Glorious Failure – Robert Ivermee

Clive now targeted Jean Law de Lauriston and the small group of about sixty Frenchmen who remained with him at Qasimbazaar, further upriver near Murshidabad, demanding that Siraj send troops from his capital to detain them. Law de Lauriston was considered a dangerous influence on the nawab who might yet convince him to restart hostilities against the British, a concern strengthened when the nawab refused to apprehend the Frenchmen. Instead, he permitted them to slip away from Qasimbazaar in the direction of Bihar, providing them with money and passports.

Just outside Murshidabad they were joined by forty compatriots who had escaped capture at Chandernagore, forming with the services of sixty sepoys a small band to keep the flame of French ambitions in northeast India alight. In the weeks that followed, Law de Lauriston led them to Rajmahal and from there to Patna, evading the British division sent in pursuit.95 Uncertainty about Siraj’s next moves—the nawab was rumoured to have appealed to Bussy for-large scale French military intervention in Bengal—then contributed to the British decision to remove him from power.

In developments strongly reminiscent of Dupleix’s regime change initiatives, an agreement was reached with disaffected members of Siraj’s court about his deposal and the installation of nobleman Mir Jafar in his place. As relations between Siraj and the British deteriorated, their respective armies met at Plassey in June; the nawab was defeated after Mir Jafar and other leading generals switched to the British side.

Siraj attempted to flee but was captured, returned to Murshidabad and executed, and Mir Jafar was confirmed on the throne. As with the assassination of Nasir Jang and the installation of Muzaffar Jang in his place, a European-backed court coup rather than a military victory had proven decisive.

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Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Copyright © Robert Ivermee, 2025 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization.

Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available ISBN: 9780197837818 Printed in the United Kingdom OceanofPDF.com 1. Calicut, where François Pyrard spent eight months at the court of the Zamorin in 1607–08.

Anonymous, 1572. 2. Louis XIV, whose long reign (1643–1715) was defined by aggressive attempts at territorial expansion in Europe and overseas. Robert Nanteuil, 1670. 3. Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the chief minister responsible for the launch of the Compagnie des Indes in 1664. Philippe de Champaigne, 1655. 4. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who granted the French permission to trade in his territories in 1667. Anonymous, c. 1670. 5. M. de Nyon’s plan for the fortification of Pondicherry.

Nyon, c. 1700. 6. Pondicherry in 1733. Fort Louis and the ville blanche (White Town) are closest to the sea, separated from the larger ville noire (Black Town) by a transecting canal. Anonymous, 1733. 7.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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