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encounter the opposition which the Dutch and Portuguese, in their jealousy, had been wont to offer.

Notwithstanding the exertions of Sir Henry Middleton, to whom the newly-organised Company entrusted their first expedition (1610), it was three years ere any material advance was made. It was then that the first permanent factory was established, by permission of the Mogul, at Surat, on the Indian coast; and, for the furtherance of English interests, James despatched Sir Thomas Roe as ambassador to the Mogul court. Forts and colonies were likewise planted in Java and the Moluccas; not without considerable opposition, however, from the Dutch, who, after many and unwearied attempts to make the English name odious to the natives, at length managed to cover themselves with eternal disgrace by a cold-blooded massacre of English residents at Amboyna.

In order to put an end to the differences arising from these commercial jealousies, various treaties had been entered into between the two rival nations, but with little result. Frequent disputes were still the order of the day; and eventually English trade with the islands was all but abandoned to the Dutch. This was, of course, humiliating; but the Dutch had at this time shown themselves in European waters a fair match for our countrymen; and, having had the advantage of a good start in the Indian seas, there is little wonder they were able to hold their own, and finally to acquire preponderance there. Nevertheless, the Company's Indian trade gained by the circumstance, and Surat now rose into greater importance. In 1662, the company acquired Bombay, the dower of Charles the Second's Portuguese bride, from the crown; and, harassed at Surat by the exactions of the Moguls and the depredations of the Mahrattas, the presidency was removed to this new and superior station.

Meantime, settlements had been made upon the oppo. site coast at Madras, Fort St. David, Masulipatam, Vizagapatam, at Hooghley, and Calcutta. The arrogance of our countrymen, at one time, placed English interest in con

siderable jeopardy; for the great Aurungzebe, enraged at the seizure of some pilgrim ships, ordered the English to be expelled from India. The Company was stripped of its principal factories; and it was only by tendering a humble apology, with promises of good behaviour, that these stations, together with their former privileges, were restored. Not that even now the Company had all its own way. Rival associations at home, the unwearied enmity of the Dutch, Portuguese, and French, who also possessed settlements upon the Indian coasts, and the anger and mistrust of native princes, gave its servants ample employment; and it was with great difficulty that they succeeded in maintaining a position in this peninsula.

That position, however, was maintained. From the time of the restoration of the Mogul's firman, the company began to aspire to unrestrained authority; and, for the first time, perhaps, the idea of territorial acquisition became a part of their policy. The disturbed condition of the empire, which followed upon the death of Aurungzebe, rendered a fortification of the settlements an absolute necessity; and thus these spots, which had been originally selected for trading purposes merely, became in time military stations likewise, whence British arms issued to spread the Company's influence over the peninsula. The process of development will appear as the history progresses.

CHAPTER VII.

WAR IN THE CARNATIC.

Relative Positions of Europeans in India-Encroachments of the French-Labourdonnais-Dupleix-Fort St. David and Pondicherry besieged-Projects of Dupleix-Cession of Devicotta to the English-Chunda Sahib-The Deccan-Arcot-Nasir Jung and Mozuffur Jung-Mahomed Ally-Triumph of the French-M. Bussy-Salabat Jung-Appearance of CliveLawrence--Siege of Trichinopoly-Views of the French Government-Native Disputes-Clive returns to India.

THERE were now, it has been seen, something like half a dozen European nations in the commercial field of India. Of these, the French and English were the most powerful; for the Portuguese had long been outdistanced in the race; and the Dutch, absorbed in the prosecution of their spice trade in the Indian Archipelago, were, like them, gradually losing ground. The race was therefore virtually between the French and English, who, rivals in every other quarter of the globe, were destined ere long to close in deadly strife on the soil of this eastern land. The French factories were not so numerous as the English; but in Pondicherry, which they obtained in 1672 of the rajah of Bejapore, they possessed an important key to the peninsula, a strong fortress, commanding a considerable territory, inhabited by a well-disposed population, and in every way a prosperous colony. In addition to Pondicherry, they had likewise established a settlement at Chandernagore on the Hooghley, and another at Carical on the Coromandel coast.

The confusion that accompanied the break up of the Mogul empire but little affected the interests of the

Europeans in India. Intent upon the pursuit of business, they were careful to observe a strict neutrality; and while a tempest of strife was raging around them, and the warshout reached the very walls of their settlements, commercial enterprise was making sure though steady progress. This happy condition of affairs might have continued, but for the jealousies and hates which circumstances had engendered between the European nations themselves. The presence of these evil passions, however, led to the adoption of another policy, and to the initiation of a career of territorial conquest and spoliation, which, till now, had never been so much as dreamed of.

In 1744, the Silesian war broke out in Europe; and the rival nations were not long in availing themselves of the opportunity the circumstance gave them, of giving play to their passions by turning their arms against each other here as nearer home. In anticipation of events, indeed, the French had despatched M. Labourdonnais, a man of considerable naval genius, with a powerful squadron to the Indian coast; and the English had been equally careful to prepare for emergencies.

Operations were commenced by Labourdonnais, who, after beating off an English fleet under Commodore Barnet, laid siege to Madras. This fortress, being feebly garrisoned, was obliged to capitulate. The surrender of the place was accompanied by certain terms favourable to the vanquished; but Dupleix, the governor of Pondicherry, refused to ratify them, and, in violation of the treaty, transferred the garrison to Pondicherry. The English had previously appealed to the nabob of the Carnatic, but without result; and now, irritated beyond measure at the haughty bearing of the French, he was determined upon taking up arms against them.

It was, however, too late. Without the support of English allies, his army of natives was no match for the skill of Dupleix, and the superior discipline of his men. He was consequently defeated with considerable loss, and forced to withdraw to Arcot. Dupleix next laid siege to Fort St. David, a station a few miles to the south of

Pondicherry. This place was strongly fortified; and, being reinforced by arrivals from England, successfully withstood every assault. So strong had the English garrison become, that an attack on Pondicherry itself was organised. The siege was unskilfully conducted; and, in view of the approaching monsoon, the assailants retired, having lost one thousand men, chiefly from the effects of climate. Dupleix was elated beyond measure at this failure, and it is difficult to conjecture what might have been the result of it, had not the peace of Aix-laChapelle (1749) put an end to hostilities. By this treaty Madras was restored to the English.

The two nations had now no pretext for warfare, and there was consequently nothing to interupt the development of commerce by both nations. Unfortunately for the cause of peace and good will, the mind of the French governor had been filled with ambitious projects of empire; and the late campaign had taught him the most likely way of accomplishing his ends. He had observed the vast superiority of well-disciplined Europeans over native troops; and the idea occurred to him, that if by any reasonable pretext he could bring himself into antagonism with the native princes, the right of might and victory would give him a footing in the country such as the most advantageous treaties and promises could never secure. Moreover, the success which had attended European arms in the recent conflict had created in the minds of the natives a salutary respect for European prowess, and the effect soon appeared in the applications made to them for support in their intestine feuds. It was, then, in this silent recognition of European valour and worth, that Dupleix beheld a path which, judiciously followed, would lead him to the goal of his ambition.

The same idea would seem to have possessed the minds of his rivals also; and, indeed, it was but a natural consequence of things at the time; but as yet their aspirations appear to have been extremely moderate; for, having assisted the rajah Sanbajee in his attempt to gain the sovereignty of Tanjore, they were content to accept the

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