The death of Aurangzeb in 1707 reduced the Mughal Empire into pieces and the local governors or Subedars under the designation of Nawabs raised their heads all over the Empire. The post of Nawab of these provinces became hereditary and the only link with Delhi was an annual payment of Rs. 52 lakhs.

Bengal was one of the Subas or provinces of Mughal Empire. Murshid Quli Jafar Khan was appointed as the governor of Bengal by Aurangzeb in 1705 and after his death in 1727 his son-in-law Shuja-ud-din Khan became the governor of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Shuja-ud-din had appointed a person named Alivardi Khan to assist his in the administration. Alivardi managed to kill Sarfraz Khan, the son and successor of Shuja-ud-din by a plot in 1740. Thereafter he occupied the throne of Bengal and proclaimed himself the Nawab with a formal permission from the titular emperor of Delhi.

Alivardi had to face a lot of troubles as the Nawab of Bengal. The Marathas used to carry on their plundering activities in Bengal every now and then. He had to buy peace from the Marathas by ceding Orissa to their leader Raghuji Bhonsle and by promising them an annual chauth of one lakh rupees.

But on the other hand he kept the British under firm grip for there was no danger of Bengal’s political authority being transferred to the British. Although he was at peace with the English, he did not permit them to fortify their settlements in Bengal.

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Siraj-ud-Daula:

Siraj-ud-Daula became the Nawab of Bengal after the death of Alivardi in 1756.Alivardi was much aware of the British expansion in Bengal. During his reign the English had already established their commercials settlements in Bengal. Sometimes they were conspiring against him.

He was always cautious about the possible danger from the side of the English. So, in his death-bed he warned his successor Siraj against these Western merchants. Since then Siraj began to look at the English with suspicion.

Siraj’s suspicion grew in intensity when he came to know that the English were rendering help to his opponents like Shaukat Jang with an intention to oust him from the throne of Bengal. The relation between the English and the Siraj was further strained when the former rendered support to Krishna Das, the son of Rajballabh, who was formerly punished by the Nawab of Bengal. Krishna Das was a rich Bengali merchant.

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He was charged with the fault of falsifying the accounts and was, thus, to be punished. But to escape punishment he took shelter was the English. The Nawab demanded the return of Krishna Das which was refused outright by the English. At this Siraj’s anger rose to fever-heat.

Shiraj was further annoyed by gross disrespect of the English. He was hardly a young man of twenty at the time of his accession to the throne of Bengal. Perhaps because of his young age of the English did not pay him respect which he deserved as the Nawab. They sometimes defied his orders.

It has been discussed how Siraj was strictly instructed by his predecessor Alivardi not to allow any kind of European fortification of the coast of Bengal. But when Seven years’ war started in Europe, both the English and French began to fortify their settlements in Bengal. The Nawab prohibited it, but the English paid a deaf ear to his orders. They went on fortifying their bases in Bengal without caring for the opposition of the Nawab.

Thus, the Nawab had genuine cause of grievance against the British in Calcutta for building fort without his permission, Siraj was so much annoys with the English that he decided to drive them away from Bengal by force. With this plan in mind he directed his army against the British all on a sudden. The English factory at Quasim Bazar was immediately captured along with Calcutta.

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The Governor Drake and many prominent Englishmen fled away and fort William fell to the hands of the Nawab on 20th June 1756. Many took shelter at Fulta. Sir Holwell was placed at the command of the British army for the defence of Calcutta. But the efforts of the British failed and they were compelled to surrender after two days only.

It is said after capturing Calcutta, Siraj-ud-daula confined 146 British captives in a tiny closed Cabin of hardly 308 square feet for the whole night. On account of intense heat and scanty space, about 123 of them including a woman, died of suffocation. Sir Howell was one of those twenty-three persons who could survive narrowly.

This incident is popularly known as the ‘Black-Hole Tragedy’. But there is a great controversy about the euthenics of this incident. According to many historians it is more a fiction than a fact, because no contemporary historical records have referred to this incident. Some historians are the opinion that it was a fabrication of Mr. Holwell who liked to arouse the indignation of the English against the Nawab.

Recapture of Calcutta by Clive:

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But whatever is the truth behind the so-called ‘Black-Hole Tragedy’, when this news reached Madras the English there raised to their feet. The Government of Madras lost no time to dispatch a strong army under Clive and Watson to recapture Calcutta from the hands of the Nawab.

They attacked Calcutta from both land and sea and after a decisive battle with the Nawab occupied it in January 1757. Siraj acknowledged defeat and was compelled to sue for peace with the English in February 1757.

He was compelled to give back all earlier trade rights to the English by signing the treaty of Alinagar. According to the terms of this treaty Company’s settlements, privileges and rights were to be restored. The English secured the permission to coin money and fortify Calcutta. The Nawab was to pay compensation to the company for its losses.