The Treaty of Alinagar, signed on February 9, 1757, between the Nawab of Bengal and the East India Company, effectively ended British colonial expansion in India.
About
- The Treaty of Alinagar was signed on February 9, 1757, by Robert Clive of the East India Company and Mirza Muhammad Siraj Ud Daula, then Nawab of Bengal.
- It is said to have been one of the major events preceding the Battle of Plassey later that year.
- Plassey was the site of the English’s decisive victory over the nawab. It paved the way for the takeover of Bengal by the East India Company.
- The name Alinagar was a passing reference to modern-day Kolkata, and the treaty was negotiated after the nawab was confronted by both British and Afghan forces.
- He made a deal with the former, but the truce was short-lived.
A Brief History of the British Invasion of India
- Following the Anglo-Mughal War, which lasted from 1686 to 1690, the British began to consolidate their presence in the subcontinent.
- By the beginning of the 18th century, it had established Fort St. George in what was then Madras, Fort William in what was then Calcutta, and Bombay Castle.
- The British initially assisted local princes and nawabs in quelling uprisings or revolts, in exchange for concessions.
The Treaty’s Path
- With over 700 men, the British attacked the town of Hooghly, near Calcutta, in January 1757.
- The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah, who had only taken power a year before in his early twenties, mobilised forces.
- His troops would defeat the British and arrive in Calcutta on January 10, 1757, despite losing over 600 men.
- However, the nawab’s confidence had been shaken as a result of the war’s losses.
- On February 9, 1757, he signed the Treaty of Alinagar with Robert Clive, who became the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency.
- Siraj-ud-daulah agreed to the restoration of the company’s factories and permitted Calcutta’s fortification.
Following the battle
- The British moved on to seize the remaining French territories in Bengal, laying siege to Chandannagar.
- The nawab, on the other hand, was not pleased.
- Daulah, on the other hand, was wary of Afghan forces led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marathas.
- Traders in his kingdom were already wary of him, and there was a plot hatched by his military commander, Mir Jafar.
- On June 23, 1757, events would culminate in the Battle of Plassey.
- It resulted in the East India Company gaining control of Bengal and was a significant event in the subcontinent’s rise to power.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Alinagar