Allow me to introduce my self, my name is....

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     Clive... Robert Clive. That is my name, and I bear it with pride for it comes from a family of rich and famous history. I come from the family of Clives or Clyves, one of the oldest families of Shropshire, who play an active role in the parliament and have many important positions. I was born to a lawyer and parliament member. I had twelve brothers and sisters and I was the oldest out of all of them. I was quite the ruffian in my youth but I turned out to be just the fine, quite the whipper-snapper if I may say so myself. This was mostly due to my father though, because he was fed up with my hoodlum days sent me to India as a factor for the British East India Trading Company.
     I was so depressed by this change in my life that I contemplated suicide and went as far as to stick a pistol at my head and pulled the trigger twice but the gun failed,  which made me decide that I was meant to do something in life and thus my famous quote, "It appears I am destined for something; I will live".  All of a sudden a series of successes defined my life and brought me glory. Seizing Arcot, Battle of Plassey, securing Britains permanent hold on India, building a trade empire, clearing the way to export enormous quantities of opium, representing Shrewbury in parliament, and becoming the Baron of Plassey. My conquests in battle gave me renown with even the prime minister William Pitt, the Elder. I created a British Indian cross culture, some even say I single handley built the British trading empire. 
     Along the way I made some enemies though. Through my struggles I acquired not only acute abdominal pains, but also foes angry at the fact that a non-noble could be exalted as such, with a parliament membership and a large fortune. They spread untrue rumors that I took enormous sums of money from the Indian Rulers I supported. It is true that I took a few gifts presented to me by grateful leaders who wouldn't have survived otherwise, but I turned down a lot too. In fact the number of gifts I took are far out weighed by the number of gifts bestowed upon me. Some people just cant be happy with what they have and insist upon pushing their abnormally large noses into other people's business.
     On a brighter note one of the more happier times of my life was when I moved back to Britain in 1753 and married Margaret Maskeylne and six children together, two boys and four girls. I lived a comfortable life for a while in my London House serving as the Mayor of Shrewsbury, I even renovated some structures in hometown Shorpshire. But as all good things must come to an end I went back to India in 1757 and from then led a hectic life doing my great deeds for my country until 1774 when I returned to Britain as the MP of Shrewsbury. Eventually I died at the age of 49 in mysterious ways. To be honest even I don't recall how I died but strong evidence says that I committed suicide. So that concludes a great and eventful life of a legend. Read my othe rblogs for more narratives about my life.

First Time in Madras

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      When I was eighteen I took my first job as a factor for Britain's East India Trading company. This path took me out of the country all the way to Madras, India where the British created a settlement called Fort St. George. But there are things I must explain to you before I commence this story. India was under the control of the Mughal Empire and it was divide up among many. Three of the most prominent rulers The British faced during my time was the Nawab of Bengal, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Nawab of Awad'h. 
       Also the Europeans that were in India were there mostly to profit from trade, which is why many merchants pooled their capital together in a joint stock company like the East India Trading Co. The trading companies are well supported by their mercantilist countries who provide troops and even loans sometimes.  Although the merchants themselves sometimes rise their own private armies to do their bidding they can't afford anything larger than a thousand men. So the companies needed the troops their country gave to do large tasks like taking their competitor's lands or helping the natives in their own private affairs. Since the activities and private interests of the Indians affected the trade and faring of the European trading companies, we all did our best to please our indian allies and sided with the leader who could benefit us the most whether in matters of reinforcements or in the acquiring of trade goods. Now that you know all that I can go on with the real matter.
      Not much time had passed when all of a sudden French troops called La Bourdonnais attacked and took the Madras area. While negotiations for the return of the city went on, some other members of our group and I escaped and went to a nearby fort called St. George 20 miles away. This attack was due to the ongoing Austrian Wars of Succession, which France and Britain took part in to gain greater control over the overseas colonial empire. By the time Madras was back in our control due to help from Mughal and British troops, I returned as a part of East India Trading Co.'s private army in which I helped fend off French troops at St. George and my bravery during the attack was noticed by Major Lawrence. This would later help me in becoming promoted to military captain of the british troops.

Seizing Arcot

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     After a while the powers in India shifted to the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab in Carnatic both who supported the French leader of India, Dupleix. This combined with the absence of Admiral Boscawen and his portion of the army really weakened the British standing in India. But we got major victory led by me when Major Lawrence went on leave and assigned me captain so I can supply our troops with the appropriate provisions. The one ruler we had, who supported the British was Mohammed Ali Wallajah.  Even though I was only given an administrative position, I took incentive to attack the city of Arcot, an ally to the French, when the leader of that area, the Nawab of Carnatic, left to attack the Wallajah of Trichinopoly. This opportunity could be the help Britain needed to be on steady ground. 
     I took the 300 sepoys along with 200 british soldier that we had available and maneuvered my men to the city of Arcot. It worked and we seiged the city. As soon as the Nawab heard about this he made the foolish desicion to split his troops and send them under his son to get his city back. They got to Arcot and would have taken it to, if not for the help I got from Wallajah. He sent troops under two sardars from nearby lands to aid in my holding of Arcot. My incredible commands and feats in battle earned me the title of sabut jung among the natives, which means "daring in war". This just goes to show you how important connections and being on the good side of people are a crucial part of being successful in this country.
      With their help I was able to successfully keep Arcot, until the negotiations between French and British trading companies were complete. These negotiations also made Wallajah a Nawab and made the properties owned by France and Britain equal, and a few years later after the Treaty of Paris Wallajah was made the Nawab of Carnatic. All this increased Britain's standing in India and the trade world. I went home to England with honors after this.

Black Hole of Calcutta

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 It has been two years but I am back in India again where I belong. And this time I returned with a much more important position than a factor for the East India Company. This time I returned as the Deputy Governor of Fort St. Davis and I planned to make quite a difference there. There was one problems that had risen that needed my immediate attention; and it had it's roots in one man, the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah.
     The issue with Siraj started with the British fortifying Fort William so if any conflicts with the French arose we would be ready. The Nawab had already been upset with how much we interfered with the area so when we were building up a fort in his land he immediately told us to stop. But we are a proud race and the whims of  any other than our rulers had no affect on us. Enraged by our incessant building, Siraj gathered his men and attacked Fort William.
     The Fort's leader surrendered and took with him a who ever he could and escaped leaving the fort in charge of John Holwell with a small group of soldiers to help. I find it a little ironic that the "Hole-well" was left in charge then he was put in the "Black Hole", get it, thats a little dark humor for you. Anyway back to the matter at hand. The Nawab attacked, the fort leader and many others fled leaving behind roughly 146 men to die. And die they did. Well not all of them but around 123 of them.  It is really difficult to put a specific number on things because none took a count of prisoners or the inhabitants of the fort which housed many non-soldiers.
     The account given to me by Holwell spoke of the direst condition that the British prisoners were placed in. He told me that there were 146 of them placed in a tiny 14 by 18 square feet room. He said it was so cramped in there that the guards had trouble closing the door. There were only two small windows and there multiple fires going around the fort making the heat extremely oppressive to the people in the room, some even collapsed due to heat stroke or suffocation. "We were really thirsty and begged for water, but none came. One of us even offered a guard money to transfer him to a larger prison." He told me that water finally came at around nine at night and when pushing it through the metal bars of the window the impatient ones grabbed it and spilled nearly all of it with their speed. Soon everything was in chaos as all the people rushed to get the last of the water. Some people even got trampled to death. At this point they were all exhausted and started to go to sleep. Many died since being kept in the prison so when they were finally released at six the next morning, only 23 of the original 146 were left standing. John Holwell was one of the remaining survivors.
     Even though they were out of the prison they still weren't free until I personally took the fort back form Siraj and gained them their liberty. After this incident I decided to use the Black Hole as a warehouse instead.

Battle of Plassey

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It all started August 16, 1756. I had just returned from Britain in 1755 after two long years and freed the Britishers from the Black Hole of Calcutta in June 1756, from the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah. This Black Hole was a larger part of the Nawab’s plan to take over Calcutta, a British ally, in order to have stronger grip on the Bengal area. So with this in mind, ud-Daulah rounded up his group of some thousand men with the help of the French and went ahead and captured the city. Now as a friend to Britain, we were obligated to help Calcutta, because the English never leave anyone behind. So I was immediately dispatched to there to recapture Calcutta. All I needed was a small troop of less than 3000 men and my second in command, Admiral Watson. 

On August 16, 1756, I got a letter from the Council of Fort St. George, it stated that “The object of the expedition was not merely to re-establish the British settlements in Bengal, but also to obtain ample recognition of the Company’s privileges and reparation for its losses.”* This letter was sent from the Fort St. George, which was somewhat of a headquarters to British affairs at India. It said to rescue Calcutta from Siraj to get a the favor of Calcutta, a great port to sail to the Spice Islands from. With their favor and by letting them know how much Britain suffered for saving them we will be able to play on their gratitude to make enormous profits. Not only this, but defeating Ud-Daulah would greatly affect the French East Indian Company who aided the Nawab in his battles. By weakening Siraj we would shake the standing of France in India, and ultimately allow us to get the upper hand in the ongoing war that started in 1756 and in my opinion will stop at around the year 1763.** 

          Around January 1757, my troops and I reoccupied the city of Calcutta but we had yet to defeat The Nawab. To do this I would need a stroke of brilliance. It came to me in the form of inside intelligence. One of my spies informed me that the Nawab’s second in command, Mir Jafar, had recently been demoted. I took this chance to invite him and a few other generals over, and I sympathized with them. I extended a hand of friendship, in exchange for their support in the upcoming battle. They agreed to take charge of all the men they could under the appearance of helping Siraj, but instead they would just lead them astray and keep them stationary and unhelpful in the battle. In return for his aid I would reward Mir Jafar with the title of Nawab and the rest with bribes. With my plan set in motion the day of battle rolled around on June 23, 1757 on the shores of Bhagirathi River At Palashi, West Bengal, the most important day of my life. It barley lasted a few hours but those hours could not have gone better. The day of the battle, out of the initial 35,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry fighting for the Nawab, 35,000 of them were withheld by Mir Jafar, leaving 15,000 men to participate in the battle.*** This greatly helped my troop of 3000 win easily.*** Another miracle happened that aided my victory which just goes to show that the good lord was on my side. The French/ Indian troops were firing their cannons and their musket the whole time but when we broke at noon, the French, in charge of the artillery did not cover their weapons, allowing the heavy rains that followed to soak their gunpowder and leave the French/ Indian troops vulnerable. When the storm cleared I ordered my troops to attack. With no weapons and majority of their men immobile due to Mir Jafar and the other generals, the French/ Indian troops were forced to retreat. During the battle I only had 22 of my men dead whereas the French/ Indian troops had 500 dead or wounded.*** Thus concluding my anecdote of the Battle of Plassey.

          The Battle of Plassey was most important step in the British control of India because it rid the French from a major sea port area. This coupled with British victories in: Madras, Circars, Pondicherry, Karikal, and Mahe ultimately led to complete British domination in India. Not only this but the Battle of Plassey was key in ending the Seven years war in India, which was fought between the French and Britain to mirror their European rivalry. This battle again shows you that in India, your victories are defined by your allies and how many people you know. As you can see we won this battle due to my excellent leadership. So therefore I can safely claim to have laid the foundation for the British trading empire in India.

*courtesy of http://militaryhistory.about.com/b/2007/06/23/seven-years-war-battle-of-plassey.htm

** “ongoing war that started in 1756 and in my opinion will stop at around the year 1763”, implies the seven years war. 

*** Troop counts and casualties acquired from http://www.mughalhistory.com/plassey.htm