Clive and the East India Company

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the towering personality of eighteenth-century East India Company Commander Robert Clive and how his forceful personality -combined with questionable ethics - established the East India Company as the de facto ruler of North-East India. The paper also shows how Clive undermined the legitimacy of the regional Nawabs while transforming Indian society in ways that created anger and resentment among Indians. The paper then looks at how the Chinese managed to secure a degree of autonomy in contrast to the Indians.

From the Paper:

"The beginning of the East India Company's century of political domination in the "crown jewel" of the British Empire dates back to the 1750s - at least according to historian Philip Lawson. Specifically, shortly after securing the corporate presidency, Robert Clive was called upon to respond to an emergency in Bengal involving the capture of Calcutta by the new Nawab, Siraj-ud-Daula. While the matter is actually rather complex, what had essentially happened is that a simmering Mogul rivalry had spilled over into British affairs. Particularly, the Nawab had imprisoned 146 Europeans - of whom 123 died in one evening in a crowded cell. Suffice it to say, the Nawab's actions and the reckless disregard for the safety and security of the Europeans sparked mass revulsion across Europe (most notably in Great Britain) and Clive became one of the two senior commanders of an expeditionary force sent from Madras to re-capture Calcutta and rescue those Europeans who had not perished; the campaign, just as one might expect, was a huge success and marked the high point in Clive's military career."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Evans, John C. Tea in China: The History of China's National Drink. New York: Greenwood Press, 1992.
• Lawson, Philip. The East India Company: A History. London: Longman, 1993. Questia.com. 25 Mar. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14109194>
• Malcolm, Sir J. The Life of Robert, Lord Clive: Collected from the Family Papers Communicated by the Earl of Powis, vol. II. London: no publisher provided, 1836.
• Marshall, Peter. Bengal: The British Bridgehead, Eastern India, 1740-1828. Oxford: Cambridge University Press.

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