Three Frenchmen in Bengal Part 5

Law was by no means an admirer of Aliverdi Khan's successor,--

"Siraj-ud-daula, a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five,[69]

very common in appearance. Before the death of Aliverdi Khan the character of Siraj-ud-daula was reported to be one of the worst ever known. In fact, he had distinguished himself not only by all sorts of debauchery, but by a revolting cruelty. The Hindu women are accustomed to bathe on the banks of the Ganges. Siraj-ud-daula, who was informed by his spies which of them were beautiful, sent his satellites in disguise in little boats to carry them off. He was often seen, in the season when the river overflows, causing the ferry boats to be upset or sunk in order to have the cruel pleasure of watching the terrified confusion of a hundred people at a time, men, women, and children, of whom many, not being able to swim, were sure to perish. When it became necessary to get rid of some great lord or minister, Siraj-ud-daula alone appeared in the business, Aliverdi Khan retiring to one of his houses or gardens outside the town, so that he might not hear the cries of the persons whom he was causing to be killed."

So bad was the reputation of this young prince, that many persons, among them Mr. Watts, imagined it impossible that the people would ever tolerate his accession. The European nations in Bengal had no regular representatives at the Court of the Nawab; and the Chiefs of the Factories at Cossimbazar, though now and then admitted to the _Durbar_, transacted their business mainly through _wakils_, or native agents, who, of course, had the advantage of knowing the language and, what was of much greater importance, understood all those indirect ways in which in Eastern countries one's own business is forwarded and that of one's rivals thwarted. Then, as now, the difficulty of dealing with native agents was to induce these agents to express their own opinions frankly and clearly.[70] So far from the English Chief being corrected by his _wakil_, we find the latter, whilst applying to other n.o.bles for patronage and a.s.sistance, studiously refraining from making any application to Siraj-ud-daula when English business had to be transacted at Court.

The English went even further:--

"On certain occasions they refused him admission into their factory at Cossimbazar and their country houses, because, in fact, this excessively bl.u.s.tering and impertinent young man used to break the furniture, or, if it pleased his fancy, take it away. But Siraj-ud-daula was not the man to forget what he regarded as an insult. The day after the capture of the English fort at Cossimbazar, he was heard to say in full _Durbar_, 'Behold the English, formerly so proud that they did not wish to receive me in their houses!' In short, people knew, long before the death of Aliverdi Khan, that Siraj-ud-daula was hostile to the English."

With the French it was different:--

"On the other hand, he was very well disposed towards us. It being our interest to humour him, we had received him with a hundred times more politeness than he deserved.

By the advice of Rai Durlabh Ram and Mohan Lal, we had recourse to him in important affairs. Consequently, we gave him presents from time to time, and this confirmed his friendship for us. The previous year (1755) had been a very good one for him, owing to the business connected with the settlement of the Danes in Bengal. In fact, it was by his influence that I was enabled to conclude this affair, and Aliverdi Khan allowed him to retain all the profit from it, so I can say that I had no bad place in the heart of Siraj-ud-daula.

It is true he was a profligate, but a profligate who was to be feared, who could be useful to us, _and who might some day be a good man_. Nawajis Muhammad Khan[71] had been at least as vicious as Siraj-ud-daula, and yet he had become the idol of the people."

Law, therefore, had cultivated the young Nawab. Mr. Watts, on the other hand, was not only foolish enough to neglect him, but carried his folly to extremes. He was not in a position to prevent his accession, and ought therefore to have been careful by the correctness of his behaviour to show no signs of being opposed to it. So far from this, he is strongly suspected of having entered into correspondence with the widow of Nawajis Khan, who had adopted Siraj-ud-daula's younger brother[72] and was supporting his candidature for the throne, and also with Saukat Jang, Nawab of Purneah and cousin of Siraj-ud-daula, who was trying to obtain the throne for himself. Still further, he advised Mr. Drake, Governor of Calcutta, to give shelter to Kissendas, son of Raj Balav (Nawajis Khan's _Diwan_), who had fled with the treasures in his charge when his father was called to account for his master's property.

Contrary to Mr. Watts's expectations, Aliverdi Khan's last acts so smoothed the way for Siraj-ud-daula, and the latter acted with such decision and prompt.i.tude on his grandfather's death, that in an incredibly short time he had all his enemies at his feet, and was at leisure to attend to state business, and especially the affairs of the foreign Settlements. Aliverdi Khan had always been extremely jealous of allowing the European nations to erect any fortifications, but, during his last illness, all of them, expecting a contested succession, during which, owing to complications in Europe, they might find themselves at war with each other in India, began to repair their old walls or to erect new ones. This was exactly what Siraj-ud-daula wanted. His first care on his accession had been to make himself master of his grandfather's and uncle's treasures. To these he had added those of such of his grandfather's servants as he could readily lay hands on. Other wealthy n.o.bles and officers had fled to the English, or were suspected of having secretly sent their treasures to Calcutta. It was also supposed that the European Settlements, and especially Calcutta, were filled with the riches acc.u.mulated by the foreigners. Whilst, therefore, the Nawab was determined to make all the European nations contribute largely in honour of his accession, and in atonement for their insolence in fortifying themselves without his permission, he had special reasons for beginning with the English. In the mean time, however, he had first to settle with his cousin, Saukat Jang, the Nawab of Purneah, so he contented himself with sending orders to the Chiefs of the Factories to pull down their new fortifications. Law acted wisely and promptly.

"I immediately drew up an _Arzi_, or Pet.i.tion, and had one brought from the Council in Chandernagore of the same tenour as my own. These two papers were sent to Siraj-ud-daula, who appeared satisfied with them. He even wrote me in reply that he did not forbid our repairing old works, but merely our making new ones. Besides, the spies who had been sent to Chandernagore, being well received and satisfied with the presents made them, submitted a report favourable to us, so that our business was hushed up."

The English behaved very differently, and their answer, which was bold if not insolent in tone,[73] reached the Nawab at the very moment when he had received the submission of the Nawab of Purneah.

Law adds:--

"I was a.s.sured that the Nawab of Purneah showed him some letters which he had received from the English. This is difficult to believe, but this is how the match took fire.

"Accordingly, no sooner had the Nawab heard the contents of the answer from the English, than he jumped up in anger, and, pulling out his sword, swore he would go and exterminate all the Feringhees.[74] At the same time he gave orders for the march of his army, and appointed several Jemadars[75] to command the advance guard. As in his first burst of rage he had used the general word Feringhees, which is applied to all Europeans, some friends whom I had in the army, and who did not know how our business had ended, sent to warn me to be on my guard, as our Factory would be besieged. The alarm was great with us, and with the English, at Cossimbazar. I spent more than twenty-four hours in much anxiety; carrying wood, provisions, etc., into the Factory, but I soon knew what to expect. I saw hors.e.m.e.n arrive and surround the English fort, and at the same time I received an official letter from the Nawab, telling me not to be anxious, and that he was as well pleased with us as he was ill pleased with the English."

Cossimbazar surrendered without firing a shot, owing to the treacherous advice of the Nawab's generals, and Siraj-ud-daula advanced on Calcutta. It was with the greatest difficulty that Law escaped being forced to march in his train.

"The remains of the respect which he had formerly felt for Europeans made him afraid of failure in his attack on Calcutta, which had been represented to him as a very strong place, defended by three or four thousand men. He wrote to me in the strongest terms to engage the Director of Chandernagore to give him what a.s.sistance he could in men and ammunition. 'Calcutta is yours,' he said to our agent in full _Durbar_; 'I give you that place and its dependencies as the price of the services you will render me. I know, besides, that the English are your enemies; you are always at war with them either in Europe or on the Coromandel Coast, so I can interpret your refusal only as a sign of the little interest you take in what concerns me. I am resolved to do you as much good as Salabat Jang[76] has done you in the Deccan, but if you refuse my friendship and the offers I make you, you will soon see me fall on you and cause you to experience the same treatment that I am now preparing for others in your favour.' He wished us to send down at once to Calcutta all the ships and other vessels which were at Chandernagore. After having thanked him for his favourable disposition towards us, I represented to him that we were not at war with the English, that what had happened on the Coromandel Coast was a particular affair which we had settled amicably, and that the English, in Bengal having given us no cause of offence, it was impossible for us, without orders either from Europe or Pondicherry, to give him the a.s.sistance he asked for. Such reasons could only excite irritation in the mind of a man of Siraj-ud-daula's character. He swore he would have what he wanted whether we wished it or not, and that, as we lived in his country, his will ought to be law to us. I did my best to appease him, but uselessly. At the moment of his departure his sent us word by one of his uncles that he still counted on our a.s.sistance, and he sent me a letter for the Governor of Pondicherry, in which he begged him to give us the necessary orders. I thought to myself this was so much time gained."

The Nawab captured Calcutta without any open a.s.sistance from the French, and, though he set free most of the prisoners who survived the Black Hole, he sent Holwell and three others before him to Murshidabad. Law, who had already sheltered Mrs. Watts and her family, and such of the English of Cossimbazar as had been able to escape to him, now showed similar kindness to Holwell and his companions. Of this he says modestly:--

"The grat.i.tude Mr. Holwell expresses for a few little services which I was able to render him makes me regret my inability to do as much to deserve his grat.i.tude as I should have liked to do."[77]

He also, apparently with some difficulty, obtained consent to M.

Courtin's request for the release of the English prisoners at Dacca; for--

"Siraj-ud-daula, being informed that there were two or three very charming English ladies at Dacca, was strongly tempted to adorn his harem with them."

Law's success in these matters is a striking instance of his personal influence, for Siraj-ud-daula was by no means any longer well disposed towards the French and Dutch.

"The fear of drawing on his back all the European nations at once had made him politic. At first he pretended to be satisfied with the reply sent by the Governor of Chandernagore, and a.s.sured him that he would always treat us with the greatest kindness. He said the same to the Dutch, but when Calcutta was taken the mask fell. He had nothing more to fear. Scarcely had he arrived at Hugli when he sent detachments to Chandernagore and Chinsurah to summon the commandants to pay contributions, or to resolve to see their flags taken away and their forts demolished. In short, we were forced to yield what the Nawab demanded; whilst he, as he said, was content with having punished a nation which had offended him, and with having put the others to ransom to pay for the expenses of the expedition. We saw the tyrant reappear in triumph at Murshidabad, little thinking of the punishment which Providence was preparing for his crimes, and to make which still more striking, he was yet to have some further successes."

It may be here pointed out that, not only did the Nawab not insist on the destruction of the French and Dutch fortifications, but he did not destroy the fortifications of Calcutta. This proves that if the English had shown the humility and readiness to contribute which he desired, he would have left them in peace at the first, or, after the capture of Calcutta, have permitted them to resettle there without farther disturbance. In short, the real necessity of making the European nations respect his authority, instead of guiding him in a settled course, merely provided a pretext for satisfying his greed. This is the opinion, not only of the French and English who were at Murshidabad when the troubles began, but of the English officials who went there later on and made careful inquiries amongst all cla.s.ses of people in order to ascertain the real reason of Siraj-ud-daula's attack upon the English.

His avarice was to prove the Nawab's ruin.

"Siraj-ud-daula was one of the richest Nawabs that had ever reigned. Without mentioning his revenues, of which he gave no account at the Court of Delhi, he possessed immense wealth, both in gold and silver coin, and in jewels and precious stones, which had been left by the preceding three Nawabs. In spite of this he thought only of increasing his wealth. If any extraordinary expense had to be met he ordered contributions, and levied them with extreme rigour. Having never known himself what it was to want money, he supposed that, in due proportion, money was as common with other people as with himself, and that the Europeans especially were inexhaustible. His violence towards them was partly due to this. In fact, from his behaviour, one would have said his object was to ruin everybody.

He spared no one, not even his relatives, from whom he took all the pensions and all the offices which they had held in the time of Aliverdi Khan. Was it possible for such a man to keep his throne? Those who did not know him intimately, when they saw him victorious over his enemies and confirmed as Nawab by a _firman_[78]from the Great Mogul, were forced to suppose that there was in his character some great virtue which balanced his vices and counteracted their effects. However, this young giddy-pate had no talent for government except that of making himself feared, and, at the same time, pa.s.sed for the most cowardly of men. At first he had shown some regard for the officers of the army, because, until he was recognized as Nawab, he felt his need of them. He had even shown generosity, but this quality, which was quite opposed to his real character, soon disappeared, to make place for violence and greed, which decided against him all those who had favoured his accession in the hope that he would behave discreetly when he became Nawab."

Owing to the general disgust felt at Murshidabad for the Nawab, his cousin, Saukat Jang, Nawab of Purneah, thought the opportunity favourable for reviving his claims, and, early in October, Siraj-ud-daula, hearing of his contemplated rebellion, invaded his country.

"Every one longed for a change, and many flattered themselves it would take place. In fact, it was the most favourable opportunity to procure it. The result would have been happiness and tranquillity for Bengal. Whilst contributing to the general good--which even the Dutch might have interested themselves in--we could have prevented the misfortunes which have since happened to us. Three or four hundred Europeans and a few sepoys would have done the business. If we could have joined this force to the enemies of Siraj-ud-daula we should have placed on the throne another Nawab--not, indeed, one wholly to our taste, but, not to worry about trifles, one to the liking of the house of Jagat Seth,[79] and the chief Moors and Rajas. I am sure such a Nawab would have kept his throne. The English would have been re-established peaceably, they would certainly have received some compensation, and would have had to be satisfied whether they liked it or not. The neutrality of the Ganges a.s.sured, at least to the same extent as in the time of Aliverdi Khan, the English would have been prevented from invading Bengal, and from sending thither the reinforcements which had contributed so much to their success on the Madras Coast. All this depended on us, but how could we foresee the succession of events which has been as contrary to us as it has been favourable to the English? As it was, we remained quiet, and the rash valour of the young Nawab of Purneah, whilst it delivered Siraj-ud-daula from the only enemy he had to fear in the country, made it clear to the whole of Bengal that the change so much desired could be effected only by the English."

Mir Jafar and other leaders of the Nawab's army were about to declare in favour of Saukat Jang when Ramnarain,[80] Naib of Patna, arrived to support Siraj-ud-daula. Whilst the malcontents were hesitating what to do, Saukat Jang made a rash attack on the Nawab's army, and was shot dead in the fight.

"Behold him then, freed by this event from all his inquietudes; detested, it is true, but feared even by those who only knew him by name. In a country where predestination has so much power over the mind, the star of Siraj-ud-daula was, people said, predominant. Nothing could resist him. He was himself persuaded of this. Sure of the good fortune which protected him, he abandoned himself more than ever to those pa.s.sions which urged him to the commission of every imaginable form of violence.

"It can be guessed what we had to suffer, we and the Dutch, at Cossimbazar. Demand followed demand, and insult followed insult, on the part of the native officers and soldiers; for they, forming their behaviour on that of their master, thought they could not sufficiently show their contempt for everything European. We could not go outside of our Factories without being exposed to annoyance of one kind or another."

Every one in the land turned wistful eyes towards the English, but they lay inactive at Fulta, and it seemed as if help from Madras would never come. The English, therefore, tried to bring about a revolution favourable to themselves at Murshidabad, and began to look for persons who might be induced to undertake it; but this was not easy, as the Moor n.o.bles had little acquaintance with the Europeans. Of the Hindus in Bengal--

"the best informed were the bankers and merchants, who by their commercial correspondence had been in a position to learn many things. The house of Jagat Seth, for instance, was likely to help the English all the more because to its knowledge of them it joined several causes of complaint against Siraj-ud-daula. Up to the death of Aliverdi Khan it had always enjoyed the greatest respect. It was this family which had conducted almost all his financial business, and it may be said that it had long been the chief cause of all the revolutions in Bengal. But now things were much changed. Siraj-ud-daula, the most inconsiderate of men, never supposing that he would need the a.s.sistance of mere bankers, or that he could ever have any reason to fear them, never showed them the slightest politeness. He wanted their wealth, and some day or other it was certain he would seize it. These bankers, then, were the persons to serve the English. They could by themselves have formed a party, and, even without the a.s.sistance of any Europeans, have put another Nawab upon the throne and re-established the English, but this would have required much time. Business moves very slowly amongst Indians, and this would not have suited the English. The bankers also were Hindus, and of a race which does not like to risk danger. To stimulate them to action it was necessary for the English to commence operations and achieve some initial successes, and as yet there seemed no likelihood of their doing so. To negotiate with Siraj-ud-daula for a peaceful re-establishment was quite as difficult, unless they were inclined to accept the very hardest conditions, for the Nawab had now the most extravagant contempt for all Europeans; a pair of slippers, he said, is all that is needed to govern them."

Just as it seemed likely that the English would have to stoop to the Nawab's terms, they received news of the despatch of reinforcements from Madras. About the same time, it became known to both French and English that France and England had declared war against each other in the preceding May.[81] The English naturally said nothing about it, and the French were too eager to see the Nawab well beaten to put any unnecessary obstacles in their way. The negotiations with the friends of the Europeans at Murshidabad were quietly continued until Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive arrived. A rapid advance was then made on Calcutta, which was captured with hardly any resistance.

Siraj-ud-daula was so little disturbed by the recapture of Calcutta that the French thought everything would terminate amicably, but, possibly owing to the reputation of Watson and Clive, who had so long fought against the French,[82] they thought it likely that, if the English demanded compensation for their losses, the Nawab would allow them to recoup themselves by seizing the French Settlements.

M. Renault, therefore, wrote to Law to make sure that, in any treaty between the Nawab and the English, an article should be inserted providing for the neutrality of the Ganges; but the French, at present, were needlessly alarmed. The English had no intention of creeping quietly back into the country. Watson and Clive addressed haughty letters to the Nawab, demanding reparation for the wrongs inflicted on the English; and the Admiral and the Council declared war in the name of the King and the Company. This possibly amused the Nawab, who took no notice of their letters; but it was a different matter when a small English force sailed up the Hugli, pa.s.sed Chandernagore unopposed by the French, captured the fort of Hugli, burnt Hugli[83] and Bandel towns, and ravaged both banks of the river down to Calcutta. The French were in an awkward position.

The English had pa.s.sed Chandernagore without a salute, which was an unfriendly, if not a hostile act; whilst the Nawab thought that, as the French had not fired on them, they must be in alliance with them. Law had to bear the brunt of this suspicion. His common sense told him that the English would never consent to a neutrality, and he wrote to Renault that it was absolutely necessary to join the Moors.

"The neutrality was by no means obligatory, as no treaty existed. In fact, what confidence could we have in a forced neutrality, which had been observed so long only out of fear of the Nawab, who for the general good of the country was unwilling to allow any act of hostility to be committed by the Europeans? Much more so when the English were at war with the Nawab himself. If they managed to get the better of him, what would become of this fear, the sole foundation of the neutrality?"

So Law wrote to Renault, begging him, if he could not persuade the English to sign a treaty of neutrality at once, to make up his mind and join the Nawab. We have seen why Renault could do neither, and Law, writing after the event says, generously enough:--

"I am bound to respect the reasons which determined M. Renault as well as the gentlemen of the Council, who were all much too good citizens not to have kept constantly in their minds the welfare of our nation and the Company.

People always do see things differently, and the event does not always prove the correctness or incorrectness of the reasons which have decided us to take one or the other course."

As soon as the Nawab heard of the plundering of Hugli he set out for Calcutta, but to blind the English he requested M. Renault to mediate between them. The English refusal to treat through the French had the effect of clearing up matters between the latter and the Nawab; but he could not understand why the French would not actively a.s.sist him. Certain, at any rate, that he had only the English to deal with, he foolishly played into their hands by marching to fight them on their own ground, whereas, if he had remained idle at a little distance, merely forbidding supplies to be sent them, he could have starved them out of Calcutta in a few months. As I have said before, Clive attacked his camp on the 5th of February, and so terrified him that he consented to a shameful peace, in which he forgot all mention of the neutrality of the Ganges. Law tells a curious story to the effect that what frightened the Nawab most of all was a letter from Admiral Watson, threatening to make him a prisoner and carry him to England. Watson's letter is extant, and contains no such threat, but it is quite possible that it was so interpreted to the Nawab.

Though the Nawab had a.s.sured the English that he would have the same friends and enemies as they, and had omitted to mention the French in the treaty, he now, of his own accord, gave the French all that the English had extorted from him. This act could not be kept secret.

"A great fault at present, and which has always existed, in the management of affairs in India, especially in Bengal, is that nothing is secret. Scarcely had the Nawab formed any project when it was known to the lowest of his slaves.

The English, who were suspicious, and who had for friends every one who was an enemy of Siraj-ud-daula, whom all detested, were soon informed of his proposals to M. Renault and of the letters written on both sides."

Yet Law thinks it was only the European war and the fear that Renault intended an alliance with the Nawab that induced the English to proceed to extremities:--

"The dethronement of the Nawab had become an absolute necessity. To drive us out of Bengal was only a preliminary piece of work. A squadron of ours with considerable forces might arrive. Siraj-ud-daula might join his forces to it.

What, then, would become of the English? They needed for Nawab a man attached to their interests. Besides, this revolution was not so difficult to carry out as one might imagine. With Chandernagore destroyed, nothing could be more easy; but even if we were left alone the revolution could have been effected by the junction of the English with the forces which would have been produced against Siraj-ud-daula by the crowd of enemies whom he had, and amongst whom were to be counted the most respectable persons in the three provinces.[84] This statement demands an explanation.

I have already spoken of the house of Jagat Seth, or rather of its chiefs, who are named Seth Mahtab Rai and Seth Sarup Chand, bankers of the Mogul, the richest and most powerful merchants who have ever lived. They are, I can say, the _movers_ of the revolution. Without them the English would never have carried out what they have. I have already said they were not pleased with Siraj-ud-daula, who did not show them the same respect as the old Nawab Aliverdi Khan had done; but the arrival of the English forces, the capture of the Moorish forts, and the fright of the Nawab before Calcutta, had made a change which was apparently in their favour. The Nawab began to perceive that the bankers were necessary to him. The English would have no one except them as mediators, and so they had become, as it were, responsible for the behaviour of both the Nawab and the English. Accordingly after the Peace there was nothing but kindness and politeness from the Nawab towards them, and he consulted them in everything.

At the bottom this behaviour of his was sheer trickery. The Seths were persuaded that the Nawab who hated the English must also dislike the persons whom the English employed. Profiting by the hatred which the Nawab had drawn on himself by his violence, and distributing money judiciously, they had long since gained over those who were nearest to the Nawab, whose imprudence always enabled them to know what he had in his heart.

From what came to the knowledge of the Seths it was easy to guess what he intended, and this made them tremble, for it was nothing less than their destruction, which could be averted only by his own. The cause of the English had become that of the Seths; their interests were identical. Can one be surprised to see them acting in concert? Further, when one remembers that it was this same house of bankers that overthrew Sarfaraz Khan[85] to enthrone Aliverdi Khan, and who, during the reign of the latter, had the management of all important business, one must confess that it ought not to be difficult for persons of so much influence to execute a project in which, the English were taking a share."[86]

Law could not persuade Renault to act, and without his doing so the game was nearly hopeless. Still, he worked at forming a French party in the Court. By means of Coja Wajid, an Armenian merchant of Hugli, whose property had been plundered by the English, he obtained an interview with the Nawab, and persuaded him to send the 2000 soldiers who were with Renault at the beginning of the siege. More would have been despatched but for the apparent certainty that the treaty of neutrality would be signed. In fact, Renault was so worried that, on the complaint of Watson and Clive that Law was exciting the Nawab against the English, he wrote Law a letter which caused the latter to ask to be recalled from Cossimbazar, and it was only at Renault's earnest request that he consented to remain at his post. Law continued forming his party.

"It would appear from the English memoirs that we corrupted the whole _Durbar_ at Murshidabad to our side by presents and lies. I might with justice retort this reproach.