Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Encyclopedia
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB
(29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was a British
officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company
in Bengal
. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown. Together with Warren Hastings
he was one of the key figures in the creation of British India
.
in Shropshire
. To supplement the £
500 which the family estate earned every year, his father practised law. The Clives, or Clyves, were one of the oldest families in the county of Shropshire. They held the manor of that name in the reign of Henry II
. Members of the family include an Irish chancellor of the exchequer under Henry VIII
, and a member of the Long Parliament
. Robert's father for many years represented Montgomeryshire
in parliament. His mother was the daughter of Nathaniel Gaskell of Manchester
. Robert was their eldest son of thirteen children; he had seven sisters and five brothers.
As a boy, Clive is reputed to have climbed the tower of St Mary's Parish Church in Market Drayton and perched on a gargoyle
, frightening those down below. He also attempted to set up a protection racket enforced by a gang of youths who vandalized the establishments of merchants who did not cooperate.
Clive was expelled from three schools, including Market Drayton Grammar School and Merchant Taylors' School
in London. Despite his lack of scholarship, he eventually developed a distinctive writing style, and a speech in the House of Commons
was described by William Pitt
as the most eloquent he had ever heard.
By the mid-eighteenth century the Mughal Empire
had become divided into a number of successor states. For the forty years since the death of the Emperor Aurangzeb
in 1707, the power of the Emperor had gradually fallen into the hands of his provincial viceroys or soobedars. The two most powerful were the Nawab of Bengal
, Murshid Quli Khan
, whose capital was Murshidabad
, and the wazir or Nawab of Awadh
, Sa'adat Ali Khan, Burhan ul-Mulk
. The Awadh state was under constant pressure from Hindu Maratha
states and the Nepal
Hindu state. Another Muslim monarch, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was a vassal of the Hindu Marathas and also under pressure from the Hindu Polygar states. This left the Muslim monarch of Bengal, among the richest states of South Asia, and the only truly independent Muslim power in South Asia with the ability to project power against the British. However, Bengal in a precarious situation. Bengal was a kingdom ruled by a Muslim king, surrounded by hostile Hindu powers and weakened by dissensions among the officialdom and the banking community.
The relationship between the Europeans in India was influenced by a series of wars and treaties on mainland Europe. Since the late seventeenth century the European merchants had raised bodies of troops to protect their commercial interests and latterly to influence local politics to their advantage. Military power was rapidly becoming as important as commercial acumen in securing India's valuable trade, and increasingly it was used to appropriate territory and to collect land revenue.
After Clive's arrival in India, the rich lands of the Coromandel Coast
were contested between the French Governor General Joseph François Dupleix
and the British. The British and French supported various factions as Nawab of the remaining parts of the Mughal Empire. Clive was the first of the "soldier-politicals" as they came to be called, who helped the British gain ascendency in India by installing rulers beholden to himself and to Britain. Clive's notoriety and fame lay principally in his political and military conquest of Bengal
.
as a "factor" or "writer" in the service of the East India Company
. After running aground, his ship was detained in Brazil
for nine months while repairs were completed. This enabled him to learn Portuguese
, which he often found of use later. At this time the East India Company had a small settlement at Fort St. George near the village of Madraspatnam.
On 4 September 1746, Madras was attacked by French Forces
led by La Bourdonnais
as part of the War of the Austrian Succession
. After several days of bombardment the British forces surrendered and the French entered the city. It was originally planned that the town would be restored to the British after negotiation but this was opposed by Dupleix
, then the head of the French settlements in India. The prolonged negotiations led Clive and others to make their escape to Fort St David (at Cuddalore
), some 20 miles (32.2 km) to the south. For his part in this, Clive was given an ensign's
commission. The siege was eventually lifted when Mughal troops arrived to relieve the city.
In the conflict, Clive's bravery had been noted by Major Stringer Lawrence
, the commander of the British troops. However, after the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle
in 1748 he returned to civil duties. Several months later, in early 1749, he was called upon to assist Lawrence in an expedition to Tanjore, where the rajah had requested assistance recovering his throne from a usurper. Clive distinguished himself during the siege of Devakottai
when he led a small force in the storming of an embankment which was very nearly wiped out. Clive then returned once more to civilian duties, acting as a commissary for the company's European troops.
He was, however, afflicted with some sort of nervous disorder, and was sent north to Bengal to recuperate. The conflict between the British and the French continued, this time in political rather than military terms. When Clive returned two years later the political scene had shifted and the powerful positions of Nawab of the Carnatic
and Nizam of Hyderabad were both taken by rulers who were strongly sympathetic to the French cause as a result of actions in the Second Carnatic War. Chanda Sahib
had been made Nawab of the Carnatic with Dupleix's assistance, while the British had taken up the cause of the previous incumbent, Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah. Dupleix was "rewarded with... territory said to yield an annual revenue of over 350,000 rupees" and in addition, he was made part of the Mughal hierarchy.
. Clive offered to attack Arcot in order to force Chanda Sahib to raise the siege. Madras and Fort St David could supply him with only 200 Europeans and 300 sepoy
s and of the eight officers who led them, four were civilians like Clive himself, and six had never been in action. In addition, the force only had three artillery pieces. The initial British assault took the fort at Arcot during a thunderstorm, and Clive's troops immediately began to fortify the building against a siege. Aided by some of the population, Clive was able to make sallies against the besieging troops. As the days passed on, Chanda Sahib sent a large army led by his son, Raza Sahib and his French supporters, who entered Arcot to besiege Clive in the fort.
The historian Macaulay wrote a century later of the siege:
The contemporary Tuzuk-e Walajahi states that Clive received assistance from two thousand Maratha horse under the command of Madina Ali Khan and Yunus Khan, two sardars
(commanders) of Mohammed Ali Walajah. This reinforcement proved a turning point, and Clive and Major Lawrence were able to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. In 1754, the first of the provisional Carnatic treaties was signed between Thomas Saunders, the Company's resident at Madras, and M. Godeheu
, the French commander. Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah was recognized as Nawab, and both nations agreed to equalize their possessions. When war again broke out in 1756, during Clive's absence in Bengal, the French obtained successes in the northern districts, and it was Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah's efforts which drove them from their settlements. The Treaty of Paris (1763)
formally confirmed Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah as Nawab of the Carnatic. It was a result of this action and the increased British influence that in 1765 a firman (decree) came from the Emperor of Delhi, recognizing the British possessions in southern India.
His conduct during the siege made Clive famous in Europe. The Prime Minister
William Pitt the Elder
described Clive, who had received no formal military training whatsoever, as the "heaven-born general", endorsing the generous appreciation of his early commander, Major Lawrence. The Court of Directors of the East India Company voted him a sword worth £700, which he refused to receive unless Lawrence was similarly honoured. He left Madras for home, after ten years' absence, early in 1753, but not before marrying Margaret Maskelyne, the sister of his friend Nevil Maskelyne
who was afterwards well known as Astronomer Royal
.
, was wrecked near Port Elizabeth, losing a chest of gold coins belonging to Clive worth £33,000. Nearly 250 years later in 1998, illegally salvaged coins from Clive's treasure chest were offered for sale, and in 2002 a portion of the coins were given to the South Africa
n government after protracted legal wrangling.
Clive, now promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in the King's army took part in the capture of the fortress of Gheriah, a stronghold of the Maratha Admiral
Tuloji Angre. The action was led by Admiral James Watson and the English had a several ships available, some Royal troops and some Maratha
allies. The overwhelming strength of the joint British and Maratha forces ensured that the battle was won with few losses. A fleet surgeon, Edward Ives, noted that Clive refused to take any part of the treasure divided among the victorious forces as was custom at the time.
as Nawab of Bengal. In June Clive received news that the new Nawab had attacked the English at Kasimbazar
and shortly afterwards on 20 June he had taken the fort at Calcutta
. The losses to the East India Company
because of the fall of Calcutta were estimated by investors at £2,000,000. Those British who were captured were placed in a punishment cell which became infamous as the Black Hole of Calcutta
and, in the stifling summer heat, it is alleged 123 of the 146 prisoners died as a result of suffocation or heat stroke. While the Black Hole became infamous in Britain, it is debatable whether the Nawab was aware of the incident.
By Christmas 1756, as no response had been received to diplomatic letters to the Nawab, Admiral Charles Watson and Clive were dispatched to attack the Nawab's army and remove him from Calcutta by force. Their first target was the fortress of Baj-Baj which Clive approached by land while Admiral Watson bombarded it from the sea. The fortress was quickly taken with minimal British casualties. Shortly afterwards on 2 January 1757, Calcutta itself was taken with similar ease.
Approximately a month later, on 3 February 1757, Clive encountered the army of the Nawab itself. For two days, the army marched past Clive's camp to take up a position east of Calcutta. Sir Eyre Coote, serving in the British forces, estimated the enemy's strength as 40,000 cavalry, 60,000 infantry and thirty cannon. Even allowing for overestimation this was considerably more than Clive's force of approximately 540 British infantry, 600 Royal Navy sailors, 800 sepoys, fourteen field guns and no cavalry. The British forces attacked the Nawab's camp on the nearly morning hours of 5 February 1757. In this battle, unofficially called the 'Calcutta Gauntlet', Clive marched his small force through the entire Nawab's camp, despite being under heavy fire from all sides. By noon, Clive's force broke through the besieging camp and arrived safely at Fort William. During the assault, around one tenth of the British attackers became casualties. Clive reported 57 killed and 137 wounded. While technically not a victory in military terms, the sudden British assault intimidated the Nawab so much that he sought to make terms with Clive and surrendered control of Calcutta on 9 February by promising to compensate the East India Company for damages suffered and to restore privileges.
, the Nawab's commander-in-chief, led the conspirators. With Admiral Watson, Governor Drake and Mr Watts, Clive made a gentlemen's agreement
in which it was agreed to give the office of viceroy of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to Mir Jafar, who was to pay a million sterling to the Company for its losses in Calcutta and the cost of its troops, half a million to the British inhabitants of Calcutta, £200,000 to the native inhabitants, and £70,000 to its Armenian merchants.
Clive employed Umichand, a rich Bengali trader, as an agent between Mir Jafar and the British officials. Umichand threatened to betray Clive unless he was guaranteed, in the agreement itself, £300,000. To dupe him a second fictitious agreement was shown to him with a clause to this effect. Admiral Watson refused to sign it. Clive deposed later to the House of Commons that, "to the best of his remembrance, he gave the gentleman who carried it leave to sign his name upon it; his lordship never made any secret of it; he thinks it warrantable in such a case, and would do it again a hundred times; he had no interested motive in doing it, and did it with a design of disappointing the expectations of a rapacious man." It is nevertheless cited as an example of Clive's unscrupulousness.
The whole hot season of 1757 was spent in negotiations with the Nawab of Bengal. In the middle of June Clive began his march from Chandernagore, with the British in boats and the sepoys along the right bank of the Hooghly River. During the rainy season, the Hooghly is fed by the overflow of the Ganges to the north through three streams, which in the hot months are nearly dry. On the left bank of the Bhagirathi, the most westerly of these, 100 miles above Chandernagore, stands Murshidabad, the capital of the Mughal viceroys of Bengal. Some miles farther down is the field of Plassey, then an extensive grove of mango trees. On 21 June 1757, Clive arrived on the bank opposite Plassey, in the midst of the first outburst of monsoonal rain. His whole army amounted to 1,100 Europeans and 2,100 sepoy troops, with nine field-pieces. The Nawab had drawn up 18,000 horse, 50,000 foot and 53 pieces of heavy ordinance, served by French artillerymen. For once in his career Clive hesitated, and called a council of sixteen officers to decide, as he put it, "whether in our present situation, without assistance, and on our own bottom, it would be prudent to attack the Nawab, or whether we should wait till joined by some country (Indian) power." Clive himself headed the nine who voted for delay; Major Eyre Coote led the seven who counselled immediate attack. But, either because his daring asserted itself, or because of a letter received from Mir Jafar, Clive was the first to change his mind and to communicate with Major Eyre Coote. One tradition, followed by Macaulay, represents him as spending an hour in thought under the shade of some trees, while he resolved the issues of what was to prove one of the decisive battles of the world. Another, turned into verse by Sir Alfred Lyall, pictures his resolution as the result of a dream. However that may be, he did well as a soldier to trust to the dash and even rashness that had gained Arcot and triumphed at Calcutta since retreat, or even delay, might have resulted in defeat. After heavy rain, Clive's 3,200 men and the nine guns crossed the river and took possession of the grove and its tanks of water, while Clive established his head-quarters in a hunting lodge. On 23 June, the engagement took place and lasted the whole day, during which remarkably little actual fighting took place. Gunpowder for the cannons of the Nawab were not well protected from rain. That impaired those cannons. Except the 40 Frenchmen and the guns which they worked, the Indian side could do little to reply to the British cannonade (after a spell of rain) which, with the 39th Regiment, scattered the host, inflicting on it a loss of 500 men. Clive had already made a secret agreement with some aristocrats in Bengal like Jagat Seth
, Mir Jafar
etc. Clive restrained Major Kilpatrick, for he trusted to Mir Jafar's abstinence, if not desertion to his ranks, and knew the importance of sparing his own small force. He was fully justified in his confidence in Mir Jafar's treachery to his master, for he led a large portion of the Nawab's army away from the battlefield, ensuring his defeat. Clive lost hardly any European troops; in all 22 sepoys were killed and 50 wounded. It is curious in many ways that Clive is now best-remembered for this battle, which was essentially won by suborning the opposition rather than through fighting or brilliant military tactics. Whilst it established British military supremacy in Bengal, it did not secure the East India Company's control over Upper India, as is sometimes claimed. That would come only seven years later in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar
, where Sir Hector Munro
defeated the combined forces of the Mughal Emperor and the Nawab of Oudh in a much more closely fought encounter.
Siraj Ud Daulah fled from the field on a camel, securing what wealth he could. He was soon captured by Mir Jafar's forces, and later executed by the assassin Mohammadi Beg. Clive entered Murshidabad, and established Mir Jafar as Nawab, the price which had been agreed beforehand for his treachery. Clive was taken through the treasury, amid a million and a half sterling's worth of rupees, gold and silver plate, jewels and rich goods, and besought to ask what he would. Clive took £160,000, a vast fortune for the day, while half a million was distributed among the army and navy of the East India Company, and provided gifts of £24,000 to each member of the Company's committee, as well as the public compensation stipulated for in the treaty.
In this extraction of wealth Clive followed a usage fully recognized by the Company, although this was the source of future corruption which Clive was later sent to India again to correct. The Company itself acquired a revenue of £100,000 a year, and a contribution towards its losses and military expenditure of a million and a half sterling. Mir Jafar further discharged his debt to Clive by afterwards presenting him with the quit-rent of the Company's lands in and around Calcutta, amounting to an annuity of £27,000 for life, and leaving him by will the sum of £70,000, which Clive devoted to the army.
, pronounced by Broome "one of the most brilliant actions on military record".
He came into direct contact, for the first time, with the Great Mughal himself, a meeting which would prove beneficial in his later career. Shah Alam, when shahzada, or heir-apparent, quarrelled with his father, the emperor Alamgir II, and he united with the viceroys of Oudh(Awadh) and Allahabad
for the conquest of Bengal. He advanced as far as Patna, which he besieged with 40,000 men. Mir Jafar, in terror, sent his son to its relief, and implored the aid of Clive. Major Caillaud defeated the prince's army and dispersed it. Clive also repelled the aggression of the Dutch, and avenged the massacre of Amboyna
- the occasion when he wrote his famous letter; "Dear Forde, fight them immediately; I will send you the order of council to-morrow."
Meanwhile Clive improved the organization and drill of the sepoy army, after a European model, and enlisted into it many Muslims from upper India. He re-fortified Calcutta. In 1760, after four years of hard labour, his health gave way and he returned to England. "It appeared", wrote a contemporary on the spot, "as if the soul was departing from the Government of Bengal". He had been formally made Governor of Bengal by the Court of Directors at a time when his nominal superiors in Madras sought to recall him to their help there. But he had discerned the importance of the province even during his first visit to its rich delta, mighty rivers and teeming population. Clive selected some able subordinates, notably a young Warren Hastings
, who, a year after Plassey, was made Resident at the Nawab's court.
The long-term outcome of Plassey was to place a very heavy revenue burden upon Bengal. The Company sought to extract the maximum revenue possible from the peasantry to fund military campaigns, and corruption was widespread amongst its officials. Mir Jafar was compelled to extortion on a vast scale in order to replenish his treasury, which had been emptied by the Company's demand for an indemnity of 2.8 crore
s of rupees (£3 million).
In 1760, the 35-year-old Clive returned to England with a fortune of at least £300,000 and the quit-rent
of £27,000 a year. He financially supported his parents and sisters, while also providing Major Lawrence, the commanding officer who had early encouraged his military genius, with a stipend
of £500 a year. In the five years of his conquests and administration in Bengal, the young man had crowded together a succession of exploits which led Lord Macaulay, in what that historian termed his "flashy" essay on the subject, to compare him to Napoleon Bonaparte, declaring that "[Clive] gave peace, security, prosperity and such liberty as the case allowed of to millions of Indians, who had for centuries been the prey of oppression, while Napoleon's career of conquest was inspired only by personal ambition, and the absolutism he established vanished with his fall." Macaulay's ringing endorsement of Clive seems more controversial today, as some would argue that his own ambition and desire for personal gain set the tone for the administration of Bengal until the Permanent Settlement
30 years later. The immediate consequence of Clive's victory at Plassey was an increase in the revenue demand on Bengal by at least 20%, much of which was appropriated by Zamindar
s and corrupt Company Officials, which led to considerable hardship for the rural population, particularly during the famine of 1770.
During the three years that Clive remained in England, he sought a political position, chiefly that he might influence the course of events in India, which he had left full of promise. He had been well received at court, had been made Baron Clive of Plassey
, County Clare
, had bought estates, and had himself as well as a few friends returned to the House of Commons.
Clive set himself to reform the home system of the East India Company, and began a bitter dispute with the chairman of the Court of Directors, Mr Sullivan, whom in the end, he defeated. In this he was aided by the news of reverses in Bengal. Mir Jafar had finally rebelled over payments to English officials, and Clive's successor had put Kasim Ali Khan, Mir Jafar's son-in-law upon the musnud (throne). After a brief tenure, Kasim Ali had fled, ordering Walter Reinhardt Sombre
(known to the Muslims as Sumru), a Swiss mercenary of his, to butcher the garrison of 150 English at Patna, and had disappeared under the protection of his brother, the Viceroy of Oudh. The whole Company's service, civil and military, had become mired in corruption, demoralized by gifts and by the monopoly of the inland as well as export trade, to such an extent that the Indians were pauperised, and the Company was plundered of the revenues which Clive had acquired for them. For this Clive himself must bear much responsibility, as he had set a very poor example during his tenure as Governor. Nevertheless, the Court of Proprietors, forced the Directors to hurry Lord Clive to Bengal with the double powers of Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
, but on this occasion it was quickly suppressed by blowing the sepoy ringleader from a gun. Major Munro, "the Napier of those times", scattered the united armies on the hard-fought field of Buxar
. The emperor, Shah Alam II
, detached himself from the league, while the Oudh viceroy threw himself on the mercy of the British.
Clive had now an opportunity of repeating in Hindustan
, or Upper India, what he had accomplished in Bengal. He might have secured what is now called Uttar Pradesh
, and have rendered unnecessary the campaigns of Wellesley
and Lake. But he believed he had other work in the exploitation of the revenues and resources of rich Bengal itself, making it a base from which British India would afterwards steadily grow. Hence he returned to the Oudh viceroy all his territory save the provinces of Allahabad
and Kora, which he presented to the weak emperor.
On the same date Clive obtained not only an imperial charter for the Company's possessions in the Carnatic, completing the work he began at Arcot, but a third firman for the highest of all the lieutenancies of the empire, that of the Deccan itself. This fact is mentioned in a letter from the secret committee of the court of directors to the Madras government, dated 27 April 1768. The British presence in India was still tiny compared to the number and strength of the princes and people of India, but also compared to the forces of their ambitious French, Dutch and Danish rivals. Clive had this in mind when he penned his last advice to the directors, as he finally left India in 1767:
. Clive's military reforms were more effective. He put down a mutiny of the English officers, who chose to resent the veto against receiving presents and the reduction of batta (extra pay) at a time when two Maratha armies were marching on Bengal. His reorganization of the army, on the lines of that which he had begun after Plassey, neglected during his absence in England, subsequently attracted the admiration of Indian officers. He divided the whole army into three brigades, making each a complete force, in itself equal to any single Indian army that could be brought against it. He had not enough British artillerymen, however, and would not make the mistake of his successors, who trained Indians to work the guns, which were later turned against the British.
near Esher and commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown
to remodel the garden and rebuild the house.
In 1772 Parliament opened an inquiry into the Company's practices in India. Clive's political opponents turned these hearings into attacks on Clive. Questioned about some of the large sums of money he had received while in India, Clive pointed out that they were not contrary to accepted company practice, and defended his behavior by stating "I stand astonished at my own moderation" given opportunities for greater gain. The hearings highlighted the need for reform of the Company, and a vote to censure Clive for his actions failed. Later in 1772 Clive was invested in the Order of the Bath
, and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
.
Clive continued to be involved in ongoing Parliamentary discussions on company reforms, during which General John Burgoyne
, one of Clive's most vocal enemies, pressed the case in 1773 that some of Clive's gains were made at the expense of the Company and the government. Clive again made a spirited defense of his actions, and closed his testimony by stating "Take my fortune, but save my honour." The vote that followed completely exonerated Clive, who was commended for the "great and meritorious service" he rendered to the country. Immediately thereafter Parliament began debating the Regulating Act of 1773
, which significantly reformed the East India Company's practices.
On 22 November 1774 Clive committed suicide at his Berkeley Square
home in London by stabbing himself with a penknife
. Though Clive's suicide has been linked to his history of depression and to opium addiction, the likely immediate impetus was excruciating pain resulting from illness (he was known to suffer from gallstone
s) which he had been attempting to abate with opium. He had recently been offered command of British forces in North America
which he had turned down.
Clive was awarded an Irish peerage and was created Baron Clive of Plassey co Clare; he bought lands in County Limerick
and County Clare
, Ireland
, naming part of his lands near Limerick City
, Plassey
. Following Irish independence
, these lands became state property. In the 1970s a technical college
, which later became University of Limerick
, was built at Plassey.
Robert Clive married Margaret Maskelyne (d. 28 December 1817) on 18 February 1753, sister of the Rev. Dr Nevil Maskelyne
, fifth Astronomer Royal
, in Madras. They had six children:
|-
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown. Together with Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
he was one of the key figures in the creation of British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
.
Early life
Robert Clive was born at Styche, the Clive family estate, near Market DraytonMarket Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. To supplement the £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
500 which the family estate earned every year, his father practised law. The Clives, or Clyves, were one of the oldest families in the county of Shropshire. They held the manor of that name in the reign of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. Members of the family include an Irish chancellor of the exchequer under Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, and a member of the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
. Robert's father for many years represented Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
in parliament. His mother was the daughter of Nathaniel Gaskell of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Robert was their eldest son of thirteen children; he had seven sisters and five brothers.
As a boy, Clive is reputed to have climbed the tower of St Mary's Parish Church in Market Drayton and perched on a gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
, frightening those down below. He also attempted to set up a protection racket enforced by a gang of youths who vandalized the establishments of merchants who did not cooperate.
Clive was expelled from three schools, including Market Drayton Grammar School and Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
in London. Despite his lack of scholarship, he eventually developed a distinctive writing style, and a speech in the House of Commons
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
was described by William Pitt
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
as the most eloquent he had ever heard.
Political situation in India before Clive
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
had become divided into a number of successor states. For the forty years since the death of the Emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
in 1707, the power of the Emperor had gradually fallen into the hands of his provincial viceroys or soobedars. The two most powerful were the Nawab of Bengal
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawabs of Bengal were the hereditary nazims or subadars of the subah of Bengal during the Mughal rule and the de-facto rulers of the province.-History:...
, Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan was the first Nawab of Bengal. In fact circumstances resulted in his being the first independent ruler of Bengal post the death of Emperor Aurangzeb...
, whose capital was Murshidabad
Murshidabad
Murshidabad is a city in Murshidabad district of West Bengal state in India. The city of Murshidabad is located on the southern bank of the Bhagirathi, a distributary of the Ganges River. It was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this...
, and the wazir or Nawab of Awadh
Nawab of Awadh
The Nawab of Awadh is the title of rulers who governed the state of Awadh in India in the 18th and 19th century. The Nawabs of Awadh originated form Persia-Establishment:...
, Sa'adat Ali Khan, Burhan ul-Mulk
Saadat Khan
Saadat Ali Khan was the Subahdar Nawab of Awadh from 26 January 1722 to 1739, and the son of Muhammad Nasir...
. The Awadh state was under constant pressure from Hindu Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
states and the Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
Hindu state. Another Muslim monarch, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was a vassal of the Hindu Marathas and also under pressure from the Hindu Polygar states. This left the Muslim monarch of Bengal, among the richest states of South Asia, and the only truly independent Muslim power in South Asia with the ability to project power against the British. However, Bengal in a precarious situation. Bengal was a kingdom ruled by a Muslim king, surrounded by hostile Hindu powers and weakened by dissensions among the officialdom and the banking community.
The relationship between the Europeans in India was influenced by a series of wars and treaties on mainland Europe. Since the late seventeenth century the European merchants had raised bodies of troops to protect their commercial interests and latterly to influence local politics to their advantage. Military power was rapidly becoming as important as commercial acumen in securing India's valuable trade, and increasingly it was used to appropriate territory and to collect land revenue.
After Clive's arrival in India, the rich lands of the Coromandel Coast
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
were contested between the French Governor General Joseph François Dupleix
Joseph François Dupleix
Joseph-François, Marquis Dupleix was governor general of the French establishment in India, and the rival of Robert Clive.-Biography:Dupleix was born in Landrecies, France...
and the British. The British and French supported various factions as Nawab of the remaining parts of the Mughal Empire. Clive was the first of the "soldier-politicals" as they came to be called, who helped the British gain ascendency in India by installing rulers beholden to himself and to Britain. Clive's notoriety and fame lay principally in his political and military conquest of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
.
First journey to India (1744-1753)
At the age of eighteen, Clive was sent out to MadrasChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
as a "factor" or "writer" in the service of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. After running aground, his ship was detained in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
for nine months while repairs were completed. This enabled him to learn Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, which he often found of use later. At this time the East India Company had a small settlement at Fort St. George near the village of Madraspatnam.
On 4 September 1746, Madras was attacked by French Forces
Battle of Madras
The Battle of Madras or Fall of Madras or Battle of Adyar took place in September 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession when a French force attacked and captured the city of Madras from its British garrison....
led by La Bourdonnais
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French naval officer and administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.-Biography:...
as part of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
. After several days of bombardment the British forces surrendered and the French entered the city. It was originally planned that the town would be restored to the British after negotiation but this was opposed by Dupleix
Joseph François Dupleix
Joseph-François, Marquis Dupleix was governor general of the French establishment in India, and the rival of Robert Clive.-Biography:Dupleix was born in Landrecies, France...
, then the head of the French settlements in India. The prolonged negotiations led Clive and others to make their escape to Fort St David (at Cuddalore
Cuddalore
Cuddalore is a fast growing industrial city and headquarter of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the coast of Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population.Cuddalore is known...
), some 20 miles (32.2 km) to the south. For his part in this, Clive was given an ensign's
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
commission. The siege was eventually lifted when Mughal troops arrived to relieve the city.
In the conflict, Clive's bravery had been noted by Major Stringer Lawrence
Stringer Lawrence
Major-General Stringer Lawrence was an English soldier, the first Commander-in-Chief, India, sometimes regarded as the "Father of the Indian Army"....
, the commander of the British troops. However, after the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle
Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
On the 24 April 1748 a congress assembled at Aachen for the purpose of bringing to a conclusion the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession....
in 1748 he returned to civil duties. Several months later, in early 1749, he was called upon to assist Lawrence in an expedition to Tanjore, where the rajah had requested assistance recovering his throne from a usurper. Clive distinguished himself during the siege of Devakottai
Devakottai
Devakottai [தேவகோட்டை] is a town and a first grade municipality in Sivaganga district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Devakottai is one of the biggest towns of the Nagarathar community.-History:...
when he led a small force in the storming of an embankment which was very nearly wiped out. Clive then returned once more to civilian duties, acting as a commissary for the company's European troops.
He was, however, afflicted with some sort of nervous disorder, and was sent north to Bengal to recuperate. The conflict between the British and the French continued, this time in political rather than military terms. When Clive returned two years later the political scene had shifted and the powerful positions of Nawab of the Carnatic
Nawab of the Carnatic
Nawabs of the Carnatic , ruled the Carnatic region of South India between about 1690 and 1801. They initially had their capital at Arcot,vellore city...
and Nizam of Hyderabad were both taken by rulers who were strongly sympathetic to the French cause as a result of actions in the Second Carnatic War. Chanda Sahib
Chanda Sahib
Chanda Sahib was the Nawab of the Carnatic between 1749 and 1752. His birth name is Husayn Dost Khan. He was the son-in-law of the Nawab of Carnatic Dost Ali Khan, under whom he worked as a Dewan. He belonged the Muslim Nait community which had ruled the Carnatic under the Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan...
had been made Nawab of the Carnatic with Dupleix's assistance, while the British had taken up the cause of the previous incumbent, Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah. Dupleix was "rewarded with... territory said to yield an annual revenue of over 350,000 rupees" and in addition, he was made part of the Mughal hierarchy.
The Siege of Arcot (1751)
In the summer of 1751, Chanda Shahib had left Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, to attack Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah at TrichinopolyTiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli ) , also called Tiruchi or Trichy , is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state...
. Clive offered to attack Arcot in order to force Chanda Sahib to raise the siege. Madras and Fort St David could supply him with only 200 Europeans and 300 sepoy
Sepoy
A sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier in the service of a European power. In the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.-Etymology and Historical usage:...
s and of the eight officers who led them, four were civilians like Clive himself, and six had never been in action. In addition, the force only had three artillery pieces. The initial British assault took the fort at Arcot during a thunderstorm, and Clive's troops immediately began to fortify the building against a siege. Aided by some of the population, Clive was able to make sallies against the besieging troops. As the days passed on, Chanda Sahib sent a large army led by his son, Raza Sahib and his French supporters, who entered Arcot to besiege Clive in the fort.
The historian Macaulay wrote a century later of the siege:
"... the commander who had to conduct the defence...was a young man of five and twenty, who had been bred as a book-keeper... Clive...had made his arrangements, and, exhausted by fatigue, had thrown himself on his bed. He was awakened by the alarm, and was instantly at his post.... After three desperate onsets, the besiegers retired behind the ditch. The struggle lasted about an hour...the garrison lost only five or six men."
The contemporary Tuzuk-e Walajahi states that Clive received assistance from two thousand Maratha horse under the command of Madina Ali Khan and Yunus Khan, two sardars
Sardar
Sardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...
(commanders) of Mohammed Ali Walajah. This reinforcement proved a turning point, and Clive and Major Lawrence were able to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. In 1754, the first of the provisional Carnatic treaties was signed between Thomas Saunders, the Company's resident at Madras, and M. Godeheu
Charles Godeheu
wankerCharles Robert Godeheu de Zaimont was Acting Governor General of Pondicherry who is the Commissioner of French army during Dupleix's reign.-Important incidents:...
, the French commander. Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah was recognized as Nawab, and both nations agreed to equalize their possessions. When war again broke out in 1756, during Clive's absence in Bengal, the French obtained successes in the northern districts, and it was Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah's efforts which drove them from their settlements. The Treaty of Paris (1763)
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
formally confirmed Mohammed Ali Khan Walajah as Nawab of the Carnatic. It was a result of this action and the increased British influence that in 1765 a firman (decree) came from the Emperor of Delhi, recognizing the British possessions in southern India.
His conduct during the siege made Clive famous in Europe. The Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
William Pitt the Elder
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
described Clive, who had received no formal military training whatsoever, as the "heaven-born general", endorsing the generous appreciation of his early commander, Major Lawrence. The Court of Directors of the East India Company voted him a sword worth £700, which he refused to receive unless Lawrence was similarly honoured. He left Madras for home, after ten years' absence, early in 1753, but not before marrying Margaret Maskelyne, the sister of his friend Nevil Maskelyne
Nevil Maskelyne
The Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...
who was afterwards well known as Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
.
Second journey to India (1755-1760)
In July 1755, Clive returned to India to act as deputy governor of Fort St. David, a small settlement south of Madras. He arrived after having lost a considerable fortune en route, as the Doddington, the lead ship of his convoy from EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was wrecked near Port Elizabeth, losing a chest of gold coins belonging to Clive worth £33,000. Nearly 250 years later in 1998, illegally salvaged coins from Clive's treasure chest were offered for sale, and in 2002 a portion of the coins were given to the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n government after protracted legal wrangling.
Clive, now promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in the King's army took part in the capture of the fortress of Gheriah, a stronghold of the Maratha Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Tuloji Angre. The action was led by Admiral James Watson and the English had a several ships available, some Royal troops and some Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
allies. The overwhelming strength of the joint British and Maratha forces ensured that the battle was won with few losses. A fleet surgeon, Edward Ives, noted that Clive refused to take any part of the treasure divided among the victorious forces as was custom at the time.
The fall and recapture of Calcutta (1756-1757)
Following this action Clive headed to his post at Fort St. David and it was there he received news of twin disasters for the English. Early in 1756, Siraj Ud Daulah had succeeded his grandfather Alivardi KhanAlivardi Khan
Ali Vardi Khan was the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during 1740 - 1756. He toppled the Nasiri Dynasty of Bengal and took power as Nawab.-Early life:...
as Nawab of Bengal. In June Clive received news that the new Nawab had attacked the English at Kasimbazar
Cossimbazar
Kasim Bazar or Cossimbazar, or Kasimbazar is a census town in Murshidabad in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town on the river Bhagirathi in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India, at one time included in the Berhampore municipality. In 1901 its population was just...
and shortly afterwards on 20 June he had taken the fort at Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. The losses to the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
because of the fall of Calcutta were estimated by investors at £2,000,000. Those British who were captured were placed in a punishment cell which became infamous as the Black Hole of Calcutta
Black Hole of Calcutta
The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small dungeon in the old Fort William, at Calcutta, India, where troops of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, held British prisoners of war after the capture of the Fort on June 19, 1756....
and, in the stifling summer heat, it is alleged 123 of the 146 prisoners died as a result of suffocation or heat stroke. While the Black Hole became infamous in Britain, it is debatable whether the Nawab was aware of the incident.
By Christmas 1756, as no response had been received to diplomatic letters to the Nawab, Admiral Charles Watson and Clive were dispatched to attack the Nawab's army and remove him from Calcutta by force. Their first target was the fortress of Baj-Baj which Clive approached by land while Admiral Watson bombarded it from the sea. The fortress was quickly taken with minimal British casualties. Shortly afterwards on 2 January 1757, Calcutta itself was taken with similar ease.
Approximately a month later, on 3 February 1757, Clive encountered the army of the Nawab itself. For two days, the army marched past Clive's camp to take up a position east of Calcutta. Sir Eyre Coote, serving in the British forces, estimated the enemy's strength as 40,000 cavalry, 60,000 infantry and thirty cannon. Even allowing for overestimation this was considerably more than Clive's force of approximately 540 British infantry, 600 Royal Navy sailors, 800 sepoys, fourteen field guns and no cavalry. The British forces attacked the Nawab's camp on the nearly morning hours of 5 February 1757. In this battle, unofficially called the 'Calcutta Gauntlet', Clive marched his small force through the entire Nawab's camp, despite being under heavy fire from all sides. By noon, Clive's force broke through the besieging camp and arrived safely at Fort William. During the assault, around one tenth of the British attackers became casualties. Clive reported 57 killed and 137 wounded. While technically not a victory in military terms, the sudden British assault intimidated the Nawab so much that he sought to make terms with Clive and surrendered control of Calcutta on 9 February by promising to compensate the East India Company for damages suffered and to restore privileges.
War with Siraj Ud Daulah
As Britain and France were once more at war, Clive sent the fleet up the river against the French colony of Chandernagore, while he besieged it by land. There was a strong incentive to capture the colony, as capture of a previous French settlement near Pondicherry had yielded the combined forces prizes to the value of £140,000. After consenting to the siege, the Nawab unsuccessfully sought to assist the French. Some officials of the Nawab's court formed a confederacy to depose him. Jafar Ali Khan also known as Mir JafarMir Jafar
-Notes:# "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim - a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found # "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai - a reference to the conspiracy can be found...
, the Nawab's commander-in-chief, led the conspirators. With Admiral Watson, Governor Drake and Mr Watts, Clive made a gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties...
in which it was agreed to give the office of viceroy of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to Mir Jafar, who was to pay a million sterling to the Company for its losses in Calcutta and the cost of its troops, half a million to the British inhabitants of Calcutta, £200,000 to the native inhabitants, and £70,000 to its Armenian merchants.
Clive employed Umichand, a rich Bengali trader, as an agent between Mir Jafar and the British officials. Umichand threatened to betray Clive unless he was guaranteed, in the agreement itself, £300,000. To dupe him a second fictitious agreement was shown to him with a clause to this effect. Admiral Watson refused to sign it. Clive deposed later to the House of Commons that, "to the best of his remembrance, he gave the gentleman who carried it leave to sign his name upon it; his lordship never made any secret of it; he thinks it warrantable in such a case, and would do it again a hundred times; he had no interested motive in doing it, and did it with a design of disappointing the expectations of a rapacious man." It is nevertheless cited as an example of Clive's unscrupulousness.
Plassey
Jagat Seth
Jagat Seth was a rich businessman from Murshidabad during the rule of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula. He came from a rich Jain Marwari business family in Murshidabad. His spiritual guru was Jain Acharya Sri BhratruChandra Suri. Jagat Seths were among the most powerful bankers of India during the first half...
, Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar
-Notes:# "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim - a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found # "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai - a reference to the conspiracy can be found...
etc. Clive restrained Major Kilpatrick, for he trusted to Mir Jafar's abstinence, if not desertion to his ranks, and knew the importance of sparing his own small force. He was fully justified in his confidence in Mir Jafar's treachery to his master, for he led a large portion of the Nawab's army away from the battlefield, ensuring his defeat. Clive lost hardly any European troops; in all 22 sepoys were killed and 50 wounded. It is curious in many ways that Clive is now best-remembered for this battle, which was essentially won by suborning the opposition rather than through fighting or brilliant military tactics. Whilst it established British military supremacy in Bengal, it did not secure the East India Company's control over Upper India, as is sometimes claimed. That would come only seven years later in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar
Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal; Shuja-ud-Daula Nawab of Awadh; and Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor...
, where Sir Hector Munro
Hector Munro
General Sir Hector Munro KB was a Scottish soldier in the British army who became the ninth Commander-in-Chief of India .-Early Military Career in Scotland:...
defeated the combined forces of the Mughal Emperor and the Nawab of Oudh in a much more closely fought encounter.
Siraj Ud Daulah fled from the field on a camel, securing what wealth he could. He was soon captured by Mir Jafar's forces, and later executed by the assassin Mohammadi Beg. Clive entered Murshidabad, and established Mir Jafar as Nawab, the price which had been agreed beforehand for his treachery. Clive was taken through the treasury, amid a million and a half sterling's worth of rupees, gold and silver plate, jewels and rich goods, and besought to ask what he would. Clive took £160,000, a vast fortune for the day, while half a million was distributed among the army and navy of the East India Company, and provided gifts of £24,000 to each member of the Company's committee, as well as the public compensation stipulated for in the treaty.
In this extraction of wealth Clive followed a usage fully recognized by the Company, although this was the source of future corruption which Clive was later sent to India again to correct. The Company itself acquired a revenue of £100,000 a year, and a contribution towards its losses and military expenditure of a million and a half sterling. Mir Jafar further discharged his debt to Clive by afterwards presenting him with the quit-rent of the Company's lands in and around Calcutta, amounting to an annuity of £27,000 for life, and leaving him by will the sum of £70,000, which Clive devoted to the army.
Further campaigns
While busy with the civil administration, Clive continued to follow up his military success. He sent Major Coote in pursuit of the French almost as far as Benares. He dispatched Colonel Forde to Vizagapatam and the northern districts of Madras, where that officer won the Battle of CondoreBattle of Condore
The Battle of Condore took place near Masulipatam on 9 December 1758 during the Third Carnatic War, part of the Seven Years War. An Anglo-Indian force under the command of Colonel Francis Forde attacked and defeated a similarly sized French force under the command of Conflans, capturing all their...
, pronounced by Broome "one of the most brilliant actions on military record".
He came into direct contact, for the first time, with the Great Mughal himself, a meeting which would prove beneficial in his later career. Shah Alam, when shahzada, or heir-apparent, quarrelled with his father, the emperor Alamgir II, and he united with the viceroys of Oudh(Awadh) and Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
for the conquest of Bengal. He advanced as far as Patna, which he besieged with 40,000 men. Mir Jafar, in terror, sent his son to its relief, and implored the aid of Clive. Major Caillaud defeated the prince's army and dispersed it. Clive also repelled the aggression of the Dutch, and avenged the massacre of Amboyna
Amboyna massacre
The Amboyna massacre was the 1623 torture and execution on Ambon Island , of twenty men, ten of whom were in the service of the British East India Company, by agents of the Dutch East India Company, on accusations of treason...
- the occasion when he wrote his famous letter; "Dear Forde, fight them immediately; I will send you the order of council to-morrow."
Meanwhile Clive improved the organization and drill of the sepoy army, after a European model, and enlisted into it many Muslims from upper India. He re-fortified Calcutta. In 1760, after four years of hard labour, his health gave way and he returned to England. "It appeared", wrote a contemporary on the spot, "as if the soul was departing from the Government of Bengal". He had been formally made Governor of Bengal by the Court of Directors at a time when his nominal superiors in Madras sought to recall him to their help there. But he had discerned the importance of the province even during his first visit to its rich delta, mighty rivers and teeming population. Clive selected some able subordinates, notably a young Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
, who, a year after Plassey, was made Resident at the Nawab's court.
The long-term outcome of Plassey was to place a very heavy revenue burden upon Bengal. The Company sought to extract the maximum revenue possible from the peasantry to fund military campaigns, and corruption was widespread amongst its officials. Mir Jafar was compelled to extortion on a vast scale in order to replenish his treasury, which had been emptied by the Company's demand for an indemnity of 2.8 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
s of rupees (£3 million).
Return to England
Quit-rent
Quit rent , Quit-rent, or quitrent, in practically all cases, is now effectively but not formally a tax or land tax imposed on freehold or leased land by a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns....
of £27,000 a year. He financially supported his parents and sisters, while also providing Major Lawrence, the commanding officer who had early encouraged his military genius, with a stipend
Stipend
A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
of £500 a year. In the five years of his conquests and administration in Bengal, the young man had crowded together a succession of exploits which led Lord Macaulay, in what that historian termed his "flashy" essay on the subject, to compare him to Napoleon Bonaparte, declaring that "[Clive] gave peace, security, prosperity and such liberty as the case allowed of to millions of Indians, who had for centuries been the prey of oppression, while Napoleon's career of conquest was inspired only by personal ambition, and the absolutism he established vanished with his fall." Macaulay's ringing endorsement of Clive seems more controversial today, as some would argue that his own ambition and desire for personal gain set the tone for the administration of Bengal until the Permanent Settlement
Permanent Settlement
The Permanent Settlement — also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal — was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the...
30 years later. The immediate consequence of Clive's victory at Plassey was an increase in the revenue demand on Bengal by at least 20%, much of which was appropriated by Zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
s and corrupt Company Officials, which led to considerable hardship for the rural population, particularly during the famine of 1770.
During the three years that Clive remained in England, he sought a political position, chiefly that he might influence the course of events in India, which he had left full of promise. He had been well received at court, had been made Baron Clive of Plassey
Plassey, County Clare
In 1761, Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive gave orders for his estate in County Clare, centred around the townland of Ballykilty, to be renamedPlassey `the name of the place where we gained our great victory in India to which I owe all my good fortune'...
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, had bought estates, and had himself as well as a few friends returned to the House of Commons.
Clive set himself to reform the home system of the East India Company, and began a bitter dispute with the chairman of the Court of Directors, Mr Sullivan, whom in the end, he defeated. In this he was aided by the news of reverses in Bengal. Mir Jafar had finally rebelled over payments to English officials, and Clive's successor had put Kasim Ali Khan, Mir Jafar's son-in-law upon the musnud (throne). After a brief tenure, Kasim Ali had fled, ordering Walter Reinhardt Sombre
Walter Reinhardt Sombre
Walter Reinhardt Sombre was an adventurer and mercenary in India from the 1760s.Sombre is thought to have been born in Strasbourg or Treves. His nationality is uncertain, being given in various sources as Austrian, French, German, Luxemburger, or Swiss...
(known to the Muslims as Sumru), a Swiss mercenary of his, to butcher the garrison of 150 English at Patna, and had disappeared under the protection of his brother, the Viceroy of Oudh. The whole Company's service, civil and military, had become mired in corruption, demoralized by gifts and by the monopoly of the inland as well as export trade, to such an extent that the Indians were pauperised, and the Company was plundered of the revenues which Clive had acquired for them. For this Clive himself must bear much responsibility, as he had set a very poor example during his tenure as Governor. Nevertheless, the Court of Proprietors, forced the Directors to hurry Lord Clive to Bengal with the double powers of Governor and Commander-in-Chief.
Third journey to India
On 3 May 1765 Clive landed at Calcutta to learn that Mir Jafar had died, leaving him personally £70,000. Mir Jafar was succeeded by his son Kasim Ali, though not before the government had been further demoralized by taking £100,000 as a gift from the new Nawab; while Kasim Ali had induced not only the viceroy of Oudh, but the emperor of Delhi himself, to invade Bihar. At this point a mutiny in the Bengal army occurred, which was a grim precursor of the Indian rebellion of 1857Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, but on this occasion it was quickly suppressed by blowing the sepoy ringleader from a gun. Major Munro, "the Napier of those times", scattered the united armies on the hard-fought field of Buxar
Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal; Shuja-ud-Daula Nawab of Awadh; and Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor...
. The emperor, Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
, detached himself from the league, while the Oudh viceroy threw himself on the mercy of the British.
Clive had now an opportunity of repeating in Hindustan
Hindustan
Hindustan or Indostan, literal translation "Land of River Sindhu ", is one of the popular names of South Asia. It can also mean "the land of the Hindus"...
, or Upper India, what he had accomplished in Bengal. He might have secured what is now called Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, and have rendered unnecessary the campaigns of Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
and Lake. But he believed he had other work in the exploitation of the revenues and resources of rich Bengal itself, making it a base from which British India would afterwards steadily grow. Hence he returned to the Oudh viceroy all his territory save the provinces of Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
and Kora, which he presented to the weak emperor.
The Imperial Farman
In return for the Oudhian provinces Clive secured from the Emperor one of the most important documents in British history in India, effectively granting title of Bengal to Clive. It appears in the records as "firmaund from the King Shah Aalum, granting the dewany of Bengal, Behar and Orissa to the Company 1765." The date was 12 August 1765, the place Benares, the throne an English dining-table covered with embroidered cloth and surmounted by a chair in Clive's tent. It is all pictured by a Muslim contemporary, who indignantly exclaims that so great a "transaction was done and finished in less time than would have been taken up in the sale of a jackass". By this deed the Company became the real sovereign rulers of thirty million people, yielding a revenue of four millions sterling.On the same date Clive obtained not only an imperial charter for the Company's possessions in the Carnatic, completing the work he began at Arcot, but a third firman for the highest of all the lieutenancies of the empire, that of the Deccan itself. This fact is mentioned in a letter from the secret committee of the court of directors to the Madras government, dated 27 April 1768. The British presence in India was still tiny compared to the number and strength of the princes and people of India, but also compared to the forces of their ambitious French, Dutch and Danish rivals. Clive had this in mind when he penned his last advice to the directors, as he finally left India in 1767:
"We are sensible that, since the acquisition of the dewany, the power formerly belonging to the soubah of those provinces is totally, in fact, vested in the East India Company. Nothing remains to him but the name and shadow of authority. This name, however, this shadow, it is indispensably necessary we should seem to venerate."
Attempts at administrative reform
Having thus founded the Empire of British India, Clive sought to put in place a strong administration. The salaries of civil servants were increased, the acceptance of gifts from Indians was forbidden, and Clive exacted covenants under which participation in the inland trade was stopped. Unfortunately this had very little impact in reducing corruption, which remained widespread until the days of Warren HastingsWarren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
. Clive's military reforms were more effective. He put down a mutiny of the English officers, who chose to resent the veto against receiving presents and the reduction of batta (extra pay) at a time when two Maratha armies were marching on Bengal. His reorganization of the army, on the lines of that which he had begun after Plassey, neglected during his absence in England, subsequently attracted the admiration of Indian officers. He divided the whole army into three brigades, making each a complete force, in itself equal to any single Indian army that could be brought against it. He had not enough British artillerymen, however, and would not make the mistake of his successors, who trained Indians to work the guns, which were later turned against the British.
Retirement and death
Clive left India for the last time in February 1767. In 1769, he acquired the house and gardens at ClaremontClaremont (country house)
Claremont, also known historically as 'Clermont', is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England...
near Esher and commissioned Lancelot "Capability" Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
to remodel the garden and rebuild the house.
In 1772 Parliament opened an inquiry into the Company's practices in India. Clive's political opponents turned these hearings into attacks on Clive. Questioned about some of the large sums of money he had received while in India, Clive pointed out that they were not contrary to accepted company practice, and defended his behavior by stating "I stand astonished at my own moderation" given opportunities for greater gain. The hearings highlighted the need for reform of the Company, and a vote to censure Clive for his actions failed. Later in 1772 Clive was invested in the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Shropshire was always held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, but after the Restoration, its lieutenants were appointed separately...
.
Clive continued to be involved in ongoing Parliamentary discussions on company reforms, during which General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
, one of Clive's most vocal enemies, pressed the case in 1773 that some of Clive's gains were made at the expense of the Company and the government. Clive again made a spirited defense of his actions, and closed his testimony by stating "Take my fortune, but save my honour." The vote that followed completely exonerated Clive, who was commended for the "great and meritorious service" he rendered to the country. Immediately thereafter Parliament began debating the Regulating Act of 1773
Regulating Act of 1773
The Regulating Act of 1773 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to overhaul the management of the East India Company's rule in India...
, which significantly reformed the East India Company's practices.
On 22 November 1774 Clive committed suicide at his Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent...
home in London by stabbing himself with a penknife
Penknife
A penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding pocket knife, originally used for cutting or sharpening a quill to make a pen nib. Originally, penknives did not necessarily have folding blades, but resembled a scalpel or wood knife by having a short, fixed blade at the end of a long handle...
. Though Clive's suicide has been linked to his history of depression and to opium addiction, the likely immediate impetus was excruciating pain resulting from illness (he was known to suffer from gallstone
Gallstone
A gallstone is a crystalline concretion formed within the gallbladder by accretion of bile components. These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract such as the cystic duct, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, or the ampulla of...
s) which he had been attempting to abate with opium. He had recently been offered command of British forces in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
which he had turned down.
Clive was awarded an Irish peerage and was created Baron Clive of Plassey co Clare; he bought lands in County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
and County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, naming part of his lands near Limerick City
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, Plassey
Plassey, County Limerick
Plassey is an area of County Limerick on the River Shannon, near Castletroy and Limerick, not to be confused with the Plassey estate in County Clare owned by Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive...
. Following Irish independence
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, these lands became state property. In the 1970s a technical college
National Institute for Higher Education
A National Institute for Higher Education was a category of higher education institution established in the Republic of Ireland to provide higher level technical education above the standard of the then established Regional Technical College system but at university level...
, which later became University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
, was built at Plassey.
Family
Nevil Maskelyne
The Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...
, fifth Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
, in Madras. They had six children:
- Edward Clive, 1st Earl of PowisEdward Clive, 1st Earl of PowisEdward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis , known as the Lord Clive between 1774 and 1804, was a British peer and politician.-Background:...
(b. 7 March 1754–16 May 1839) - Rebecca Clive (bapt 10 October 1760 Moreton Say, married Lt-Gen John Robinson, MP (d. 1798) in 1780 and died December 1795).
- Margaret Clive (bapt 18 September 1763, d. June 1814)
- Elizabeth Clive (bapt 18 November 1764)
- Charlotte Clive
- Robert Clive (14 August 1769–28 July 1833), Lt-Col.
Legacy
- Robert Clive's desk from his time at Market Drayton Grammar School is on display at Market Drayton museum complete with his carved initials.
- Robert Clive's pet Aldabra Giant TortoiseAldabra Giant TortoiseThe Aldabra giant tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world....
died on Thursday, 23 March 2006 in the KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
zoo. The tortoiseTortoiseTortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
, whose name was "AdwaitaAdwaitaAdwaita was the name of a male Aldabra giant tortoise in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India...
" (meaning the "The One and Only" in Bengali), appeared to be 150–250 years old. Adwaita had been in the zoo since the 1870s and the zoo's documentation showed that he came from Clive's estate in India - A statue of Clive stands in the main Square in the market town of ShrewsburyShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. - Clive is a Senior Girls house at the Duke of York's Royal Military SchoolDuke of York's Royal Military SchoolThe Duke of York’s Royal Military School, more commonly called the Duke of York’s, is a co-educational Academy with military traditions in Dover, Kent, open to pupils whose parents are serving or have served in any branch of the United Kingdom armed forces for a minimum of 4 years...
, where, as at Welbeck collegeWelbeck CollegeWelbeck Defence Sixth Form College is a selective sixth form college in Woodhouse, Leicestershire, England, providing A-Level education for candidates to the technical branches of the British Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence civil service and privately funded students.Welbeck is located near...
, all houses are named after prominent military figures. - Clive Road, in West DulwichWest DulwichWest Dulwich is an area in southeast London, England, that straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between London Borough of Southwark on the east and London Borough of Lambeth to the west...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
commemorates Baron Clive despite being so named close to a century after his death. Following the completion of the relocation of The Crystal PalaceThe Crystal PalaceThe Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
from Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
to what is now Upper NorwoodUpper NorwoodUpper Norwood is an elevated area in south London, England within the postcode SE19. It is a residential district largely in the London Borough of Croydon although some parts extend into the London Borough of Lambeth, London Borough of Southwark and the London Borough of Bromley. Upper Norwood...
in 1854, the West End of London and Crystal Palace RailwayWest End of London and Crystal Palace RailwayThe West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway was an early railway company in south London between Crystal Palace station and Wandsworth, which was opened in 1856. The line was extended in 1858 to a station at Battersea Wharf which was misleadingly named Pimlico...
was opened on 10 June 1854 to cope with crowds visiting the Crystal Palace. This led to a huge increase in employment in the area and a subsequent increase in the building of residential properties. Many of the new roads were named after eminent figures in Britain's imperial history, such as Robert Clive. - There is a settlement named after Clive in the Hawke's BayHawke's BayHawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...
province of New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. - The movie Clive of IndiaClive of India (film)Clive of India is a 1935 drama film based on Robert, Lord Clive's historical biography. It was written by R.J. Minney and W.P. Lipscomb and directed by Richard Boleslawski.-Cast:* Ronald Colman as Baron Robert Clive* shahrukh khan as devdas...
was released in 1935, and starred Ronald ColmanRonald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
, Loretta YoungLoretta YoungLoretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
, and Colin CliveColin CliveColin Clive was an English stage and screen actor best remembered for his portrayal of Dr...
, his descendant. - 'Clive' is a house at Merchant Taylors' School, NorthwoodMerchant Taylors' School, NorthwoodMerchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
where he was a student for seven years before his expulsion. Members can be distinguished by their red striped ties.
External links
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