Lord Wellesley started from Britain for India when Napoleon had successfully broken the first coalition of European powers against France and was thinking of attacking India with an aim to break the power of Britain which was yet against France in the war. Many diplomats in Europe believed that if British influence over India was eliminated then the backbone of Britain could be broken. Napoleon was also one amongst them and as the British Navy was supreme on the Seas he planned of invading India by land-route through Egypt. The French in India were also active in eliminating British influence in India. They were masters of the island of Mauritius from where help could be dispatched any time to enemies of the British in India.

Battle of Khurda

Tipu, the king of Mysore was a bitter enemy of the British and was desirous for seeking the help of the French. He had declared himself ‘Citizen Tipu’ and had unfurled the tri-colour flag of French revolutionaries at his fort. A small contingent of French volunteer soldiers reached Mysore at that very time when Wellesley reached Calcutta. The Maratha chief, Mahadaji Sindhia had engaged French officers for providing European military training to his soldiers. Certainly, the Marathas were no friends of the British. The British had lost their influence even over their allied rulers. One of them was Nizam of Hyderabad. Prior to Wellesley, Sir John Shore had pursued the policy of non-interference in the affairs of Indian states. The Marathas had felt emboldened by it and they had attacked the Nizam. The Nizam, failing in getting the help of the British, was badly defeated at the battle of Khurda by the Marathas. He, therefore, had lost the confidence of the British, had employed a French officer, called Raymond and had provided training to an army of nearly fourteen thousand soldiers on European model. Thus the French were actively cooperating with the enemies of the British in India at several places, with a view to finishing British influence in India. Therefore, one primary task of Wellesley in India was to finish the French influence in India.

That’s how Wellesley ended French influence in India

Wellesley was determined to finish French influence in India and fixed a definite policy. George Barlow wrote of it: “It is absolutely necessary for the defeat of French designs that no native state should be left to exist in India which is not upheld by the British power or the political control of which is not under its absolute control.”

Subsidiary Alliance

That is why one of the conditions of his Subsidiary Alliance imposed on Indian rulers was that the allied rulers would hand over their foreign policy to the British and would not employ any American or European in their service without their prior approval.

In 1798, the Nizam of Hyderabad was forced to accept the Subsidiary Alliance and disband the army trained by French officers. In 1799, Tipu was defeated; large territories of Mysore were occupied by the British and whatever was handed over to the successor of previous Hindu ruler was on condition of his acceptance of the Subsidiary Alliance. In 1801, the Nawab of Avadh and, in 1802, Peshwa Baji Rao II were forced to accept the terms of the Subsidiary Alliance. In 1803, Sindhia and Bhonsle were defeated in battles and were forced to accept Subsidiary Alliance. Thus, Wellesley succeeded in eliminating French influence at courts of native rulers by imposing Subsidiary Alliance on them.

Fortifications of Goa

In 1799, Wellesley improved fortifications of Goa with the help of the Portuguese and, in 1801, occupied the territories of the Dutch on the coast of Bengal. When the war with the Marathas broke out he occupied coastal territories of the Marathas in Gujarat, Malabar and Cuttack. His aim in occupying these territories was not permitting any territory sea-coast where the French could get a foothold. Wellesley further desired to capture Mauritius which was under French possession and the Dutch, possessions of Batavia and Cape colony so that the influence of the French and its dependent states could be eliminated from entire south-east Asia. But, the directors of the company did not permit him for this adventure.

However, Wellesley took some further steps to secure India from French invasion from towards the north-west. He deputed Mehndi Ajj Khan as his representative at the court of Persia. Mehndi Ali succeeded in concluding a treaty with the king of Persia by which the king agreed to turn out the French from his kingdom. Thus Persia was befriended by Wellesley against the French. Wellesley also deputed an Indian army to Egypt where Napoleon had invaded. But before that army could land in Egypt, Napoleon had left Egypt and the French army had surrendered there. The Indian army, therefore, returned to India in 1802. In 1803, General Lake occupied Delhi and Agra and took the Mughal Emperor under the protection of the British, so there remained no chance of the Emperor going under the influence of the French.

Thus, Wellesley took all possible measures to eliminate French influence in India. He succeeded completely.

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

Tags : PDF for UPSC exam notes. 

Questions for UPSC mains :

What steps were taken by Lord Wellesley to eliminate the influence of the French in India? Were these successful?