NCERT notes on important topics for the UPSC Civil Services Exam. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking PO, SSC, state civil services exams and so on. This article talks about The First Carnatic War.
First Carnatic War (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here
First Carnatic War Notes
Facts about the First Carnatic War
- Fought between: English and French forces.
- People involved: Joseph François Dupleix (French Governor-General), Major Stringer Lawrence (British), Anwaruddin Khan (Nawab of the Carnatic).
- When: 1746 – 1748
- Where: Carnatic region, Southern India
- Result: Inconclusive.
Course of the First Carnatic War
- France and Britain were on opposite sides of the camp at the War of Austrian Succession that had broken out in Europe in 1740.
- This Anglo-French rivalry led to their trading companies in India vying with each other for supremacy.
- The French Governor of Pondicherry Dupleix had raised an army of Indian sepoys under French officers in India.
- The French East India Company was nationalized in 1720 and France had imperialistic designs on India.
- In 1745, there was a naval attack on a French fleet by Britain in which even Pondicherry in danger.
- Dupleix, along with additional French troops from Mauritius defended against this attack and captured Madras, which had been controlled by the English.
- The English made another attack on Pondicherry but instead faced a heavy loss. The English sought help from the Nawab of Carnatic (Arcot) Anwaruddin Khan.
- The Nawab asked the French to return Madras to the British.
- Dupleix tried convincing the Nawab unsuccessfully that Madras would be handed over to him at a later stage.
- Then, the Nawab sent a huge army to fight the French forces. This army was defeated by the relatively small number of French forces in Mylapore (in modern-day Chennai) in 1746.
- This exposed the weakness of the armies of the Indian rulers vis-Ã -vis the efficiently trained armies of the European powers.
- The war ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle also called Treaty of Aachen.
Effects of the First Carnatic War
- Madras was given back to the English in exchange for Louisburg in North America to France.
- Dupleix understood the superiority of the European armies who used this advantage to influence Indian princes and establish French hegemony in South India.
First Carnatic War (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here
The table below gives a few important articles in continuation with the topic above as part of our series on NCERT Modern History of India notes for UPSC 2023.
| Second Carnatic War |
| Third Carnatic War |
| First & Second Anglo Mysore War |
UPSC Preparation
| IAS Exam | UPSC Syllabus |
| UPSC Exam Pattern | UPSC 2023 |
| UPSC Books | Daily News Analysis |
| UPSC Previous Year Question Papers | IAS Current Affairs |
| UPSC Prelims | Daily Video Analysis: The Hindu |
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