• The victory of the British led to the signing of the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) by Robert Clive with Shah Alam II.
• By this treaty the Company got the Diwani right to collect land revenue from the princely states of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa

• The wars fought between Britain and France in Europe also led to clashes between these two countries over their colonial possessions in North America and India.
• When the war broke out, the new Governor of Pondicherry, Dupleix appealed to Morse, the Governor of Madras, to remain neutral.
• But a British squadron under Commodore Barnett captured some of the French vessels with Indian goods and precipitated the situation

• The other Dutch colonial forts and possessions include Nagapattinam, Punnakayal, Porto Novo; Cuddalore (Tiruppathiripuliyur) and Devanampatinam.

• The first Viceroy was Francisco de Almeida who followed what is known as 'Blue Water Policy,' and accordingly, he added more ships to strengthen the navy rather than adding more settlements.
• He destroyed the fleet ofZamorin and a fleet sent by the Sultan of Egypt.
• He befriended the ruler of Cochin and built fortresses at Cochin, Kannur and other places on the Malabar coast

• Manufacturing - that is, handicraft production - was carried on both in urban and rural areas.
• Luxury crafts, like metalwork were urban based. Weaving was mostly done in rural areas. India had a great advantage in that cotton was grown in the country.
• Indian craft communities also possessed specialized knowledge about dyeing cotton using chemicals like alum to produce a permanent colour.

• The Tamil region, presented a sharp contrast to the centralized stability of the Mughal empire in these decades.
• Politically the region was fragmented and unsettled. Under three Nayak kingdoms had been set up in the Tamil region: in Madurai, Thanjavur and Senji.

• The objective was to provide financial and manpower resources to the empire.
• After the defeat of Vijayanagar in 1565 in the Battle ofTalikota by the combined forces of the rulers of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golkonda, the central authority of the once dominant kingdom became very weak.

• Anandarangam (1709-1761), was born to a leading merchant of the time named Tiruvengadam Pillai
• After his father's death at Pondicherry, in view of the support given by the French Governors Dumas and Dupleix became the greatest merchant at Pondicherry. 
• Dupleix appointed him the Chief Dubhashi (one who knows two languages) and Chief Commercial Agent (1746). This enabled him to emerge as a man of substantial political influence at Pondicheriy.

• The Portuguese who established a control over Pulicat since 1502 were overthrown by the Dutch.
• In Pulicat, located 60 kilometers north of Chennai, the Dutch built the Castle Geldria. The remains of this 400 year old fort can be seen even now. This fort was once the seat of Dutch power.
• The Dutch established control of Masulipatnam in 1605 and they established their settlement at Pulicat in 1610. The other Dutch colonial forts and possessions include Nagapattinam, Punnakayal, Porto Novo, Cuddalore (Tiruppathiripuliyur) and Devanampatinam.
• Pulicat served as the Coromandel headquarters of the Dutch East India Company. Diamonds were exported from Pulicat to the western countries. Nutmeg, cloves, and mace too were sent from here to Europe.
• A gun powder factory was also set up by the Dutch to augment their military power.
• One less known fact about the Dutch is they were involved in slave trade. People from Bengal and from settlements such as Tengapattinam and Karaikal were brought to Pulicat.
• The Dutch employed brokers at Madras for catching and shipping slaves. Famines, droughts and war that resulted in food shortage led to the flourishing of the slave trade.

• The arrival of the Europeans, beginning with the Portuguese, was the first major external shock to this well established and regulated system of trade.
• The primary interest of the Europeans was in securing spices for Europe directly. In the olden days, the spices were carried to the Persian Gulf ports and then overland to the Mediterranean.
• They soon learned that a simple bilateral exchange was not workable in the Asian markets. This was mainly because there was no demand in the local economies for the products of Europe, other than gold or silver.
• On the other hand, because of the universal demand in south-east Asian markets for Indian textiles, clothes from India served as a substitute medium of exchange.
• The demand for the painted fabrics of the Coromandel coast in the Indonesian islands, in particular, made the Dutch and the English set up their establishments on the east coast to procure the cloth that could be profitably exchanged for spices.

• Under Vijayanagar rule, three Nayak kingdoms had been set up in the Tamil region; in Madurai, Thanjavur and Senji. The objective was to provide financial and manpower resources to the empire.
• After the defeat of Vijayanagar in 1565 in the Battle ofTalikota by the combined forces of the rulers of Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golkonda, the central authority of the once dominant kingdom became very weak.
• The Nayak kingdoms became virtually autonomous, though they made a ritualistic acknowledgment of the authority of the Vijayanagar emperor .
• In addition to the larger Nayak kingdoms, several local chiefs also controlled some parts of the region. The most notable of them was probably the Setupati of Ramanathapuram, who was also keen to assert his independence.

• Dupleix, French governor, had conceived the possibility of using the power of guns to gain support within the country itself.
• Dupleix was a man of remarkable energy and diplomatic skills with a piercing vision into the realities of local politics, though hampered by lack of military knowledge and by a nervous sensibility which made it difficult for him to work with colleagues. 
• It happened that at this moment a breakdown occurred in the authority of the Nizam of whose dominions the Carnatic with its European settlements formed a part.
• This provided the opportunity for the second phase of the struggle, which may be termed Dupleix's private war.
• In 1748 the old Nizam, a contemporary of Aurangzeb, died and there was also rivalry for the governorship of the Carnatic.
• French help secured the defeat of the new Nizam's nominee so easily that Dupleix was tempted to go further. On the murder of the new Nizam he was able to place his own nominee on the Hyderabad throne supported by a body of French troops under officer de Bussy .
• The object of all this was to squeeze Madras by surrounding it with hostile territory. As the plan developed the English Company propped up Muhammad Ali, the son of the governor defeated in 1749.
• He held out in the rock fortress of Trichinopoly and he became a key factor in the struggle between the two companies. But Robert Clive, a British general, seized Arcot in 1751 with 210 men.
• This led to the reversal of fortune, French forces surrendered at Trichinopoly and soon their candidate for the Nizam's chair, Chanda Sahib, also died. Dupliex was soon recalled.
• The final phase was again an open struggle brought on by the Seven Years War. The English were first in the field but their force was diverted to Bengal.
• When the French forces arrived in 1758 they were crippled by jealousies and bad leadership. They failed to take Madras and were decisively defeated at Wandiwash in 1760, where de Bussy was taken prisoner.
• Brave to the last de Bussy endured an agonizing siege in Pondicherry for eight months until its fall. This was the real end of the French bid for Indian power.
• They reappeared in 1782 but it was just a passing phase only made notable by the genius of their admiral de Suffren

• The British had to fight three wars (1746- 1763) with the French to establish their supremacy, which in history are called the Carnatic wars.
First Carnatic War 1746-48:
• The Austrian War of Succession and Seven Years War fought in Europe had their repercussions in India.
• The Austrian ruler Charles VI died in 1740 and was succeeded by his daughter Maria Theresa.
• France did not support her succession and joined hands with German-speaking territories of Austria such as Bavaria, Saxony and Spain:
• Frederick II (known as Frederick the Great of Prussia) taking advantage of the emerging political situation invaded and annexed Silesia, an Austrian province, with the support of France.
• The wars fought between Britain and France in Europe also led to clashes between these two countries over their colonial possessions in North America and India.
The Second Carnatic War: 1749-54
 • In Europe peace prevailed between the British and the French. But the two colonial powers could not live in peace in India.
• They played one native ruler against the other. Dupleix wanted to enhance the French influence by involving in the wars of succession in both Hyderabad and Arcot .
The Third Carnatic War: 1756-1763
• The third Carnatic War was an echo of the Seven Years War (1756-1763) which broke out in Europe in 1756: It was a global conflict and was fought between the two arch-rivals Britain and France.
• The war was fought in North America (resulting in the American War of Independence), and West Africa (which later became the French West Africa).
• In India it manifested itself in the Third Carnatic war. Before turning our attention to the Third Carnatic War, let us see what happened in Bengal in the meantime.

• For the first time in the political history of India the Europeans conquered and seized territories from the Indian rulers.
• Indian rulers remained divided and Europeans took advantage of it.
• The Europeans adopted new methods in the warfare. Gun powder and superior artillery played a significant role.
• The Portuguese could contain the monopolistic trade of the Arabs. But it did not really help them. Instead, it benefited the British who removed pirates on the sea routes and made the sea voyage safe.
• The marriages between Europeans and Indians, encouraged by the Portuguese in the territories occupied by them, created a new Eurasian racial group. They were the ones who were later taken to other Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia.
• The presence of Portuguese is very much evident in Chennai's San Thome. Mylapore was the Portuguese 'Black Town'. (Black Town of the British period was George Town)

4. Bombay, as an important trade centre , attracted merchants from Surat and other parts Odisha.

4. Dupleix's dream of establishing a French empire appeared good for some time.

4. Famines, droughts, and war that resulted in food shortage led to the flourishing of the slave trade