India

Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘India’

91
Clive of India Clay Lane

Robert Clive helped to establish a lasting bond between India and Britain, laying the foundations of modern India.

Robert Clive was a brilliant and courageous officer in the private army of the British East India Company. More than anyone else, he ensured that India’s princes and people became partners with Britain rather than Dutch or French possessions, so shaping the character of India’s democratic, legal and economic institutions to this day.

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92
The Siege of Arcot Thomas Babington Macaulay

Twenty-five-year-old Robert Clive’s extraordinary daring helped to prevent India falling into the hands of the French King.

In 1751, France, Holland and Britain were all vying for the friendship of India’s ruling princes. Chunda Sahib, Nawab of Arcot, backed by the French, had Britain’s ally Mohammed Ali pinned down in Trichinopoly; so Robert Clive persuaded his superiors to let him capture Arcot itself. Immediately, Chunda’s son Rajah brought ten thousand men to relieve it.

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