BATTLE OF PLASSEY

BATTLE OF PLASSEY
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India
Company over then Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757,
under the leadership of Robert Clive which was possible due to the defection
of Mir Jafar Ali Khan, who was Siraj-ud-Daulah's commander in chief. The
battle helped the Company seize control of Bengal. Over the next hundred years,
they seized control of the entire Indian subcontinent and Myanmar - and
briefly Afghanistan.
WHERE DID THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY WAS HELD ON?

• The battle took place at Palashi (Anglicised version: Plassey) on the banks of the Hooghly
River, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Calcutta (now Kolkata) and south
of Murshidabad, then capital of Bengal (now in Nadia district in West Bengal). The
belligerents were the Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and the
British East India Company. Siraj-ud-Daulah had become the Nawab of Bengal the year
before, and he ordered the English to stop the extension of their fortification. Robert Clive
bribed Mir Jafar, the commander-in-chief of the Nawab's army, and also promised him to
make him Nawab of Bengal. Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah at Plassey in 1757 and captured
Calcutta.
WHY THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY IS
IMPORTANT?
The Battle of Plassey became famous because it was the first major victory the
Company won in India. The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the
British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-daula and his
French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive.
FACTS AND FIGURES

• 22 killed (5 Europeans, 13 Indians) 50 wounded (15 Europeans

and 30 Indians)- 500 killed and wounded.
• The battle was happening for 11 hours
WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF BATTLE OF
PLASSEY?

• Victory for the British East India Company in the Battle of Plassey was the
start of nearly two centuries of British rule in India. For an event with such
momentous consequences, it was a surprisingly unimpressive military
encounter, the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal owing much to betrayal
WHEN DID ROBERT CLIVE LEAVE INDIA?

• Clive left India in February 1767. Five years later, in the absence of his strong
hand in Bengal, the company appealed to the British government to save it
from bankruptcy caused by widespread corruption. Clive's enemies in
Parliament claimed that he was responsible for the situation
thank you