Carnatic Wars and Indian Rulers

The Carnatic region covered the coastal plain between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, stretching from the Krishna River to Kanyakumari. It fell under the nominal suzerainty of the Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah I, who had established an autonomous state in 1724. The Nawab of the Carnatic administered the territory from his capital at Arcot under theoretical allegiance to the Nizam. Following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, Mughal central authority weakened across the Deccan. Saadatullah Khan I, Nawab of the Carnatic, made his title hereditary by nominating his nephew Dost Ali Khan as his successor without seeking approval from Hyderabad. This move created friction between the ruling families of Hyderabad and Arcot, leading to internal divisions that foreign trading companies exploited.

Regional Rulers and Succession Wars

The simultaneous deaths of Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I and Saadatullah Khan’s successors triggered power struggles in South India between 1748 and 1751. These succession crises transformed the commercial competition between the English and French East India Companies into direct military interventions.

Hyderabad Succession War

Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I died in May 1748. His second son, Nasir Jung, seized the throne at Hyderabad. His grandson, Muzaffar Jung, challenged this succession with French support. Muzaffar Jung claimed that Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah had appointed him Viceroy of the Deccan.

Carnatic Succession War

In the Carnatic, Maratha raiders killed Nawab Dost Ali Khan in 1740 and imprisoned his son-in-law, Chanda Sahib, at Satara. Nizam-ul-Mulk appointed his loyal commander, Anwar-ud-din Khan, as the new Nawab of the Carnatic in 1744. When French Governor Joseph François Dupleix paid a ransom of seven lakh rupees to release Chanda Sahib in 1748, Chanda Sahib allied with Muzaffar Jung to claim the throne of Arcot from Anwar-ud-din Khan.

European Alliances with Local Rulers

Key Battles Involving Indian Rulers

Battle of St. Thome (1746)

During the First Carnatic War, French forces captured Fort St. George in Madras. Nawab Anwar-ud-din Khan sent an army of 10,000 men under his son, Mahfuz Khan, to force the French out of Madras. In November 1746, a French force of 230 European soldiers and 700 Indian sepoys commanded by Captain Paradis engaged Mahfuz Khan’s army at St. Thome on the banks of the Adyar River. Captain Paradis used disciplined infantry lines and rapid field artillery fire to scatter the Nawab’s cavalry, proving the tactical superiority of European-drilled troops against larger traditional armies.

Battle of Ambur (1749)

In August 1749, the combined forces of Dupleix, Muzaffar Jung, and Chanda Sahib confronted Nawab Anwar-ud-din Khan at Ambur near Vellore. The European-trained French infantry broke the Nawab’s center, resulting in the death of Anwar-ud-din Khan on the battlefield. Chanda Sahib declared himself Nawab of the Carnatic at Arcot, while Anwar-ud-din’s son, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, fled south to the fort of Tiruchirappalli.

Siege of Arcot (1751)

Chanda Sahib and French forces surrounded Muhammad Ali inside Tiruchirappalli in 1751. British captain Robert Clive proposed a diversionary attack on Arcot to force Chanda Sahib to send troops away from Tiruchirappalli. Clive captured Arcot with 500 men. Chanda Sahib dispatched 4,000 troops under his son, Raza Sahib, to retake his capital. Clive defended the Arcot citadel for 53 days. Maratha chieftain Morari Rao joined the British side with 6,000 cavalry after witnessing the defense, forcing Raza Sahib to retreat.

Political Consequences for Indian States

The Carnatic Wars altered the political status of native Indian rulers, transforming them from sovereign monarchs into dependent allies or pensioners of European powers.

Subjugation of the Carnatic

Chanda Sahib was captured and executed by the Tanjore army in 1752 following the relief of Tiruchirappalli. The British established Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah as the Nawab of the Carnatic. Muhammad Ali borrowed money from East India Company servants and private creditors at high interest rates to maintain his army and lifestyle, creating the “Carnatic Debts.” In July 1801, Lord Wellesley forced Nawab Azim-ud-Daula to sign the Carnatic Treaty. The Nawab transferred all civil and military administration of the Carnatic to the English East India Company in exchange for a fixed pension, integrating the territory into the Madras Presidency.

French and British Control over Hyderabad

Muzaffar Jung granted Dupleix the governorship of Mughal territories south of the Krishna River before dying in a battle in early 1751. French commander Charles Castelnau de Bussy placed Salabat Jung on the throne of Hyderabad. In 1753, Salabat Jung granted the French control over the Northern Circars—comprising Mustafanagar, Ellore, Rajahmundry, and Chicacole—to fund French troops stationed at his court. Count de Lally recalled Bussy from Hyderabad in 1758 during the Third Carnatic War. Robert Clive sent Colonel Francis Forde from Bengal to invade the region. Forde defeated French commander Conflans at the Battle of Condore in 1758 and captured Masulipatnam in 1759. Salabat Jung then signed a treaty with the British, expelling the French and ceding the Northern Circars to the English East India Company.

Essential Facts and Historical Trivia

Nawab Anwar-ud-din Khan was nearly ninety years old when he commanded his troops on foot at the Battle of Ambur in 1749. Rani Meenakshi, the regent queen of Madurai, committed suicide in 1736 after Chanda Sahib breached his oaths of protection and seized control of her fort. Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II granted Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah the title Wallajah, establishing the Wallajah dynasty that ruled Arcot until 1801. Ananda Ranga Pillai, chief native interpreter (Dubash) to Governor Dupleix at Pondicherry, maintained detailed journals between 1736 and 1761 documenting the diplomatic exchanges and military strategies of South Indian rulers. Muhammad Ali built Chepauk Palace in Madras in 1768 using architect Paul Benfield, introducing the Indo-Saracenic architectural style to India.