Battle of Plassey

The Battle of Plassey was a battle fought in 1757 near the village of Palashi in Bengal, where the East India Company gained a decisive political advantage through betrayal as much as military force.

• Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, led his army against Company forces commanded by Robert Clive. Bengal was one of India’s richest regions, so controlling its trade and revenue was extremely valuable to the Company.
• The battle was not a straightforward contest between two armies. Clive secretly won the support of Mir Jafar, an important commander in the Nawab’s army, by promising to make him Nawab after the victory.
• When fighting began, Mir Jafar and many of his soldiers did not properly join the battle. This left Siraj-ud-daulah badly weakened, allowing the much smaller Company force to win.
• After the battle, the Company placed Mir Jafar on the throne. He was expected to follow Company wishes, showing how the British could influence Indian kingdoms by choosing rulers who depended on them.
• Plassey did not immediately give the Company control of all India, but it gave it a powerful base in Bengal. The wealth gained there helped the Company build larger armies and expand further across the subcontinent.
• The battle is remembered as a major turning point because it marks the shift of the East India Company from a trading organisation to a growing political and military power in India.