Still, one oughtn't to grumble. It doesn't
matter much who gets the credit so long as we've done our job. 'Tis all
in the day's work."
The victory at Chandernagore destroyed the French power in Bengal. But it
turned out to be only the prelude to a greater event--an event which must
be reckoned as the foundation stone of the British Empire in India. It
sprang from the character of Sirajuddaula. That prince was a cruel
despot, but weak-willed, vacillating, and totally unable to keep a
friend. One day he would strut in some vainglorious semblance of dignity;
the next he would engage in drunken revels with the meanest and most
dissolute of his subjects. He insulted his commander-in-chief, Mir Jafar:
he offended the Seths, wealthy bankers of Murshidabad who had helped him
to his throne: he played fast and loose with everyone with whom he had
dealings. His own people were weary of him, and at length a plot was
hatched to dethrone him and set Mir Jafar in his place.
Mr. Watts, the British agent in Murshidabad, communicated this design to
Clive and the Council of Calcutta, suggesting that they should cooperate
in deposing the vicious Nawab. They agreed, on the grounds that his
dishonesty and insolence showed that he had no real intention of abiding
by the terms of his treaty, and that he was constantly interfering with
the French. A treaty was accordingly drawn up with Mir Jafar, in which
the prospective Subah agreed to all the terms formerly agreed to by
Sirajuddaula.
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