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{{short description|1756–1765 Mughal attempt to recapture Bengal from the British East India Company}}
{{other uses|list of wars involving Bengal}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Bengal War
| image = Sir Hector Munro by David Martin.jpg
| caption = Portrait of [[Hector Munro, 8th Laird of Novar|Sir Hector Munro]] with the [[Battle of Buxar]] in the background
| date = {{start and end dates|1763|6|25|1765|8|16|df=yes}} {{nwr|({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=06|day1=25|year1=1763|month2=8|day2=16|year2=1765}})}}
| partof = the [[British conquest of India]]
| place = [[Bengal Subah]]
| result = British victory
* [[Treaty of Allahabad]]
* Formal establishment of [[Company rule in India|Company rule]] over the region of Bengal in 1773.
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of the Mughal Empire.png|25px]] [[Mughal Empire]]<ref name="History of the Freedom Movement in India">{{Google books |id=n_Vi8sSjgYsC |page=2 |title=History of the Freedom Movement in India (1857–1947) }}</ref> {{flagicon image|अवध ध्वज.gif}} [[Awadh Subah]] {{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} [[Bengal Subah]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the Royal House of Benares.svg}} [[Banaras State|Kashi Kingdom]]
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[British East India Company]]
| commander1 = [[File:Flag of the Mughal Empire.png|25px]] '''[[Shah Alam II]]'''<ref name="History of the Freedom Movement in India" /> [[File:Flag of the Mughal Empire.png|25px]] [[Mirza Najaf Khan|Najaf Khan]] {{flagicon image|अवध ध्वज.gif}} [[Shuja-ud-Daula]] {{flagicon image|Bengal subah flag (Nautical).svg}} [[Mir Qasim]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the Royal House of Benares.svg}} [[Maharaja Balwant Singh of Benares|Balwant Singh]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[Hector Munro, 8th of Novar|Hector Munro]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[John Caillaud]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[Thomas Adams (British Army officer)|Thomas Adams]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} William Ellis{{executed}}
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Bengal War|Campaignbox Bangal war}}
}}

The '''Anglo-Bengal War''',<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh6jydKXikoC&dq=bengal+war&pg=PA516 |title = Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O|isbn = 9780313335389|last1 = Jaques|first1 = Tony|year = 2007| publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> also called the '''second Anglo-Mughal war''',{{sfn|Bayly|2013|p=338}} was a war between a coalition consisting of the [[Mughal Empire]], the [[Oudh State|Awadh Subah]] and the [[Bengal Subah]] against the [[British East India Company]] (EIC) from 1763 and to 1765, {{sfn | Clodfelter | 2017 | p=111}} ending with a British victory and the signing of the [[Treaty of Allahabad]] on 16 August 1765.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grover |first1=B. L. |last2=Mehta |first2=Alka |year=2014 |title=A New Look at Modern Indian History |url=https://www.schandpublishing.com/books/higher-education/history/a-new-look-at-modern-indian-history/9788121905329/ |edition=30th |publisher=S Chand Publishing |page=364 |isbn=978-8121905329}}</ref>

== Background ==
Under the Mughal Empire, Bengal which was variously described as the 'Paradise of Nations',<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/uncategorized/2014/12/19/the-paradise-of-nations |title=The paradise of nations |last=Steel |first=Tim |date=2014-12-19 |work=Dhaka Tribune |department=Op-ed |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517063054/https://www.dhakatribune.com/uncategorized/2014/12/19/the-paradise-of-nations |archive-date=2019-05-17|access-date=2019-05-17}}</ref> had been one of its wealthiest and most prosperous ''subahs'' (provinces),<ref>{{cite web |title=Bengal ''subah'' was one of the richest ''subahs'' of the Mughal empire |url= http://business.illinois.edu/doogar/www/other/jain/murshid.html |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status= live |archive-url= http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120819051449/http://business.illinois.edu/doogar/www/other/jain/murshid.html |archive-date=19 August 2012}}</ref> it alone accounting for 40% of all Dutch exports from Asia <ref name="Prakash">{{cite encyclopedia |author=Om Prakash |author-link=Om Prakash (historian) |editor=John J. McCusker |editor-link=John J. McCusker |encyclopedia=History of World Trade Since 1450 |title=Empire, Mughal |url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3447600139/WHIC?u=seat24826&xid=6b597320 |access-date=3 August 2017 |year=2006 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |series=World History in Context |volume=1 |isbn= |pages=237–240 |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118051038/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=WHIC&u=seat24826&id=GALE%7B%7B%21%7D%7DCX3447600139&v=2.1&it=r&asid=6b597320 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was a major exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel, saltpeter, and agricultural and industrial produce.<ref name="star">{{cite news |last=Khandker |first=Hissam |date=31 July 2015 |title=Which India is claiming to have been colonised? |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/politics/which-india-claiming-have-been-colonised-119284 |newspaper=The Daily Star |type=Op-ed |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328220449/https://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/politics/which-india-claiming-have-been-colonised-119284 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The British East India Company (EIC) had been trading in the East Indies ever since the early 17th century, however following [[Amboyna massacre]] in 1623 which saw an attack on one of their factories in the spice islands by the Dutch, they were compelled to abandon their efforts in South-east Asia and shift their focus almost entirely on to the Indian Subcontinent and Bengal specifically.<ref name="Dalrymple2019">{{Cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |title=The anarchy: the relentless rise of the East India Company |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-63557-433-3 |location=London (GB)}}</ref> They had first acquired a lease on the banks of the river Hughli in 1658 and later established their chief fort in the region, [[Fort William, West Bengal|Fort William]] in 1696. Throughout this period their relationship with Mughal authorities was one of imbalance, during this period they mostly acted as Junior partners to Mughal authority and rarely butt heads with them, the only exception to that where they tried using military force ([[Anglo-Mughal war (1686–1690)|the Anglo-Mughal war]]) ended terribly for the company, with them being forced to swear fealty to the Mughals just to get their factories back.<ref name="Dalrymple2019"/>

In Bengal up till this point, the provincial government was separated into two major cabinets, the ''Nizamat'' (governorship) presided over by a [[Subahdar]] who oversaw general administration, justice and defense and the ''Diwani'' (Premiership) presided over by a [[Dewan|Chief Diwan]] who oversaw revenue administration, both positions were to ultimately answer to the Emperor.<ref name=subahdar-Diwan>{{cite web |publisher=Murshidabad.net |date=8 May 2012 |title=Murshidabad History - The Nawabs and Nazims |url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-nawab.htm |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903091902/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-nawab.htm |archive-date=3 September 2012 }}</ref>

In 1704 over a bitter rivalry between the incumbent Subahdar, Royal prince [[Azim-ush-Shan]] and his Chief Diwan [[Murshid Quli Khan]] which led to the former being shifted elsewhere by [[Emperor Aurangzeb|Aurangzeb]], leaving Murshid Quli Khan as sole de-facto governor of all of Bengal Subah, Aurangzeb would die 3 years later. This meant that, aside from the striking of coins in the Mughal Emperor's name and nominal tribute to the court, Bengal became independent under Murshid in all but name, as became the norm in many other Subahs of the Empire following his death and the various succession crises that followed soon after.<ref name="Bengal de-facto independence">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ga-pmgxsWwoC&q=balaji+vishwanath+peshwa&pg=PA11 |title=History Modern India – S. N. Sen – Google Books |access-date=6 July 2012 |isbn=9788122417746 |last1=Sen |first1=S. N. |year=2006|publisher=New Age International }}</ref> This was cemented in 1717 in Bengal when Mughal Emperor [[Farrukhsiyar]] officially granted the title of ''Nawab'' (equivalent to [[Grand duke]]) to him.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Nawab |title=Nawab |website=Banglapedia |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001213500/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Nawab |url-status=live}}</ref>

This allowed for the English to grow their own influence in this anarchy.<ref name="Dalrymple2019"/> In 1717, Farrukhsiyar also issued a ''Farman'' (decree) which granted the EIC the right to trade within Bengal coupled with some exemptions for taxation. While as per Indian custom, this was but honorary, in the eyes of company officials it had granted them an "encompassing devolved sovereignty over Bengal", making them equals to even the newly christened Nawab and sowed the seeds of tension between the two. {{sfn|Bayly|2013|p=329}}

===Initial Tensions===

With the outbreak of the [[War of the Austrian Succession|Austrian War of Succession]] in Europe the EIC fought [[Carnatic wars|numerous wars against the French]] for control of the south-eastern coast of the subcontinent. Starting in September 1746 when French Navy officer [[Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais|Mahé de La Bourdonnais]] landed off [[Chennai|Madras]] with a Naval squadron and [[Battle of Madras|laid siege to the city]] which fell after 3 days. Following a failed counterattack by the British and the [[Carnatic Sultanate|Nawab of Arcot]] [[Anwaruddin Khan]] to retake the city and a failed [[Siege of Pondicherry (1748)|siege of Pondicherry]], the war ended in 1748 with the treaty of [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] which brought back the ''[[Status quo ante bellum|status-quo ante bellum]]''.

Between the Company's notion of sovereignty over Bengal and the outbreak of the Carnatic wars with France in the south, tensions with the Nawab were high, with the attitude of Nawab [[Alivardi Khan]] (r. 1740 - 1756) towards the Europeans being described as 'strict', causing friction between him and the British who frequently complained of Alivardi's taxing of them to finance defenses against the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] during the [[Maratha invasions of Bengal]] and not being allowed to enjoy the full privileges granted to them as per Farrukhsiyar's Decree. {{sfn|Hill|1905|pp=xxx-xxxiii}}

When Nawab [[Siraj ud-Daulah]] ascended to the throne in April of 1756, he was deeply suspicious of the large profits made by the British and troubled by their notion of 'sovereignty' by constructing a [[Fort William, West Bengal|fort]] at [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] and so began seeking an alliance with France; despite this he still tried to keep the line of negotiation with the EIC open, however negotiations broke down soon after the outbreak of the [[Seven Years' War]], which while largely taking place in the South on the Indian front, prompted both the French and the British to improve their fortifications in Bengal, which Siraj ud-Daulah opposed, while the French yielded the British did not, sparking war between both parties.{{sfn|Bayly|2013|p=338}}{{sfn|Bayly|2013|p=329}}

On June 1st 1756 a column of the Nawab's men marched on the Company factory at [[Cossimbazar]] and seized it easily before setting of towards the other factory at Calcutta which was [[Siege of Calcutta|besieged on June 16th and fell 4 days later]].{{sfn|Hill|1905|pp=lv–lx}} When news of this broke Madras on August 16th, the company sent a detachment under Colonel [[Robert Clive]] to retake Calcutta and restore the Company's previous privileges, the ensuing conflict lasted nearly a full year, culminating at the [[Battle of Plassey]] on June 23rd, 1757. In the aftermath of which, Siraj ud-Daulah was arrested, tried and executed at the behest of the British, and [[Mir Jafar]] would be placed on the throne as a puppet of the British up till his removal in 1760, with his son-in-law [[Mir Qasim]] taking his place.

Upon his ascension, Qasim awarded the company with lavish gifts as did Mir Jafar, though just like his predecessor, he too realized the difficulty of appeasing the company with the royal coffers at [[Murshidabad]] nearly depleted and ran into multiple issues with the company regarding trade. For example, to enrich themselves, the company had passed an enactment in virtue of which country goods that had European passes should be allowed to descend the [[Hooghly River|Hooghly river]], a major artery of trade, without paying the transit duty, whilst goods unprovided with such passes should pay a heavy tax. Even the English flag flying over a boat or a fleet of boats, or the appearance on board of Bengalis dressed as English Sepoys were sufficient to exempt the boats from the search. This system, initially in place to enrich company officials so greatly disorganised local trade that entire cities were left impoverished and Bengali merchants were left destitute.<ref name="Malleson 1885">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/decisivebattleso00malluoft|page=[https://archive.org/details/decisivebattleso00malluoft/page/136 136]|quote=mir qasim company trade.|title=The Decisive Battles of India, from 1746 to 1849 Inclusive|last=Malleson|first=George Bruce|date=1885|publisher=Allen|language=en}}</ref>

When Qasim retaliated, placing a modest 9% duty on European traders' private goods as against a duty of 40% for Indians, the Company revolted against it, even after he reduced it from 9% to 2.5% on salt and they further refused to admit the right of the local [[Faujdar|faujdars]] or police officers to adjudge disputes. Finally, Qasim abolished all custom duties on internal trade all together, the Company objected to this, demanding that that they be reinstated, to which Qasim refused, charting the path towards war.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |year=2012 |chapter=Mir Qasim |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mir_Qasim |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

==Hostilities==
Hostilities officially began on June 25th, 1763 when Company agent William Ellis, initially sent to as part of a delegation to mediate negotiations with the Nawab Mir Qasim , attacked his capital city of [[Patna]] with a force of some 300 British infantrymen and 2,500 sepoys and was met with a counterattack of some 10,000 Sepoys and rebels loyal to Mir Qasim led by his [[Armenians in India|Armenian]] mercenary general Gurgin Khan soon after, leading to a British defeat and the capture of Ellis. {{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=780}}{{sfn | Clodfelter | 2017 | p=111}}

After the defeat of British forces at the battle, command was put under the command of [[Thomas Adams (British Army officer)|Major Thomas Adams]] who began the campaign on July 2nd, the first major engagement of the campaign was at [[Third Battle of Katwa|Katwa]]. At the onset, Qasim had numerical superiority and superior artillery, led by Gurgin Khan, though it was fraught with internal strife and the column that engaged Liuetenant Glenn's force near the British camp of Agradwip on the morning of the 17th was considerably smaller and led by a band of cavalry irregulars, who after hours of fighting were defeated by the British who continued to press towards the fort at Katwa, which surrendered with feeble resistance.<ref name="Malleson & Bruce 1885">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/decisivebattleso00malluoft|page=[https://archive.org/details/decisivebattleso00malluoft/page/151 151]|quote=mir qasim battle katwa.|title=The Decisive Battles of India, from 1746 to 1849 Inclusive|last=Malleson|first=George Bruce|date=1885|publisher=Allen|language=en}}</ref>

Then, on the 19th of July, Mir Qasim's general, the Faujdar of [[Birbhum district|Birbhum]] Mohammed Taki Shah moved the vanguard of his force to Takwa which saw "one of the bloodiest and best-contested battles of the whole war."<ref name="Malleson 1885" /> Ultimately Taki Shah was killed and Qasim was forced to retreat

Mir Qasim set up his defenses near [[Jangipur, Murshidabad|Jangipur]] on [[Suti|Sooty]] on the plain of [[Giria, India|Giria]]. British forces under Major Thomas Adams attacked on 2 August 1763 and, after a bloody battle, forced Mir Quasim to retreat to Udaynala.{{which|date=June 2024}}{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=392}}

Mir Qasim was defeated again at Udaynala,{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=780}} where the British headed by Major Thomas Adams successfully stormed a well-defended [[Ganges]] gorge at [[Teliagarhi]] downstream of [[Rajmahal]] on 5 September 1763. After inflicting heavy losses at the gorge, Adams captured [[Monghyr]].{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=1049}}

After Udaynala, Mir Qasim killed the British soldiers captured in the 1st battle of Patna. Major Thomas Adams besieged Patna and captured the town in the 2nd battle of Patna on 6 November 1763 that saw heavy losses in the Bengal army.{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=780}}

[[Mir Qasim]] forged an alliance against the East India Company with Mughal Emperor [[Shah Alam II]] and the [[Nawab of Awadh|Awadhi Nawab]] [[Shuja-ud-Daula]].{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=177}}

On 3 May 1764 British EIC forces under the command of Colonel John Carnac were victorious in a 3rd battle at Patna{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=177}} against the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-Daula. The British occupied defensive positions outside of Patna and caused heavy losses for the attacking Shuja's forces. After repulsing the attack, Carnac decided against a pursuit, but heavy rains caused Nawab's retreat a month later.{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=780}}

===Battle of Buxar===
{{main|Battle of Buxar}}
On 23 October 1764, following the 3rd Patna battle, British forces under the command of [[Hector Munro, 8th Laird of Novar|Major Hector Munro]], despite their numeric inferiority, carried a decisive victory over Indian allies at [[Buxar]], west of Patna.{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=177}}

After the battle of Buxar, Mir Qasim's and Shujah-ud-Daula's forces retreated into [[Gangetic Doab]] with Major [[John Carnac]] in pursuit. They managed to join forces with a [[Marathas|Marathi]] army headed by [[Malhar Rao Holkar]]. On May 1765 the British successfully defeated them. After the rout that followed, Malhar Rao fled to [[Kalpi]], and Mir Qasim sued for peace.{{sfn | Jaques | 2006 | p=542}}

==Aftermath==
As a result of the war, the EIC became an indispensable military and fiscal instrument for the [[Mughal Emperor]] who was relying on the Company's military protection and financial means.{{sfn|Nadeau|2023|p=17}} While becoming effectively an indespensible power in Bengal and Northern India by controlling the Bengal ''[[Dewan#Mughal empire|diwani]]'' in exchange for a fixed payment, the company was also saddled with a large cost that EIC was forced to continue carrying due to commercial and political reasons.{{sfn|Nadeau|2023|p=216}} The document granting the revenues to the EIC was treated as a proto-constitution, a "[[Magna Carta]]".{{sfn | Bayly| 2013 | p=330}}

In 1773 (Regulating Act of 1773), East India company took complete control of the former Mughal province of Bengal and it marked the beginning of direct British rule in Bengal.{{sfn|Bayly|2013|p=338}}

==See also==
* [[Shah Alam II]]
* [[Mir Jafar]]
* [[Great Bengal famine of 1770]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{Citation|title=Bengal in 1756–1757|volume=1 |editor1-first=S.C. |editor1-last=Hill |year=1905 |series=Indian Records |publisher=John Murray |location=London |oclc=469357208 |url=https://archive.org/details/bengalin175657se01hilluoft}}
* {{cite thesis |last1=Nadeau |first1=Adam |title=Inheriting Empire: Royal proclamations, parliamentary legislation, and imperial integration in British North America and India, 1760-1793 |date=June 2023 |publisher=[[University of New Brunswick]] |url=https://unbscholar.dspace.lib.unb.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/1c7e1295-50ee-4dff-90cf-8d90e62fad60/content | degree=Doctor of Philosophy}}
* {{cite book | last=Bayly | first=C. A. | title=An Imperial State at War: Britain From 1689-1815 | chapter= The British Military–Fiscal State and Indigenous Resistance India 1750–1820 | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-134-54602-2 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdGNAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA329 | access-date=2024-06-02 | pages = 322–354}}
* {{cite book | last1=Thompson | first1=E. | last2=Garratt | first2=E.T.G.T. | title=History of British Rule in India | publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Limited | year=1999 | isbn=978-81-7156-803-1 | chapter = The Conquistadores | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93fnssiWvjoC&pg=PA80 | access-date=2024-06-04 | pages = 80–98}}
* {{cite book | last=Jaques | first=Tony | title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges [3 Volumes] | publisher=Greenwood | publication-place=Westport, Conn | date=2006-11-30 | isbn=978-0-313-33536-5 | oclc=ocm68786744}}
* {{cite book | last=Malleson | first=G.B. | title=The Decisive Battles of India: From 1746 to 1849 Inclusive | publisher=W.H. Allen & Company | year=1885 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0w5AQAAMAAJ | access-date=2024-06-12}}
* {{cite book | last=Clodfelter | first=M. | title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed. | publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-4766-2585-0 | chapter=Bengal War: 1763−65 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kNzCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111 | access-date=2024-07-10}}

{{India topics}}
{{United Kingdom topics}}
{{British colonial campaigns}}

[[Category:Wars involving the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Bengal Subah]]
[[Category:Wars involving the British East India Company]]

Bengal War - Revision history

Joshiankit994 at 23:24, 29 April 2026