British East India Company - Early Expansion

The transformation of the British East India Company from a trading body to a political power in India occurred over the 18th century.

Early Factories and Settlements

The Company established fortified factories on both coasts:

• Surat (1612): First trading post, later replaced by Bombay (1668) as the western headquarters.
• Madras (1639): Fort St. George, the first major territorial foothold.
• Calcutta (1690): Fort William in Bengal, which became the Company’s future seat of power. By the early 1700s, the Company had acquired Bombay, Madras, and the zamindari of three villages (Sutanuti, Gobindapur, Kalikata).

Carnatic Wars (1744–1763)

The Carnatic Wars were a struggle for supremacy in the Deccan between the English and French East India Companies, fought against the backdrop of Mughal decline and local politics.

• First Carnatic War (1744–48): Extension of the Anglo-French war in Europe. Inconclusive; Madras captured by French but returned at Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
• Second Carnatic War (1749–54): Dupleix intervened in succession disputes in Hyderabad and Carnatic. The English supported rival claimants (Nasir Jung, Muhammad Ali). Dupleix’s grand scheme failed; he was recalled; the French authority was curtailed.
• Third Carnatic War (1758–63): Part of the Seven Years’ War. The decisive Battle of Wandiwash (1760) resulted in the defeat of French under Lally by Sir Eyre Coote. The Treaty of Paris (1763) left Pondicherry to the French but as a demilitarized trading post.

Outcome

The Carnatic Wars established English military and political superiority over the French in India. The Company gained control of the Carnatic and laid the foundation for its expansion into Bengal and beyond.