Battle of Palashi
The battle had a long background that could be traced from the beginning of the East India Company's settlement in Bengal in early 1650s. The Mughal relers of Bengal allowed the East India Company to settle in Bengal and trade free of duty on payment of an annual sum of there thousand taka. Within a few years of their settlement at Hughli and Kasimbazar the company's trade began to expand repidly both physically and in terms of capital investment. But their intrusion into the internal trade of Bengal became a cause of conflict between Shaista Khan, the Mughal subahdar and the English in the last quarter of the 17th century. After Shaista Khan had left Bengal the English were allowed to settle in Calcutta, purchase the zamindari rights over the three village of Kalikata, Govindapur and Sutanuti. They established a fort at Calcutta and named it Fort William.
The purchase of zamindari and establishment of the Fort William proved highly profitable to the East India Company and the vested interest that was created in it led them to purchase more zamindari lands (38 villages) around Calcutta. Meanwhile the abuse of trade privileges progressively worsened their relations with the Bengal Nawabs. The company's authority at Calcutta hardly paid any attention to the directives of the Court of Directors from London to stop this evil practice and the provoleges of Dastak was illegally extended from the import-export trade to cover also the internal trade. At the same time the servants of the company began to use the trade permit to cover their private trade.
The company in its attempt to secure more privileges approached the Mughual Emperor Farruk Siyar, who by a Farman (1717) granted it important privileges which included duty-free trade, establishment of a mint at Calcutta and right to purchase 38 villages on certain conditions. As other merchants had to pay duty at certain rates while the English and their partners traded duty-free, the local merchants were threated to be eliminated from the internal trade. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan obstructed the implementation of the farman as he realized that in spite of the growing import-export trade of the company, it would escape with that in spite of the annual payment of three thousand taka and the privileges would also deprive thr government of its legitimate revenues from internal trade as well as from the mint duties.
With the accession of Sirajuddula in April 1756, the conflict between the Nawab and the English Company became almost inevitable as the young Nawab, for the first time, protested vehemently against the unlawful activities of the company in Bengal. He had three main grievances against the British- The unauthorized fortifications of Fort Willian, illegai private trade and shameless abuse of Dastaks by the company servants and illegal shelter given to the Nawab's erring subjects. The Nawab asked the British to take measures to remove his grievances and sent several diplomatic missions to Calcutta for amicable settlement to the dispute. The Nawab demanded the extradition of Krishna Das and asked the English to demolish the news fortifications and ordered to fill up the ditch, which surrounded the Calcutta Selllement. The English insulted Nawab's special envoy, who carried his letter to Calcutta. When Narayan Sing reported how unceremoniously Roger Drake, the English governor of Calcutta, had dismissed him, nawab's temper was inflamed. Drake is reported to have said, "The sooner he [the nawab] came to Calcutta the better and he [Drake] would make another nawab".
The nawab immediately ordered his forces to surround the Kasimbazar factory in 4 june of 1756. The factory chief surrendered but the company's governor at Calcutta became obstinate. There upon, the nawab marched upon Calcutta and captured it. The reestablishment of the company in Bengal after their defeat was possible in one of the two ways either surrendering to the nawab or to apply force to avenge the defeat. The British in Bengal appealed for urgent reinforcements to Fort St. George (Madras) which decided to send an expeditionary force under Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson to Bengal. They recovered Calcutta in January 1757 and declared a manifesto of war against the nawab. At this Nawab Sirajuddaula was compelled to sign the Alinagar Treaty with the English.
