Search
Search Results
Image
Siraj ud-Daulah
A portrait of Siraj ud-Daulah (b. 1733), Nawab of Bengal (1756-7).
Definition
Black Hole of Calcutta
The Black Hole of Calcutta refers to a prison cell which was used to hold 146 mostly British prisoners captured after the Nawab of Bengal had taken over the city from the East India Company. Interred on 20 June 1756 in a tiny cell in Fort...
Article
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 saw Robert Clive's East India Company army defeat a larger force of the Nawab of Bengal. Victory brought the Company new wealth and marked the beginning of its territorial expansion in the subcontinent...
Definition
Robert Clive
Robert Clive (1725-1774), also known as 'Clive of India' and Baron Clive of Plassey, masterminded the expansion of the East India Company in India. Best known for his victory at Plassey in Bengal in 1757, Clive's reputation suffered in his...
Video
The Tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah: A Daughter's Tribute
Across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, lies the first mausoleum constructed by a Mughal Empress, for her parents. In 2019, in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India, WMF celebrated the completion of a conservation...
Article
The English and Dutch East India Companies' Invasions of India
In the early 17th century, the Dutch and English East India Companies turned their eyes towards India, as part of their grand schemes to develop extensive trade networks across the Indian and China Seas. They were faced with two significant...
Article
Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar (aka Bhaksar or Baksar) in Bihar, northeast India, on 22-23 October 1764 saw a British East India Company (EIC) army led by Hector Munro (1726-1805) gain victory against the combined forces of the Nawab of Awadh (aka Oudh...
Definition
Anglo-Mysore Wars
The Four Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-1799) were fought between the British East India Company (EIC) and the state of Mysore. Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, the "Tiger of Mysore", were relentless foes to British expansion in southern India...
Definition
Anglo-Maratha Wars
The three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-1819) were fought between the Maratha Confederacy of India (aka the Mahrattas, 1674-1818) and the British East India Company (EIC). The Maratha Hindu princes were rarely unified, and so the EIC steadily...
Definition
Anglo-Nepalese War
The Anglo-Nepalese War (aka Gurkha War, 1814-16) saw the British East India Company (EIC) lose several battles against Nepalese Gurkhas before finally securing victory in a hard-fought campaign that, for the first time, extended EIC control...