Latest / The Rise of Colonialism: How Europe Divided the World — Fexingo History / After Plassey: The Treaty of Paris and the Birth of British India
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've spent a bunch of episodes on the Carnatic Wars and the chaos in Bengal, how the British East India Company basically muscled its way into becoming a territorial power. But the thing that often gets skimmed over is the global war that was happening at the same time — the Seven Years' War. Luna: Right, the war that started in North America and ended up redrawing maps everywhere. Lucas: Exactly. And in India, the decisive showdown wasn't Plassey — that was more of a coup d'état. The real military clash that settled French versus British dominance was the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760. Lucas: Wandiwash is a small town in what's now Tamil Nadu, about a hundred kilometres west of Pondichéry. By this point, the French commander was the Comte de Lally — Thomas Arthur, baron de Tollendal. He was an Irish-born French general, a fiery character, and he'd been sent to India in 1758 with a mission: drive the British out. Luna: Wait, an Irishman leading the French in India? Lucas: Yeah, it sounds odd, but remember, France had a long tradition of welcoming Irish exiles — the Wild Geese. Lally's father had been a Jacobite who fled after the Battle of the Boyne. So Lally grew up French, fought in Europe, and then got shipped to Pondichéry. And he was absolutely convinced he could crush the British. Lucas: But he faced huge problems from the start. The French Compagnie des Indes Orientales was chronically underfunded, its officials in Pondichéry were more interested in private trade than winning wars, and Lally's own temper made him enemies. He quarrelled with everyone — the governor, the naval officers, even his own troops. Luna: So not exactly a united front. Lucas: Not at all. Meanwhile, the British had Sir Eyre Coote — a steady, methodical commander who'd served under Clive. On January 22, 1760, their armies met at Wandiwash. Lally had about 2,200 European troops and 1,300 sepoys, with maybe 20 guns. Coote had roughly equal numbers, but his men were better supplied and more disciplined. Lucas: The battle itself was a classic 18th-century European line engagement — but fought in the heat of the Carnatic. Lally made a critical mistake: he sent his cavalry off on a pointless flanking move, leaving his infantry exposed. Coote's artillery tore into the French lines, and when the French cavalry finally returned, it was too late. Luna: So the French army was shattered. Lucas: It was. The French lost about 600 dead and wounded, and another 200 prisoners, plus all their guns. Coote lost around 200 men. More importantly, the French never recovered from Wandiwash. Lally retreated to Pondichéry, and Coote promptly laid siege to the city. Lucas: The siege of Pondichéry lasted from March 1760 to January 1761. The British blockaded by land and sea. Inside, conditions became desperate — food ran out, disease spread. Lally held out for ten months, hoping for a relief fleet from France, but it never came. Luna: Did he surrender eventually? Lucas: Yes, on January 15, 1761. The terms were harsh: the entire garrison became prisoners of war. And the British didn't just occupy Pondichéry — they deliberately razed it to the ground. They destroyed the city walls, the public buildings, even the churches. The idea was to make sure the French could never use it as a base again. Lucas: But here's the twist: the war wasn't over yet. The Seven Years' War continued in Europe and elsewhere until 1763. So the fate of Pondichéry — and all French claims in India — hung on the peace negotiations. Lucas: When the Treaty of Paris was finally signed on February 10, 1763, France got Pondichéry back — but as a trading post only, with no fortifications. And they had to accept British supremacy over the Carnatic. The French East India Company effectively ceased to be a political player. Luna: So the treaty basically formalised what Wandiwash had already decided on the ground. Lucas: Exactly. And this matters because it cleared the field for the British. With the French gone, the only power left that could challenge the Company was the Mughal Empire — but the Mughals were already in steep decline. Regional rulers like the Nawab of Arcot, who had played both sides during the wars, now had no choice but to align with the British. Lucas: And this brings us back to something we talked about in the Plassey episodes: the diwani — the right to collect revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, which the Company got in 1765. That revenue gave them the financial muscle to maintain an army larger than many European states. Luna: So the Treaty of Paris isn't just a European peace — it's the moment when Britain's Indian empire becomes possible. Lucas: Absolutely. Without the elimination of the French threat, the Company could never have consolidated its hold on Bengal or expanded into the Carnatic. Lally's defeat at Wandiwash and the destruction of Pondichéry were the military prerequisites for everything that followed, including the gradual takeover of the rest of India. Lucas: And there's a sad postscript for Lally himself. He was taken prisoner by the British, but eventually released on parole. When he returned to France, he was scapegoated for the loss of India. The French government put him on trial for treason, and in 1766 he was executed — beheaded in Paris, despite his lifelong service. Luna: That is brutal. He was fighting with inadequate resources against a better-supplied enemy. Lucas: He was. And ironically, it took years for his name to be cleared. His son actually managed to get a posthumous rehabilitation during the French Revolution. But Lally's fate shows how much the French elite wanted someone to blame for their imperial failure. Lucas: You know, covering these stories episode by episode — Plassey, the Carnatic Wars, the Black Hole, now Wandiwash — it really makes you appreciate what a small, contingent thing history is. If Lally had gotten that relief fleet, if Clive had died at Arcot, the whole trajectory changes. Luna: It does. And honestly, that's why I love this show. It's like we're piecing together a puzzle. Lucas: Yeah, and if you've been coming along with us through these conversations — about the Seven Years' War, the Treaty of Paris, all of it — and if today's episode felt worth a coffee to you, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Every little bit helps keep this ad-free and independent. We really appreciate it. Lucas: So back to the treaty's legacy. One consequence often overlooked is how the Peace of Paris reshaped the relationship between the Company and the British state. Before 1763, the Company was a private enterprise, mostly left to its own devices. Afterward, the British government started paying much closer attention, because India was now tied to global great-power politics. Luna: Did that lead to more regulation? Lucas: Eventually, yes. The Regulating Act of 1773 and later Pitt's India Act of 1784 brought the Company under government oversight. But in the immediate aftermath of the treaty, the Company was riding high — they had a monopoly on trade, they controlled Bengal's revenues, and they had a military that no Indian state could match. Lucas: And that military superiority was proven again and again in the decades after 1763. The battles of Buxar in 1764, where the Company defeated the combined armies of the Mughal emperor and the Nawab of Oudh, really sealed the deal. After Buxar, the Company became the de facto ruler of Bengal and the paramount power in northern India. Luna: So the Treaty of Paris wasn't just the end of the French threat — it was the starting gun for the British Raj. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why I wanted to cover it. The Treaty of Paris 1763 is often taught as a European event, but its consequences in India were transformative. It's the hinge that swings from European trading posts to territorial empire. Lucas: Next time, we might look at what happened to the Mughals after Buxar — how the last emperors became puppets in their own capital. But for now, I think we've got a good picture of how the Seven Years' War ended French hopes in India and launched the Company on its path to ruling a subcontinent. Luna: I'd love to hear about the Mughals after Buxar. That sounds like a whole new chapter. Lucas: It is. And we'll get into it. For now, thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on Fexingo History.