Battle of Chandannagar

{{Short description|1757 battle of the Third Carnatic War and Seven Years' War}} {{One source|date=September 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = Battle of Chandannagar | partof = the Third Carnatic War and Seven Years' War | image = Capture de Chandernagor en 1757 par la Royal Navy.jpg | caption = ''The Capture of Chandernagore, March 1757'' Dominic Serres, 1771 | date = 23 March 1757 | place = Chandernagore, Bengal Subah | coordinates = {{coord|22.8559|N|88.3800|E|source:wikidata|display=title,inline}} | map_type = India West Bengal#India | map_relief = yes | map_size = | map_marksize = | map_caption = | map_label = Chandannagar | result = British victory | combatant1 = Great Britain East India Company | combatant2 = French Indies Company | commander1 = Robert Clive Charles Watson | commander2 = Pierre Renault <ref>Three Frenchmen in Bengal p. 13-64</ref> | strength1 = 3 ships of the line | strength2 = 1 fort | casualties1 = 37+ killed 74+ wounded | casualties2 = 1 fort captured 40+ killed 70 wounded | campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Seven Years' War: East Indies}} }}

The '''Battle of Chandannagar''' was a successful attack on the French Indies Company settlement of Chandernagore by a British force under the command of Robert Clive and Charles Watson on 23 March 1757 during the Seven Years' War and the Third Carnatic war. Chandernagore remained under military occupation by the British until the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which brought an end to the war. thumb|200px|right|A plan of the battle

== Background ==

Lying ten miles up the Hooghly River from Calcutta, Chandernagore was the administrative centre of the French Indies Company. British East India Company officer Robert Clive, "determined to eliminate" the Nawab of Bengal, decided to capture Chandernagore as a preliminary step. The French fortifications at Chandernagore was equipped with only sixteen artillery pieces compared to the force Clive led to attack Chandernagore, which included three Royal Navy ships of the line, the ''Kent'', ''Tiger'', and ''Salisbury'' under the command of Charles Watson in addition to Clive's land forces.{{sfn|Naravance|2006|p=38}}

== Battle == Though "the guns of the fort did a great deal of damage", including casualties amounting to 37 killed and 74 wounded on the ''Tiger'', the British attack was successful. In order to capture the French fortifications guarding the town, '' Kent'' and ''Tiger'' managed to edge up the Hooghly River, although the French had tried to block their passage with scuttled ships and river chains. When they were close to the fort, they opened fire with all guns, but took a great punishment from the French artillery in the process.{{sfn|Naravance|2006|p=38}}

== Aftermath ==

The town's fortifications and many houses were demolished thereafter, and Chandernagore's importance as a commercial centre was eclipsed by that of Calcutta just downriver. Chandannagar remained under military occupation by the British until the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which brought an end to the war; the treaty stipulated that Chandernagore would be restored to the French. The settlement was occupied by the British again in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. The city was returned to France in 1816, along with a 3 sq mi (7.8 km2) enclave of surrounding territory. It was governed as part of French India until 1950, under the political control of the governor-general in Pondicherry.{{fact|date=October 2021}}

== Legacy ==

The Battle of Chandannagar was one of the many fought between the French and British on the Indian subcontinent during the Seven Years' War. It gave the British effective control of Calcutta and the Bengal hinterland. The French who escaped took shelter with the Nawab, whom Clive shortly afterwards defeated at Plassey. Britain finished the war as the dominant European power in Colonial India, and was well-placed to take advantage of the weakening political and economic power of the Mughal Empire. Chandernagore's capture was the first step in the British driving the French from Bengal.{{fact|date=October 2021}}

== References ==

=== Citations === {{Reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography === * {{cite book|first=M.S.|last=Naravance|title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company: Making of the Raj|publisher=White Lotus|year=2006|isbn=978-8131300343}} * C.Hill,Samuel (1903). ''Three Frenchmen in Bengal, The Commercial Ruin of the French Settlement in 1757.'' Longmans,Green and Co.

=== External links === * [https://interactive.britishart.yale.edu/british-marine-painting/2031/the-capture-of-chandernagore-march-1757 The capture of Chandannagore (1757)] – interactive.britishart.yale.edu

Category:1757 in India Category:Naval battles of the Seven Years' War involving Great Britain Category:Naval battles involving the British East India Company Category:Battles involving the French East India Company Category:Naval battles of the East Indies Campaign (1757–1763) Category:Battles involving the Bengal Subah Category:Chandannagar Category:Conflicts in 1757 Category:Third Carnatic War