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Mir Jafar [Mhir Jaffier Khan] [Meer Jaffeir Ally Cawn] [Murshid Quli Jafar Khan] [Syed Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan Bahadaur]
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/24/20
Mir Jafar (left) and his eldest son, Mir Miran [Mhiran] (right).
Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Bengal
6th Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
1st reign: 2 July 1757 – 20 October 1760
Predecessor: Siraj ud-Daulah
Successor: Mir Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan]
2nd reign: 25 July 1763 – 5 February 1765
Predecessor: Mir Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan]
Successor: Najimuddin Ali Khan
Born: 1691
Died: 5 February 1765 (aged 73–74), Bengal
Burial: Jafarganj Cemetery, Murshidabad
Spouse: Shah Khanum Sahiba (m. 1727, d. August 1779); Munni Begum (noble) (m. 1746, d. 10 January 1813); Rahat-un-nisa Begum (Mut'ah wife); Babbu Begum (d. 1809)
Issue: Sadiq Ali Khan Bahadur (Mir Miran) [Mhiran]; Najimuddin Ali Khan; Najabut Ali Khan (Mir Phulwari); Ashraf Ali Khan; Mubaraq Ali Khan; Hadi Ali Khan Bahadur; Fatima Begum Sahiba; Misri Begum; Roshan-un-nisa Begum Sahiba (Nishani Begum); Husaini Begum and 2 more daughters.
Full name: Syed Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan Bahadaur
House: Najafi
Father: Sayyid Ahmed Najafi (Mirza Mirak)
Religion: Shia Islam[1][2][3]
Syed Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (Bengali: সৈয়দ মীর জাফর আলী খান বাহাদুর, Persian: سید میر جعفر علی خان بہادر; c. 1691 – 5 February 1765) was a military general who became the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expansion of British control of the Indian subcontinent in Indian history and a key step in the eventual British domination of vast areas of modern-day India.
Mir Jafar served as the commander of the Bengali army under Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, but betrayed him during the Battle of Plassey and succeeded Daulah after the British victory in 1757. Mir Jafar received military support from the East India Company until 1760, when he failed to satisfy various British demands. In 1758, Robert Clive discovered that Jafar had made a treaty with the Dutch East India Company at Chinsurah through his agent Khoja Wajid. Dutch ships of the line were also seen in the River Hooghly. Jafar's dispute with the British eventually led to the Battle of Chinsurah. [SEE BELOW] British company official Henry Vansittart proposed that since Jafar was unable to cope with the difficulties, Mir Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan], Jafar's son-in-law, should act as Deputy Subahdar. In October 1760, the company forced him to abdicate in favor of Qasim. However, the East India Company eventually overthrew Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan] as well due to disputes over trade policies. Jafar was restored as the Nawab in 1763 with the support of the company. Mir Qasim, however, refused to accept this and went to war against the company. Jafar ruled until his death on 5 February 1765 and lies buried at the Jafarganj Cemetery in Murshidabad, West Bengal. Mir Jafar remains a controversial figure in Indian history and has become a symbol of intimate betrayal and treachery among Bengalis.
Subedar of the Nawab of Bengal
In 1747 the Maratha Empire led by Raghoji I Bhonsle, began to raid, pillage and annex the territories of the Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. During the Maratha invasion of Odisha, its subedar Mir Jafar and Ataullah the faujdar of Rajmahal completely withdrew all forces until the arrival of Alivardi Khan and the Mughal Army at the Battle of Burdwan where Raghoji I Bhonsle and his Maratha forces were completely routed. The enraged Alivardi Khan then dismissed the shamed Mir Jafar.[4]
Nawab of Bengal
Jafar and his son Miran delivering the Treaty of 1757 to William Watts
Jafar initially showed loyalty to Alivardi Khan's successor Siraj Ud Daulah, but betrayed him to the British in the battle of Plassey.[5] After Siraj Ud Daulah's defeat and subsequent execution, Jafar achieved his long-pursued dream of gaining the throne, and was propped up by the East India company as a puppet Nawab. Jafar paid Rs. 17,700,000 as compensation for the attack on Calcutta to the company and traders of the city. In addition, he gave bribes to the officials of the company. Robert Clive, for example, received over two million rupees, and William Watts received over one million.[6] Soon, however, he realized that company's expectations were boundless and tried to wriggle out from under them; this time with the help of the Dutch. However, the British defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Chinsurah in November 1759 and retaliated by forcing him to abdicate in favor of his son-in-law Mir Qasim. Qasim proved to be both able and independent-minded, although he soon came into dispute with the company over their refusal to pay taxes to Qasim. Mir Qasim formed an alliance to force the East India Company out of East India. The company soon went to war with him and his allies. The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 between the forces under the command of the East India Company led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim the Nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Daula the Nawab of Awadh, and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. With the defeat in Buxar, Mir Qasim was eventually overthrown. Mir Jafar managed to regain the good graces of the British; he was again installed Nawab in 1764 and held the position until his death in 1765.
Bengal War
Main article: Treaty of Allahabad
The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, reviewing the British East India Company's troops, painted in 1781.
In 1760, after gaining control over Bihar, Odisha and some parts of the Bengal, the Mughal Crown Prince Ali Gauhar and his Mughal Army of 30,000 intended to overthrow Jafar, Imad-ul-Mulk after they tried to capture or kill him by advancing towards Awadh and Patna in 1759. But the conflict soon involved the increasingly assertive East India Company. The Mughals were led by Prince Ali Gauhar, who was accompanied by Muhammad Quli Khan, Hidayat Ali, Mir Afzal and Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. Their forces were reinforced by the forces of Shuja-ud-Daula and Najib-ud-Daula. The Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and two hundred Frenchmen and waged a campaign against the British during the Seven Years' War.[8]
Although the French were eventually defeated, the conflict between the British East India Company and the Mughal Empire would continue to linger and ended in a draw, which eventually culminated during the Battle of Buxar.
Legacy
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, meeting with Jafar after Plassey, by Francis Hayman.
The breakup of the centralized Mughal empire by 1750, led to creation of a large number of independent kingdoms in Northern, Central and Western India, as also North-Western India (now Pakistan) and parts of Afghanistan (all provinces of the former Mughal empire). Each of them were in conflict with their neighbor. These kingdoms bought weapons from the British and French East India companies to aid their wars. Bengal was one such kingdom. The British and French supported whichever princes ensured their trading interest. Jafar came to power with support of British East India Company. After the defeat of Sirajuddoula and later Mir Qasim the British strengthened their position in Bengal and in 1793 abolished the nizamat (referring to the Mughal suzerainty) and took complete control of the former Mughal province. The word "mirjafar" in Bengali and the phrase "meer jafar" in Urdu, are used much as quisling is used in English, and Jaichand of Kannauj in North Indian history.[9]
Tomb of Mir Jafar, Jafarganj Cemetery, Murshidabad
See also
• Namak Haram Deorhi
• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
Notes
• "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim – a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found here
• "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai – a reference to the conspiracy can be found here
• A website dedicated to Mir Jafar
References
1. S. A. A. Rizvi, A Socio-Intellectual History of Isna Ashari Shi'is in India, Vol. 2, pp. 45–47, Mar'ifat Publishing House, Canberra (1986).
2. K. K. Datta, Ali Vardi and His Times, ch. 4, University of Calcutta Press, (1939)
3. Andreas Rieck, The Shias of Pakistan, p. 3, Oxford University Press, (2015).
4. Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313335372.
5. Mohammad Shah (2012), "Mir Jafar Ali Khan", in Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
6. Modern India by Dr. Bipin Chendra, a publication of National council of Educational Research and Training
7. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1852). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 13. University Press. pp. 123–.
8. O`malley, L.S.S. (1924). Bihar And Orissa District Gazetteers Patna. Concept Publishing Company, 1924. ISBN 9788172681210.
9. Ahsan, Syed Badrul (31 October 2005). "Iskandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, and October 1958". New Age. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
External links
• "Riyazu-s-salatin", A History of Bengal, Ghulam Husain Salim (translated from the Persian): viewable online at the Packard Humanities Institute
• Mir Jafar Ali Khan in Banglapedia
• Humayun, Mirza (2002). From Plassey to Pakistan. Washington D.C.: University Press of America; Revised edition (28 July 2002). ISBN 0-7618-2349-2.
• Murshidabad History-Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan
• Descendant of Mir Jafar fights to erase stamp of treachery from family name
*************************
Mir Jafar
by Britannica.com
Accessed: 11/24/20
Mīr Jaʿfar, in full Mīr Muḥammad Jaʿfar Khan, (born 1691?—died Feb. 5, 1765, Bengal, India), first Bengal ruler (1757–60; 1763–65) under British influence, which he helped bring about by working for the defeat of Mughal rule there.
An Arab by birth, Mīr Jaʿfar assisted his brother-in-law, Gen. ʿAlī Vardī Khan, in seizing the government of Bengal in 1740. Discontented, he conspired with others in 1756 to depose Sirāj al-Dawlah, the grandson and successor of ʿAlī Vardī. In 1757 he assured Robert Clive, British governor of Madras (now Chennai), that he would enter into an alliance with the British to exclude the French from Bengal and pay £500,000 to the East India Company and £250,000 to the European inhabitants of Calcutta (now Kolkata) to compensate them for the loss of the city to Sirāj the previous year, provided that the British support his bid to be ruler of Bengal. He also promised large gratuities to British military and naval forces and to the Calcutta city council members. He and his fellow conspirators took no active role in the Battle of Plassey (June 1757), in which Sirāj was overthrown, but he was installed afterward as the nawab (Muslim ruler) of Bengal.
Mīr Jaʿfar found the Bengal treasury unexpectedly small, but he undertook the fulfillment of his financial promises and issued free passes for the private trade of the English merchants, policies that led to the state’s financial ruin and a demoralization of the East India Company’s servants that marked the early years of British rule. After Clive’s departure in 1760, Mir Jaʿfar was deposed in favour of his son-in-law Mīr Qāsim. Reinstated in 1763 on the outbreak of war between the English and Mīr Qāsim, he made concessions to the English that led to his financial and political downfall. At his death he was addicted to opium and suffered from leprosy.
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Battle of Chinsurah
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/24/20
Battle of Chinsurah
Part of the Seven Years' War
Date: 24–25 November 1759
Location: Chinsurah, Bengal (22.9000°N 88.3900°E)
Result: British victory
Belligerents: British East India Company / Dutch East India Company / Nawab of Bengal
Commanders and leaders: Colonel Francis Forde; Captain Charles Wilson / Colonel Jean Baptiste Roussel / Mir Jafar
Strength: 300 European infantry; 800 local infantry; 50 European cavalry; 200 local cavalry; 3 naval vessels / 150 Europeans (Chinsurah garrison); 300 locals (Chinsurah garrison); 700 Europeans (arriving troops); 800 Malays (arriving troops) / 100 cavalry
Casualties and losses: -- / 320 killed; 300 wounded; 550 captured; 6 ships surrendered; 1 grounded / --
Third Carnatic War
Chandannagar / Plassey / Cuddalore/ Negapatam/ Condore/ Madras/ Masulipatam/ Pondicherry (naval) / Chinsurah / Wandiwash/ Pondicherry (siege)
The Battle of Chinsurah (also known as the Battle of Biderra or Battle of Hoogly[1]) took place near Chinsurah, India on 25 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War between a force of British troops mainly of the British East India Company and a force of the Dutch East India Company which had been invited by the Nawab of Bengal Mir Jafar to help him eject the British and establish themselves as the leading commercial company in Bengal. Despite Britain and the Dutch Republic not formally being at war, the Dutch advanced up the Hooghly River. They met a mixed force of British and local troops at Chinsurah, just outside Calcutta. The British, under Colonel Francis Forde, defeated the Dutch, forcing them to withdraw. The British engaged and defeated the ships the Dutch used to deliver the troops in a separate naval battle on 24 November.
Background
Following the British capture and destruction of the French outpost at Chandernagore in 1757, Mir Jafar, the Nawab of Bengal, opened secret negotiations with representatives of the Dutch East India Company to bring troops into Dutch holdings in the area with the goal of using against the British. Britain and the Dutch Republic were at peace, although tensions were high due to the Seven Years' War, and British East India Company administrator Robert Clive was preoccupied with fighting the French. The Dutch directors of the outpost at Chinsurah, not far from Chandernagore, seeing an opportunity to expand their influence, agreed to send additional troops to Chinsurah. A 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 the Nawab was meeting with Clive in Calcutta.
The Nawab had been forced to ask the British for assistance against threats on his northern border in the interim, and told Clive that he would return to Hooghly, summon the Dutch directors, and demand the departure of their ships. After meeting with the Dutch, he informed Clive that he had granted the Dutch some privileges, and that they would leave as soon as circumstances permitted. This news, combined with reports that the Dutch were recruiting in and around Chinsurah, led Clive to treat the situation as a real military threat.
Of four ships he had available, Clive sent one out in an attempt to request assistance from Admiral Cornish, who was patrolling the coast. The Dutch captured this ship when they seized several smaller British vessels on the Hooghly River. Clive called out the militia and put out calls for volunteers, increased the fortifications on the river batteries, and sent Colonel Francis Forde with five hundred men toward Chandernagore with an eye toward capturing the Dutch outpost at Barnagore and intercepting the Dutch should they try to take Chandernagore.
The Dutch landed their troops on the northern shore of the Hooghly on 21 November, just beyond the range of the English river batteries, and marched for Chinsurah.
Events
Naval battle
The three remaining British ships had followed the Dutch ships up the river at some distance. When the Dutch had finished landing the troops, the Dutch ships began moving down the river. On 23 November, Commodore Charles Wilson, commander of the British flotilla, indicated that he wanted to pass the Dutch, who threatened to fire on the British if they did. The next day, after the rejection of an ultimatum from Clive demanding restitution for the earlier Dutch seizures, the two fleets engaged. In a two-hour battle, the Duke of Dorset forced the Dutch flagship Vlissingen to strike her colours, while Hardwicke and Calcutta chased off two ships and grounded a third before the remaining ships also struck their colours. (Other British ships arriving at the mouth of the river eventually captured the two remaining fleeing Dutch ships.)
Chandernagore (Now Chandannagar)
On the night of 23 November, Forde and his men encamped near Chandernagore, having successfully taken control of Barnagore (Now Baranagar). The Dutch, hoping to trap Forde between the arriving troops and the Chinsurah garrison, sent their arriving troops out to camp in the ruins of Chandernagore that night. The following morning the two forces engaged.
Forde's men routed the Dutch, forcing them back to Chinsurah, and captured the Dutch field artillery. There additional troops sent from Calcutta joined Forde, raising the size of his force to about 1200 men. The Nawab also sent 100 cavalry to the British camp, ostensibly to assist the British; these were likely placed to observe the battle and side with the victors.
With reports from prisoners that the Dutch reinforcements would be arriving the next day, Forde rushed a message to Clive in Calcutta requesting advice, as attacking the Dutch force could be viewed as an act of war. Clive responded by writing on the back of Forde's message, "Dear Forde—Fight them immediately", and sending it back.
Biderra
Forde chose as his location the plain of Biderra, between Chinsurah and Chandernagore. His troops occupied the village of Biderra on the right and a mango grove to the left; a wide ditch secured the center. At about 10 on the morning of 25 November, the Dutch force arrived. As soon as they came within range, Forde ordered his field artillery to fire. The Dutch continued to advance in spite of the British fire until they reached the ditch, something they had not apparently been aware of. When the front of the Dutch lines stopped, the rear continued to press forward, throwing the Dutch forces into confusion. As their position was then within range of British musket fire, they suffered significant casualties before managing to turn retreat. At this point Forde sent out his cavalry, inviting the nawab's men to join the charge. However, the nawab's men held back and did not join the British until the second charge, when it seemed clear they would be victorious.
Aftermath
The British victory was so complete that, of the Dutch troops sent, only sixteen Europeans successfully reached Chinsurah.
In the wake of their victory, the British overthrew Mir Jafar and replaced him with his son-in-law Mir Kasim Ali Khan. Along with the Battle of Plassey, the battle helped establish British supremacy in Bengal. The battle did not affect Dutch neutrality and they remained one of the few European states not involved in the war.
See also
• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
References
1. Spectrum Modern History Of India, Rajiv Ahir, page 41.
Bibliography
• Harvey, Robert. Clive: The Life and Death of a British Emperor. Sceptre, 1999.
• Keay, John. The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company. Harper Collins, 1993
• McLynn, Frank. 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World. Pimlico, 2005.
• Malleson, George Bruce. The decisive battles of India: from 1746 to 1849 inclusive
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/24/20
Mir Jafar (left) and his eldest son, Mir Miran [Mhiran] (right).
Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Bengal
6th Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
1st reign: 2 July 1757 – 20 October 1760
Predecessor: Siraj ud-Daulah
Successor: Mir Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan]
2nd reign: 25 July 1763 – 5 February 1765
Predecessor: Mir Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan]
Successor: Najimuddin Ali Khan
Born: 1691
Died: 5 February 1765 (aged 73–74), Bengal
Burial: Jafarganj Cemetery, Murshidabad
Spouse: Shah Khanum Sahiba (m. 1727, d. August 1779); Munni Begum (noble) (m. 1746, d. 10 January 1813); Rahat-un-nisa Begum (Mut'ah wife); Babbu Begum (d. 1809)
Issue: Sadiq Ali Khan Bahadur (Mir Miran) [Mhiran]; Najimuddin Ali Khan; Najabut Ali Khan (Mir Phulwari); Ashraf Ali Khan; Mubaraq Ali Khan; Hadi Ali Khan Bahadur; Fatima Begum Sahiba; Misri Begum; Roshan-un-nisa Begum Sahiba (Nishani Begum); Husaini Begum and 2 more daughters.
Full name: Syed Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan Bahadaur
House: Najafi
Father: Sayyid Ahmed Najafi (Mirza Mirak)
Religion: Shia Islam[1][2][3]
Syed Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (Bengali: সৈয়দ মীর জাফর আলী খান বাহাদুর, Persian: سید میر جعفر علی خان بہادر; c. 1691 – 5 February 1765) was a military general who became the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expansion of British control of the Indian subcontinent in Indian history and a key step in the eventual British domination of vast areas of modern-day India.
Mir Jafar served as the commander of the Bengali army under Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, but betrayed him during the Battle of Plassey and succeeded Daulah after the British victory in 1757. Mir Jafar received military support from the East India Company until 1760, when he failed to satisfy various British demands. In 1758, Robert Clive discovered that Jafar had made a treaty with the Dutch East India Company at Chinsurah through his agent Khoja Wajid. Dutch ships of the line were also seen in the River Hooghly. Jafar's dispute with the British eventually led to the Battle of Chinsurah. [SEE BELOW] British company official Henry Vansittart proposed that since Jafar was unable to cope with the difficulties, Mir Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan], Jafar's son-in-law, should act as Deputy Subahdar. In October 1760, the company forced him to abdicate in favor of Qasim. However, the East India Company eventually overthrew Qasim [Cossim Aly Khan] as well due to disputes over trade policies. Jafar was restored as the Nawab in 1763 with the support of the company. Mir Qasim, however, refused to accept this and went to war against the company. Jafar ruled until his death on 5 February 1765 and lies buried at the Jafarganj Cemetery in Murshidabad, West Bengal. Mir Jafar remains a controversial figure in Indian history and has become a symbol of intimate betrayal and treachery among Bengalis.
Subedar of the Nawab of Bengal
In 1747 the Maratha Empire led by Raghoji I Bhonsle, began to raid, pillage and annex the territories of the Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. During the Maratha invasion of Odisha, its subedar Mir Jafar and Ataullah the faujdar of Rajmahal completely withdrew all forces until the arrival of Alivardi Khan and the Mughal Army at the Battle of Burdwan where Raghoji I Bhonsle and his Maratha forces were completely routed. The enraged Alivardi Khan then dismissed the shamed Mir Jafar.[4]
Nawab of Bengal
Jafar and his son Miran delivering the Treaty of 1757 to William Watts
Jafar initially showed loyalty to Alivardi Khan's successor Siraj Ud Daulah, but betrayed him to the British in the battle of Plassey.[5] After Siraj Ud Daulah's defeat and subsequent execution, Jafar achieved his long-pursued dream of gaining the throne, and was propped up by the East India company as a puppet Nawab. Jafar paid Rs. 17,700,000 as compensation for the attack on Calcutta to the company and traders of the city. In addition, he gave bribes to the officials of the company. Robert Clive, for example, received over two million rupees, and William Watts received over one million.[6] Soon, however, he realized that company's expectations were boundless and tried to wriggle out from under them; this time with the help of the Dutch. However, the British defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Chinsurah in November 1759 and retaliated by forcing him to abdicate in favor of his son-in-law Mir Qasim. Qasim proved to be both able and independent-minded, although he soon came into dispute with the company over their refusal to pay taxes to Qasim. Mir Qasim formed an alliance to force the East India Company out of East India. The company soon went to war with him and his allies. The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 between the forces under the command of the East India Company led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim the Nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Daula the Nawab of Awadh, and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. With the defeat in Buxar, Mir Qasim was eventually overthrown. Mir Jafar managed to regain the good graces of the British; he was again installed Nawab in 1764 and held the position until his death in 1765.
Bengal War
Main article: Treaty of Allahabad
The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, reviewing the British East India Company's troops, painted in 1781.
"Some ill-designing people had turned his brain, and carried him to the eastern part of the Mughal Empire, which would be the cause of much trouble and ruin to our regimes."
-- Imad-ul-Mulk's letter to Mir Jafar, after the escape of the Mughal crown prince Ali Gauhar.[7]
In 1760, after gaining control over Bihar, Odisha and some parts of the Bengal, the Mughal Crown Prince Ali Gauhar and his Mughal Army of 30,000 intended to overthrow Jafar, Imad-ul-Mulk after they tried to capture or kill him by advancing towards Awadh and Patna in 1759. But the conflict soon involved the increasingly assertive East India Company. The Mughals were led by Prince Ali Gauhar, who was accompanied by Muhammad Quli Khan, Hidayat Ali, Mir Afzal and Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. Their forces were reinforced by the forces of Shuja-ud-Daula and Najib-ud-Daula. The Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and two hundred Frenchmen and waged a campaign against the British during the Seven Years' War.[8]
Although the French were eventually defeated, the conflict between the British East India Company and the Mughal Empire would continue to linger and ended in a draw, which eventually culminated during the Battle of Buxar.
Legacy
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, meeting with Jafar after Plassey, by Francis Hayman.
The breakup of the centralized Mughal empire by 1750, led to creation of a large number of independent kingdoms in Northern, Central and Western India, as also North-Western India (now Pakistan) and parts of Afghanistan (all provinces of the former Mughal empire). Each of them were in conflict with their neighbor. These kingdoms bought weapons from the British and French East India companies to aid their wars. Bengal was one such kingdom. The British and French supported whichever princes ensured their trading interest. Jafar came to power with support of British East India Company. After the defeat of Sirajuddoula and later Mir Qasim the British strengthened their position in Bengal and in 1793 abolished the nizamat (referring to the Mughal suzerainty) and took complete control of the former Mughal province. The word "mirjafar" in Bengali and the phrase "meer jafar" in Urdu, are used much as quisling is used in English, and Jaichand of Kannauj in North Indian history.[9]
Tomb of Mir Jafar, Jafarganj Cemetery, Murshidabad
See also
• Namak Haram Deorhi
• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
Notes
• "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim – a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found here
• "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai – a reference to the conspiracy can be found here
• A website dedicated to Mir Jafar
References
1. S. A. A. Rizvi, A Socio-Intellectual History of Isna Ashari Shi'is in India, Vol. 2, pp. 45–47, Mar'ifat Publishing House, Canberra (1986).
2. K. K. Datta, Ali Vardi and His Times, ch. 4, University of Calcutta Press, (1939)
3. Andreas Rieck, The Shias of Pakistan, p. 3, Oxford University Press, (2015).
4. Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313335372.
5. Mohammad Shah (2012), "Mir Jafar Ali Khan", in Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
6. Modern India by Dr. Bipin Chendra, a publication of National council of Educational Research and Training
7. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1852). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 13. University Press. pp. 123–.
8. O`malley, L.S.S. (1924). Bihar And Orissa District Gazetteers Patna. Concept Publishing Company, 1924. ISBN 9788172681210.
9. Ahsan, Syed Badrul (31 October 2005). "Iskandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, and October 1958". New Age. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
External links
• "Riyazu-s-salatin", A History of Bengal, Ghulam Husain Salim (translated from the Persian): viewable online at the Packard Humanities Institute
• Mir Jafar Ali Khan in Banglapedia
• Humayun, Mirza (2002). From Plassey to Pakistan. Washington D.C.: University Press of America; Revised edition (28 July 2002). ISBN 0-7618-2349-2.
• Murshidabad History-Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan
• Descendant of Mir Jafar fights to erase stamp of treachery from family name
*************************
Mir Jafar
by Britannica.com
Accessed: 11/24/20
Mīr Jaʿfar, in full Mīr Muḥammad Jaʿfar Khan, (born 1691?—died Feb. 5, 1765, Bengal, India), first Bengal ruler (1757–60; 1763–65) under British influence, which he helped bring about by working for the defeat of Mughal rule there.
An Arab by birth, Mīr Jaʿfar assisted his brother-in-law, Gen. ʿAlī Vardī Khan, in seizing the government of Bengal in 1740. Discontented, he conspired with others in 1756 to depose Sirāj al-Dawlah, the grandson and successor of ʿAlī Vardī. In 1757 he assured Robert Clive, British governor of Madras (now Chennai), that he would enter into an alliance with the British to exclude the French from Bengal and pay £500,000 to the East India Company and £250,000 to the European inhabitants of Calcutta (now Kolkata) to compensate them for the loss of the city to Sirāj the previous year, provided that the British support his bid to be ruler of Bengal. He also promised large gratuities to British military and naval forces and to the Calcutta city council members. He and his fellow conspirators took no active role in the Battle of Plassey (June 1757), in which Sirāj was overthrown, but he was installed afterward as the nawab (Muslim ruler) of Bengal.
Mīr Jaʿfar found the Bengal treasury unexpectedly small, but he undertook the fulfillment of his financial promises and issued free passes for the private trade of the English merchants, policies that led to the state’s financial ruin and a demoralization of the East India Company’s servants that marked the early years of British rule. After Clive’s departure in 1760, Mir Jaʿfar was deposed in favour of his son-in-law Mīr Qāsim. Reinstated in 1763 on the outbreak of war between the English and Mīr Qāsim, he made concessions to the English that led to his financial and political downfall. At his death he was addicted to opium and suffered from leprosy.
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Battle of Chinsurah
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 11/24/20
Battle of Chinsurah
Part of the Seven Years' War
Date: 24–25 November 1759
Location: Chinsurah, Bengal (22.9000°N 88.3900°E)
Result: British victory
Belligerents: British East India Company / Dutch East India Company / Nawab of Bengal
Commanders and leaders: Colonel Francis Forde; Captain Charles Wilson / Colonel Jean Baptiste Roussel / Mir Jafar
Strength: 300 European infantry; 800 local infantry; 50 European cavalry; 200 local cavalry; 3 naval vessels / 150 Europeans (Chinsurah garrison); 300 locals (Chinsurah garrison); 700 Europeans (arriving troops); 800 Malays (arriving troops) / 100 cavalry
Casualties and losses: -- / 320 killed; 300 wounded; 550 captured; 6 ships surrendered; 1 grounded / --
Third Carnatic War
Chandannagar / Plassey / Cuddalore/ Negapatam/ Condore/ Madras/ Masulipatam/ Pondicherry (naval) / Chinsurah / Wandiwash/ Pondicherry (siege)
The Battle of Chinsurah (also known as the Battle of Biderra or Battle of Hoogly[1]) took place near Chinsurah, India on 25 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War between a force of British troops mainly of the British East India Company and a force of the Dutch East India Company which had been invited by the Nawab of Bengal Mir Jafar to help him eject the British and establish themselves as the leading commercial company in Bengal. Despite Britain and the Dutch Republic not formally being at war, the Dutch advanced up the Hooghly River. They met a mixed force of British and local troops at Chinsurah, just outside Calcutta. The British, under Colonel Francis Forde, defeated the Dutch, forcing them to withdraw. The British engaged and defeated the ships the Dutch used to deliver the troops in a separate naval battle on 24 November.
Background
Following the British capture and destruction of the French outpost at Chandernagore in 1757, Mir Jafar, the Nawab of Bengal, opened secret negotiations with representatives of the Dutch East India Company to bring troops into Dutch holdings in the area with the goal of using against the British. Britain and the Dutch Republic were at peace, although tensions were high due to the Seven Years' War, and British East India Company administrator Robert Clive was preoccupied with fighting the French. The Dutch directors of the outpost at Chinsurah, not far from Chandernagore, seeing an opportunity to expand their influence, agreed to send additional troops to Chinsurah. A 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 the Nawab was meeting with Clive in Calcutta.
The Nawab had been forced to ask the British for assistance against threats on his northern border in the interim, and told Clive that he would return to Hooghly, summon the Dutch directors, and demand the departure of their ships. After meeting with the Dutch, he informed Clive that he had granted the Dutch some privileges, and that they would leave as soon as circumstances permitted. This news, combined with reports that the Dutch were recruiting in and around Chinsurah, led Clive to treat the situation as a real military threat.
Of four ships he had available, Clive sent one out in an attempt to request assistance from Admiral Cornish, who was patrolling the coast. The Dutch captured this ship when they seized several smaller British vessels on the Hooghly River. Clive called out the militia and put out calls for volunteers, increased the fortifications on the river batteries, and sent Colonel Francis Forde with five hundred men toward Chandernagore with an eye toward capturing the Dutch outpost at Barnagore and intercepting the Dutch should they try to take Chandernagore.
The Dutch landed their troops on the northern shore of the Hooghly on 21 November, just beyond the range of the English river batteries, and marched for Chinsurah.
Events
Naval battle
The three remaining British ships had followed the Dutch ships up the river at some distance. When the Dutch had finished landing the troops, the Dutch ships began moving down the river. On 23 November, Commodore Charles Wilson, commander of the British flotilla, indicated that he wanted to pass the Dutch, who threatened to fire on the British if they did. The next day, after the rejection of an ultimatum from Clive demanding restitution for the earlier Dutch seizures, the two fleets engaged. In a two-hour battle, the Duke of Dorset forced the Dutch flagship Vlissingen to strike her colours, while Hardwicke and Calcutta chased off two ships and grounded a third before the remaining ships also struck their colours. (Other British ships arriving at the mouth of the river eventually captured the two remaining fleeing Dutch ships.)
Chandernagore (Now Chandannagar)
On the night of 23 November, Forde and his men encamped near Chandernagore, having successfully taken control of Barnagore (Now Baranagar). The Dutch, hoping to trap Forde between the arriving troops and the Chinsurah garrison, sent their arriving troops out to camp in the ruins of Chandernagore that night. The following morning the two forces engaged.
Forde's men routed the Dutch, forcing them back to Chinsurah, and captured the Dutch field artillery. There additional troops sent from Calcutta joined Forde, raising the size of his force to about 1200 men. The Nawab also sent 100 cavalry to the British camp, ostensibly to assist the British; these were likely placed to observe the battle and side with the victors.
With reports from prisoners that the Dutch reinforcements would be arriving the next day, Forde rushed a message to Clive in Calcutta requesting advice, as attacking the Dutch force could be viewed as an act of war. Clive responded by writing on the back of Forde's message, "Dear Forde—Fight them immediately", and sending it back.
Biderra
Forde chose as his location the plain of Biderra, between Chinsurah and Chandernagore. His troops occupied the village of Biderra on the right and a mango grove to the left; a wide ditch secured the center. At about 10 on the morning of 25 November, the Dutch force arrived. As soon as they came within range, Forde ordered his field artillery to fire. The Dutch continued to advance in spite of the British fire until they reached the ditch, something they had not apparently been aware of. When the front of the Dutch lines stopped, the rear continued to press forward, throwing the Dutch forces into confusion. As their position was then within range of British musket fire, they suffered significant casualties before managing to turn retreat. At this point Forde sent out his cavalry, inviting the nawab's men to join the charge. However, the nawab's men held back and did not join the British until the second charge, when it seemed clear they would be victorious.
Aftermath
The British victory was so complete that, of the Dutch troops sent, only sixteen Europeans successfully reached Chinsurah.
In the wake of their victory, the British overthrew Mir Jafar and replaced him with his son-in-law Mir Kasim Ali Khan. Along with the Battle of Plassey, the battle helped establish British supremacy in Bengal. The battle did not affect Dutch neutrality and they remained one of the few European states not involved in the war.
See also
• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
References
1. Spectrum Modern History Of India, Rajiv Ahir, page 41.
Bibliography
• Harvey, Robert. Clive: The Life and Death of a British Emperor. Sceptre, 1999.
• Keay, John. The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company. Harper Collins, 1993
• McLynn, Frank. 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World. Pimlico, 2005.
• Malleson, George Bruce. The decisive battles of India: from 1746 to 1849 inclusive