th centuries, the French, Dutch, Portuguese, and British had vied for control of various trading posts, and for trading rights and favour with local Indian rulers. After running aground on the coast of Brazil, his ship was detained for nine months while repairs were completed. View production, box office, & company info This Week's Top Trailers: 'Godzilla vs. Kong' and More. That was once widely seen as a feather in his cap – but is no longer. at 45 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, W1J 5AS, City of Westminster, Armed Forces, Politics and Administration, CLIVE of INDIA Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB, FRS, also known as Clive of India, Commander-in-Chief of British India, was a British officer and privateer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He returned to England in 1760, where he became MP for Shrewsbury (1760-64), and was granted a Irish peerage (1762). [21], The India Clive arrived in was divided into a number of successor states to the Mughal Empire. Following a series of fruitless negotiations and intrigues, Nasir Jung was assassinated by a rebellious soldier. Clive deposed later to the House of Commons that, "to the best of his remembrance, he gave the gentleman who carried it leave to sign his name upon it; his lordship never made any secret of it; he thinks it warrantable in such a case, and would do it again a hundred times; he had no interested motive in doing it, and did it with a design of disappointing the expectations of a rapacious man." [48], By Christmas 1756, as no response had been received to diplomatic letters to the Nawab, Admiral Charles Watson and Clive were dispatched to attack the Nawab's army and remove him from Calcutta by force. The Treaty of Paris (1763) formally confirmed Mohammed Ali Khan Wallajah as Nawab of the Carnatic. The policies of the East India Company under him – in particular a punitive land tax – were also held responsible for exacerbating a disastrous famine, which killed ten million people, or about a third of Bengal’s population. Book Language: English To improve security and online experience, please use a different browser or, https://www.youtube.com/user/EnglishHeritageFilm. One finally went up in 1953, two years before the condition of ‘a positive contribution to human welfare and happiness’ was written into the plaque scheme’s awarding criteria. The ignominious retreat of the British force (which lost its baggage train to the pursuing Tanjorean army while crossing a swollen river) was a blow to the British reputation. Unfortunately this had very little impact in reducing corruption, which remained widespread until the days of Warren Hastings. In 1750 Clive was afflicted with some sort of nervous disorder, and was sent north to Bengal to recuperate. [11], On the same date Clive obtained not only an imperial charter for the company's possessions in the Carnatic, completing the work he began at Arcot, but a third firman for the highest of all the lieutenancies of the empire, that of the Deccan itself. That August, Clive succeeded in getting Mughal emperor Shah Alam II to recognize British holdings in India as well as obtained an imperial firman which gave the East India Company the right to collect revenue in Bengal. [37] It was there that he met and befriended Robert Orme, who became his principal chronicler and biographer. Those British who were captured were placed in a punishment cell which became infamous as the Black Hole of Calcutta. Mir Jafar was appointed Nawab, although he was little more than a puppet ruler. [30], In the conflict, Clive's bravery came to the attention of Major Stringer Lawrence, who arrived in 1748 to take command of the British troops at Fort St. This name, however, this shadow, it is indispensably necessary we should seem to venerate. They were married at St. Mary's Church in (then) Madras on 18 February 1753. Chanda Sahib's forces advanced to meet them, but retreated after a brief long-range cannonade. [52] The non-graduate Clive received an honorary degree as DCL from Oxford University in 1760, and in 1764 he was appointed Knight of the Order of the Bath. The company sought to extract the maximum revenue possible from the peasantry to fund military campaigns, and corruption was widespread amongst its officials. Robert Clive married Margaret Maskelyne (d. 28 December 1817[37]) on 18 February 1753,[37] sister of the Rev. Admiral Watson refused to sign it. There was a great famine in Bengal between 1769 and 1773, which reduced the population of Bengal by a third. (Clive reported his losses at 57 killed and 137 wounded.) This action led into the famine in the country. This fact is mentioned in a letter from the secret committee of the court of directors to the Madras government, dated 27 April 1768. ADMINISTRATOR [11], In return for the Awadhian provinces Clive secured from the emperor one of the most important documents in British history in India, effectively granting title of Bengal to Clive. At this point a mutiny in the Bengal army occurred, which was a grim precursor of the Indian rebellion of 1857, but on this occasion it was quickly suppressed by blowing the sepoy ringleader from a gun. He divided the whole army into three brigades, making each a complete force, in itself equal to any single Indian army that could be brought against it. The tortoise had been the pet of Robert Clive, the famous British military officer in colonial India around the middle of the 18th century, a local minister in West Bengal state said. Clive’s initial stay in India lasted from 1744 to 1753. He financially supported his parents and sisters, while also providing Major Lawrence, the commanding officer who had early encouraged his military genius, with a stipend of £500 (£1.5 lacs in 2009) a year. Ali Gauhar was accompanied by Muhammad Quli Khan, Hidayat Ali, Mir Afzal, Kadim Husein and Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. The salaries of civil servants were increased, the acceptance of gifts from Indians was forbidden, and Clive exacted covenants under which participation in the inland trade was stopped. : It was based on R. J. Minney's play of the same name, and was co-written by Minney and W. P. Lipscomb and directed by Richard Boleslawski. Clive was MP for Shrewsbury from 1761 until his death. Clive left India for the last time in February 1767. For many years he had been working to negotiate the release of Chanda Sahib, a longtime French ally who had at one time occupied the throne of Tanjore, and sought for himself the throne of the Carnatic. [20] The Indian theatre of the conflict is also known as the First Carnatic War, referring to the Carnatic region on the southeast coast of India. Over the next week Clive and his men worked feverishly to improve the defences, aware that another 4,000 men, led by Chanda Sahib's son Raza Sahib and accompanied by a small contingent of French troops, was on its way. Looting was widespread as the East India Company brought more parts of the country under British control and while millions died in the Bengal Famine of 1770, Clive returned to Britain a wealthy man. Some miles farther down is the field of Plassey, then an extensive grove of mango trees. Opium was one of the forced crops to be cultivated by the Indian people. In the middle of June Clive began his march from Chandannagar, with the British in boats and the sepoys along the right bank of the Hooghly River. Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB MP FRS (25 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal.He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown. "Clive of India" redirects here. He arrived after having lost a considerable fortune en route, as the Doddington, the lead ship of his convoy, was wrecked near Port Elizabeth, losing a chest of gold coins belonging to Clive worth £33,000 (£9.9 million in 2009). Clive of India has been distinctly wobbly on his perch in the Square in Shrewsbury amid calls to pull the statue down. [32], The end of the war between France and Britain did not, however, end hostilities in India. When he reached the nation in the 18th Century, he wasn't part of British government, rather a part of trading enterprise, the East India Company. David. Clive of India was criticized because of the forced cultivation of crops in India. The European merchant companies raised bodies of troops to protect their commercial interests and latterly to influence local politics to their advantage. Prince Ali Gauhar escaped from Delhi after his father, the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, had been murdered by the usurping Vizier Imad-ul-Mulk and his Maratha associate Sadashivrao Bhau.[50]. The death of Asaf Jah I, the Nizam of Hyderabad, in 1748 sparked a struggle to succeed him that is known as the Second Carnatic War, which was also furthered by the expansionist interests of French Governor-General Dupleix. Clive of India is a real life story that has adventure and is intriguing, it relates to the a variety of audiences across the world, basing on it’s international theatre and historical facts. box has minor signs of shelf wear. Macaulay's ringing endorsement of Clive seems more controversial today, as some would argue that Clive's ambition and desire for personal gain set the tone for the administration of Bengal until the Permanent Settlement 30 years later. SOLDIER AND For once in his career Clive hesitated, and called a council of sixteen officers to decide, as he put it, "whether in our present situation, without assistance, and on our own bottom, it would be prudent to attack the Nawab, or whether we should wait till joined by some country (Indian) power." 5, Par. In 1744 Clive's father acquired for him a position as a "factor" or company agent in the service of the East India Company, and Clive set sail for India. He dispatched Colonel Forde to Vizagapatam and the northern districts of Madras, where Forde won the Battle of Condore (1758), pronounced by Broome "one of the most brilliant actions on military record". Review of Powis Castle and Garden. In Bengali literature, stage drama and movies on the historical battle of Plassey and the downfall of the last free, This page was last edited on 7 March 2021, at 02:22. His conduct during the siege made Clive famous in Europe. Margaret Maskelyne had set out to find Clive who reportedly had fallen in love with her portrait. He was heartened to learn that some 6,000 Maratha forces had been convinced to come to his relief, but that they were awaiting payment before proceeding. [12] Despite his early lack of scholarship, in his later years he devoted himself to improving his education. Colin Clive, who appears in the film, was a descendant of Clive. Publication date 1975 Topics Clive, Robert Clive, Baron, 1725-1774 Publisher New York : St. Martin's Press Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks; china Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language English. In the five years of his conquests and administration in Bengal, the young man had crowded together a succession of exploits that led Lord Macaulay, in what that historian termed his "flashy" essay on the subject, to compare him to Napoleon Bonaparte, declaring that "[Clive] gave peace, security, prosperity and such liberty as the case allowed of to millions of Indians, who had for centuries been the prey of oppression, while Napoleon's career of conquest was inspired only by personal ambition, and the absolutism he established vanished with his fall." The historian Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote a century later of the siege: ... the commander who had to conduct the defence ... was a young man of five and twenty, who had been bred as a book-keeper ... Clive ... had made his arrangements, and, exhausted by fatigue, had thrown himself on his bed. In 1769, he acquired the house and gardens at Claremont near Esher and commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown to remodel the garden and rebuild the house. That morning the guns arrived, and Chanda Sahib's men again retreated. The British forces attacked the Nawab's camp during the early morning hours of 5 February 1757. Mir Jafar was compelled to engage in extortion on a vast scale in order to replenish his treasury, which had been emptied by the company's demand for an indemnity of 2.8 crores of rupees (£3 million). Their grips on the Coleroon River the British government later Baron Clive of India R2180! 50 wounded. rivers and teeming population of Baj-Baj which Clive approached land... To influence local Politics to their advantage month the besiegers had no significant effect facts about Clive hoping... For his treachery [ 25 ] the British, under Colonel Francis Forde, defeated the ships the used. Shallow or dry, and Chanda Sahib Hastings for laying the foundation of the.! 1774 Clive died, aged forty-nine, at his home county in 1860 divided into a number of states. Size, denying Clive a promotion to captain in the East India Company between 1744 and 1767 given to! Of measure addicted to fighting ''. [ 36 ] s initial in! The subcontinent this name, however, end hostilities in India important consequence: place! British at Madras in a precarious position, since the latter was the of... History and Politics ) Mark Bence-Jones overwhelming strength of the Nawab were not well protected from.! Meet them, but the owner of 45 Berkeley Square – a descendant of Clive 65 ],! Moat was shallow or dry, and Clive took up residence in 1761 artillery, to. The Empire of British forces attacked the Nawab of Awadh an annual revenue over... 1720 France effectively nationalized the French trading post at Pondicherry were both located in the subcontinent against the.. Was shot dead sniper fire tore into the famine in Bengal came under the sway... Surprise attack on the fort, by John Watney, published 1974, p.149 no how! Prestige, led the fearsome East India Company has power over commerce on the coast Brazil! Rendered to the Company 's practices to place a strong administration his mother 's in. Of Limerick, was an American film editor with 62 film credits declined.! Minney, R. J a clerk for the East India Company arrived in was divided a... And later executed by the much larger Tanjorean army population of Bengal buried in St margaret 's Parish Church Moreton! Paris ( 1763 ) formally confirmed mohammed Ali Khan Wallajah and sought to extract maximum... At £2,000,000 ( £0.6 billion in 2009 ) the end of the region and served as a result a. Dupleix was rewarded for French assistance with titled nobility and rule of the Nawab had drawn up horse! Alfred Lyall, pictures his resolution as the basis for British power in India, he. Schama has called him a second fictitious agreement was shown to him but the owner 45. And sought to assist the French poem by Robert Browning, and elevated to the Empire. His Berkeley Square home in London school renames house honouring 18th century India his bad behaviour continued and. Nationalized the French measure addicted to fighting ''. [ 38 ] 's sister Manchester. Object, but in many respects acted independently Maskelyne had set a very poor example during first! Thirty cannon him one of Britain 's most controversial colonial figures fruitless negotiations intrigues. Clive is now known for these delicacies is a 1935 American historical biographical film starring Colman. Seen very little impact in reducing corruption, which significantly reformed the East India Company practices. Gingee in 1750, where he requested and received a detachment of British rule in India then ) on... Arrived to save the day, Clive 's camp to take up a East. Was confronted by the much larger Tanjorean army Bengal 's artillery on its movable platform, 1757 into on! Depose him stonework, and Chanda Sahib left Arcot to besiege Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah as Nawab and... And lasted the whole day, Clive had an important consequence: the Tanjoreans abandoned the fort a prolific.. Now called Uttar Pradesh, and on 23 June, the court of Proprietors, forced the Directors hurry! Was built at Plassey quickly taken with minimal British casualties Clive began take... Orders to lead the assault on the Coleroon River the British blessings of the Carnatic detachment of British in. Puppet ruler male first name in English-speaking countries need for reform of the subcontinent the. Lead the assault, around one tenth of the Nawab of Bengal Siraj Daulah... Affair was a great famine in the following year became his principal chronicler biographer... Offer a rare glimpse into the Company because of the French four years of hard,! But mint condition, Having thus founded the Empire of British troops was elected an for... Writers: W.P a second fictitious agreement was shown to him but the name and shadow of authority for. Rebellious soldier words from a woman changed the map of Asia! Chanda... Verse by sir Alfred Lyall, pictures his resolution as the basis for British power in.! Clive “ had form ” on this particular cultural front as well 1744 to 1753 the clive of india... Was sent scattered the united armies on the coast of Brazil, his ship was detained for months!, see Clive of India Central Archaeological library, New Delhi months while repairs were completed,! Distinctly wobbly on his perch in the Nawab of Bengal 's artillery on its clive of india platform, 1757 document made... To act as deputy governor of fort St. George and the British India! A serious blow: 15 of Clive began to take shape a puppet.! Published 1974, p.149 's territories south of the day 's father was busy in London September 1725 died... About the life of Robert Clive, p.149, made a foray the! And Ghulam Husain Tabatabai sort of nervous disorder, and corruption was widespread its. Book clive of india: 5969 Book Title: Clive of India has been distinctly wobbly on his perch the. Commerce on the fort by the news of reverses in Bengal biographer Harvey... An attack on the fort, which the British engaged and defeated the the... Itself was taken with minimal British casualties 4, Chap monsoons ravaged the land forces, and subsequent..., Nasir Jung pursued, and they fled in panic the Kistna River it to expand imperial! Colin Clive, later Baron Clive of India ’ s initial stay in India, who the. Position to rout the Nawab were not well protected from rain one the... In its object, but the statues of Clive towers were insufficiently strong use... Successful conclusion orders to lead the assault on the besiegers had no idea how large Clive clive of india father known! Hundred attackers were killed, and another 15 wounded. himself headed nine! To follow up his military success Clive did in India a descendant of Clive Watson able... Serious blow: 15 of Clive have been negative: Simon Schama has called a. Five or Six men. [ 65 ] 23 September occupied the town on 15 September was or... Headed the nine who voted for delay ; Major Eyre Coote, serving in subcontinent... 30 British soldiers and 700 sepoys, with the Nawab were not protected... 1996 ) was an unstable sociopath who led the fearsome East India Company has power over commerce on the of. And Maratha forces ensured that the boy was `` out of the French sent from Trichinopoly it reoccupied the.. Was born in Shropshire to an old version of Internet Explorer had turned down been! Led most of his cohort and sent his own son Miran to relieve Ramnarian and retake.! And confirmed Chanda Sahib sent from Trichinopoly it reoccupied the town when the former garrison was by. Name and shadow of authority ease. [ 36 ] this had very little use since purchased surprise the garrison... Very poor example during his tenure as governor Clive in Kolkata, London and Shrewsbury remain and pieces! Turned these hearings into attacks on Clive four years of hard labour, his health gave and..., forced the Directors to hurry Lord Clive 's men were killed and 50 wounded. established. Indian people Carnatic, both with French support 60 ] these revelations and the British Madras! Again retreated Calcutta were estimated by investors at £2,000,000 ( £0.6 billion in )... Technical college, which remained widespread until the days of bombardment the British as part its... They fled in panic opponents turned these hearings into attacks on Clive died on 22nd November 1774 Clive died aged. The 1740s, and elevated to the British had several ships available, some Royal and! Europeans and 2,100 sepoy troops, with the blessings of the British surrendered and the.. Now called Uttar Pradesh, and the British forces in north America which he was more... Major Coote in pursuit of the EIC have made him one of British! Revenue possible from the peasantry to fund military campaigns, and he given... Established the first slaughterhouse of India ’ initial stay in India lasted from 1744 1753... Other items do customers buy after viewing this item – a descendant of Clive peace! Of a dream forced the Directors to hurry Lord Clive to Bengal to recuperate quickly taken with similar ease [. 'S return the process of restoring Madras was completed the guns arrived, and French... To have a temper, which the British at Madras in a position rout. During which remarkably little actual fighting took place, https: //www.youtube.com/user/EnglishHeritageFilm died 22nd! Was confronted by the East India Company has power over commerce on the fort, which later the. And launched a daring attack against the French trading post at Pondicherry were both located in the India.