The French Company in India was ably served by many capable French officers. Dumas and Dupleix possessed vision; Bussy was a shrewd diplomat and Lally was a daring commander. Yet, the French failed against the English. Various factors were responsible for their failure, such as :-

Superior position of the English Company

The English company enjoyed superiority against the French company in many respects from the very start of their struggle. The English company was respects from the very start of their struggle. The English company was a private company and mostly remained free from the interference of the British government. Therefore, its financial position largely remained sound. On the contrary, the French Company was more or less a government undertaking. The Company, therefore, could not take independent divisions and was affected adversely by the interference of the corrupt and tradition-bound French government. It could not look after properly even its commercial interests and therefore, mostly remained short of funds. The financial disparity between the two companies increased further when the English captured political power in Bengal. Thus the English Company was superior to the French Company in its finances and organisation. The English company also possessed better strategic and trade centres in India. On the south-east coast, Pondicherry was certainly a good settlement of the French but Madras under the British was equally good. There was no possession of the French equal to Bombay on the south-west coast. In Bengal, Calcutta was far superior to the French possession of Chandranagar. Thus, the English Company was in a position of strength vis-à-vis the French company in every respect.

France did not pay much attention towards the affairs in India

France, at that time, was trying to gain its natural frontiers in Europe which led it into conflicts with several countries of Europe. It was also attempting to have a colonial empire in America. Therefore, it paid very little attention towards Indian affairs and failed to support the French company adequately.

The occupation of Bengal by the English

After the battle of Plassey, the English company wielded large political influence in Bengal. It increased the resources of the Company both in men and material. That helped the English in gaining ascendancy over the French in Karnataka. Sarkar and Datt write : “In fact, Plassey decided the fate of the Carnatic struggles.” Thus in a way, Wandiwash was an inevitable corollary to Plassey.

The superiority of the British Navy

Britain had established its naval superiority over France in the War of Austrian succession itself. It maintained it even afterwards. France, therefore, could not gain any success against Britain in the expansion of its colonial empire. It happened in case of India as well. La Bourdonnais was forced to evacuate Madras because of the fear of the British navy and Count de Ache was forced to retreat to Mauritius twice after his defeats on the sea. The English maintained their supply lines from Europe and despatched assistance to Karnataka from Bengal owing to the superiority of their navy while the French could manage none. It reduced the chances of success of the French against the English to almost zero. V. Smith writes: “Neither Alexander the Great nor Napoleon could have won the empire of India by starting from Pondicherry as a base and contending with the power which held Bengal and the command of the Sea.”

Quarrels among French Officers

The French officers failed to act together. La Bourdonnais and Dupleix quarrelled among themselves while Dupleix and Bussy differed from each other on matters of policy. In the same way, Lally and Bussy differed while de Ache refused to obey Lally. This also affected adversely the fortunes of the French.

Dupleix’s mistakes

Dupleix was ambitious, courageous, capable and a shrewd diplomat. Yet, he failed and his failure contributed to the failure of the French company in India. Dupleix paid little attention to the trade of the company and therefore, brought about is financial ruin. He expected to retrieve in financial position by political gains; and he would have succeeded if the English had not challenged him. He failed to get quick success and the war was prolonged. He, therefore, was forced to hide facts from the French government, did not seek financial support from it, took loans from his friends, spent his personal money on company’s affairs and, yet failed to maintain financial balance. It certainly affected the political fortunes of the Company. Dupleix failed to get support from the French government. He failed to convince it of the desirability of fulfilling his plans, sought no support and, therefore, got none. Dupleix engaged himself in the affairs of Karnataka and Hyderabad at one and the same time which was beyond the power and resources of the Company. Had he concentrated his efforts at one place, he, probably, would have succeeded. He also lost hold over circumstances and failed to realise the limit of his power. Therefore, he failed to compromise with the English even when the position of the French became desperate in Karnataka. Thus, Dupleix also participated in bringing misfortunes to the French Company.

Thus, various led to the failure of the French against the English. The third Carnatic war proved decisive and the French no more remained in a position to oppose the English directly. P. Roberts writes: “In April 1785, the French company was re-established but only as a simple commercial house, fortified by a monopoly and no longer the sovereign mistress of a mighty empire.”

Source used : NCERT, Tamil Nadu Board, IGNOU Modern History, NIOS textbooks. Wikipedia notes for UPSC exam.

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Questions for UPSC mains : What factors were responsible for the collapse of French power in India? Was Wandiwash an inevitable corollary to Plassey?

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