The British Conquest of India—Part 1 (1740–1765)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, and events during the British Conquest of India from 1740 to 1765.

Carnatic Region

The southeastern region of the Indian Peninsula that was commercially important but politically unstable due to conflicts among Hyderabad, Carnatic, and Mysore.

Dupleix

The French governor of Pondicherry who aimed to establish a French Empire in India by capturing Madras in 1746.

Robert Clive

The British commander who defeated the French in the Carnatic Wars, recaptured Fort William, and led English forces to victory at the Battle of Plassey.

Farman

An official imperial order issued in 1717 by Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar permitting the English East India Company to trade in Bengal without paying custom duties.

Dastak

A trade permit resulting from Farrukhsiyar's farman that gave the British an unfair advantage by allowing duty-free trade in cotton, silk, sugar, and saltpetre.

Alivardi Khan

The ruler who became nawab of Bengal in 1740, governing a rich province that included present-day West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bihar, and Odisha.

Sirajuddaulah

The grandson and successor of Alivardi Khan who occupied Fort William on 20 June 1756 and was later defeated at the Battle of Plassey.

Fort William

The British settlement and factory in Calcutta that was captured by Sirajuddaulah in June 1756 and recaptured by Robert Clive in 1757.

Mir Jafar

The commander-in-chief of Sirajuddaulah's army who betrayed the nawab at Plassey in exchange for the promise of being made nawab of Bengal.

Mir Qasim

The son-in-law of Mir Jafar who replaced him on the throne after Mir Jafar was forced to step down by the British.

Battle of Plassey (1757)

A major 1757 conflict where British forces defeated Sirajuddaulah, securing the British position in Bengal and marking the start of British rule in India.

Austrian War of Succession (1740–48)

A European war lasting from 1740 to 1748 that caused Anglo-French rivalry to spill over into military conflict in India.

Third Carnatic War (ended 1763)

The war concluding in 1763 in which all French possessions fell to the British, leaving France with only unfortified Pondicherry and Chandernagore.

Anglo-French Wars in the Carnatic Map (1746–63)

A map showing key territories and coastal locations in southern India during the Carnatic Wars, including Madras, Pondicherry, Wandiwash, Arcot, Mysore, and the Nizam's Dominions.