Some Anglo‑French Disputes in Bengal during post‑diwany Period
Summary
The article explores the strained relations between the English East India Company and the French authorities in Bengal after 1765 when the Company obtained the revenue‑collecting rights (Diwani). French officials at Chandernagore resented the British political ascendancy and complained that customs officers detained and searched their boats at every chowki, gumashtas obstructed French commerce, weavers were prohibited from working for French factories and local officials ignored French privileges. When a deputation presented these grievances to Governor Harry Verelst, he replied that customs rules applied equally to all Europeans, no new duties had been imposed and orders had been issued to prevent harassment. The French insisted on a formal division of weavers between European companies, but the Calcutta Council refused, declaring such a division impracticable. Commercial rivalry escalated into violence when the French chief at Patna, M. Carvalho, imprisoned English agents over an opium transaction; English gumashtas retaliated by seizing French agents and the dispute nearly led to open conflict. The root cause of most disputes was inland trade. To curb the French, the Select Committee invoked the Mughal emperor’s authority to prohibit the export of bullion from Bengal. A royal farman ordered Europeans to take goods rather than money and allowed customs officers to search French vessels; the French protested that searches and detention of their boats at chaukis were unjust. Skirmishes erupted at the river stations when French crews resisted searches and assaulted chowki peons. The article argues that these disputes reflected jealousy and competition rather than serious Franco‑British diplomacy. British officials sought to limit French trade and ensure the flow of specie into their treasury, while the French tried to preserve pre‑war privileges. The disputes eventually subsided as French commercial influence waned, but they reveal how mercantile conflict shaped early colonial relations in Bengal.
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Conclusion
After the British acquired Diwani rights, Anglo‑French relations in Bengal were characterised by mutual suspicion and commercial rivalry. French grievances about searches, obstruction and shortage of weavers clashed with British efforts to enforce customs regulations and limit inland trade. The conflict peaked with violent incidents at Patna and on the river but eventually waned as the British consolidated control and the French presence declined. The disputes underscore the importance of economic interests in colonial power struggles.