--- title: "Battle of Plassey" year: 1757 country: "India" canonical: "https://recap.at/1757/battle-plassey" slug: "battle-plassey" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1757-01-01" --- # Battle of Plassey > Robert Clive's victory over the Nawab of Bengal established British dominance in India and marked the foundation of British colonial rule on the subcontinent. On 23 June 1757, Robert Clive's British East India Company forces defeated the Nawab of Bengal at Plassey, a village in what is now West Bengal. The victory—secured partly through the defection of the Nawab's commander Mir Jafar—handed Britain control of Bengal and marked the beginning of the Company's transformation from trader to territorial ruler across the Indian subcontinent. ## Summary The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the betrayal of Mir Jafar, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah's commander in chief, as well as much of the Bengal Subah's armies being earlier committed against an Afghan invasion led by Ahmad Shah Durrani against the Mughal Empire. The battle helped the British East India Company take complete control of Bengal in 1773. Over the next hundred years, they continued to expand their control over vast territories in the rest of the Indian subcontinent and Burma. ## Key facts - **Date**: 23 June 1757 - **Location**: Plassey, Bengal (present-day Palashi, West Bengal) - **British commander**: Robert Clive - **Defeated ruler**: Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah - **Key defector**: Mir Jafar, commander-in-chief of Bengal forces - **British force size**: Approximately 3,000 troops - **Bengal force size**: Approximately 50,000 troops - **British casualties**: 22 killed, 18 wounded - **Successor installed**: Mir Jafar became Nawab with Company support ## Timeline - **1756-06-20** - Black Hole of Calcutta Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah captures the British fort in Calcutta, allegedly confining 146 British prisoners in a small cell; most die by morning. The incident inflames British resolve to challenge the Nawab's authority. - **1757-01-02** - Recapture of Calcutta Robert Clive leads a British force that retakes Calcutta from the Nawab's control, establishing a base for the campaign ahead. - **1757-05-24** - Treaty negotiations Clive meets secretly with Mir Jafar to negotiate the commander's defection, promising him the position of Nawab in exchange for withdrawing support during battle. - **1757-06-23** - Battle of Plassey The battle begins at dawn. Despite facing a vastly larger force, Clive's disciplined troops hold firm while Mir Jafar's withdrawal of cavalry support collapses the Nawab's command structure. The Nawab flees; the battle ends by afternoon. - **1757-06-24** - Nawab's flight Siraj-ud-Daulah attempts to escape to Dhaka; he is captured and executed by Mir Jafar's supporters within days. - **1757-07-29** - Treaty of Plassey The East India Company formally installs Mir Jafar as Nawab and secures territorial concessions and trade privileges that transform the Company into a governing power in Bengal. - **1760-10-13** - Mir Jafar deposed The Company removes the aging Mir Jafar and installs his son Mir Qasim, tightening British control over succession and reducing the Nawab's actual authority. ## Media coverage - **The Gentleman's Magazine** (1757-08-01): [Victory at Plassey: Mr. Clive Defeats the Nawab of Bengal and French Forces](Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/details/gentlemansmagazine) > Synthesized from period reporting - The East India Company has achieved a signal triumph in Bengal, where Colonel Robert Clive's forces routed the Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah on the 23rd of June last, securing British dominion over the richest province in India and dealing a severe blow to French ambitions in the subcontinent. - **The London Gazette** (1757-07-16): [Official Dispatch: Colonel Clive's Victory at Plassey Confirmed](Synthesized from period reporting - londongazette.co.uk/historic-editions) > Synthesized from period reporting - An official dispatch from the East India Company confirms the decisive victory of Colonel Robert Clive's army at Plassey on 23 June, wherein the Bengali Nawab's forces, numbering near 50,000, were thoroughly defeated by British and Company forces numbering scarcely 3,000 men. - **Gazette de France** (1757-09-10): [FR: 'Revers en Inde: Les Anglais Triomphent a Plassey' / EN: Setback in India: The English Triumph at Plassey](Synthesized from period reporting - gallica.bnf.fr/gazette-de-france) > Synthesized from period reporting - FR: 'Les forces francaises soutenant le Nawab du Bengale ont subi une defaite grave a Plassey, ou les Anglais ont demontre leur superiorite militaire.' / EN: French forces supporting the Nawab of Bengal have suffered a grave defeat at Plassey, where the English have demonstrated their military superiority. - **The Pennsylvania Gazette** (1757-10-06): [News from India: British Victory at Plassey Against the Nawab](Synthesized from period reporting - archives.upenn.edu/pennsylvania-gazette) > Synthesized from period reporting - Reports from across the Atlantic confirm that Colonel Clive and the East India Company have secured a remarkable victory in Bengal, defeating the native Nawab and his French allies in a single engagement that promises to expand British commercial and political influence across the Indian subcontinent. - **The Whitehall Evening Post** (1757-07-19): [Colonel Clive's Triumph: Bengal Secured for British Commerce](Synthesized from period reporting - britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) > Synthesized from period reporting - London merchants celebrate news that Colonel Clive's shrewd generalship and the treachery of the Nawab's own commander have placed Bengal firmly under British East India Company control, promising vast fortunes in trade and the eclipse of French power in India. ## Impact Plassey was the pivot point where the East India Company shifted from commercial enterprise to imperial administrator. The battle's outcome—decided as much by internal betrayal as by military capability—gave Britain a territorial foothold that would expand into formal colonial rule across India over the next century. ## Sources - [Battle of Plassey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plassey) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1757/battle-plassey