King Charles II marries Portuguese Princess

Receives Bombay as dowry

1661: King Charles II of Britain married the Portuguese princess and received Bombay, an island along India's west coast, as part of the dowry. Later, the King rented Bombay to the British East India Company.

Soon after, the British East India Company already had several trading establishments in India, at Surat, Masulipattam and Fort St.George (Madras). King Charles II also gave the Company the right to issue currency, erect forts, exercise jurisdiction over English subjects and declare war/peace with natives.

The Company faced competition from the French, Dutch and Portuguese, all of whom had trading interests in India.

British East India Company takes control

French defeated in Battle of Wandiwash

English and French had their companies in India. Madras and Pondicherry were the chief trading centres for the English whereas the French centre was on the Coromandel Coast. The relations between both the companies were uncertain.

The Carnatic region was totally disturbed politically. The governor was so engrossed with Marathas and Northern India that he hardly had any time for the Carnatic. Later the governor was killed by the Marathas. The appointment of the new Nawab worsened the problems of the Carnatic region. But till this time the English and French did not take active interest in Indian politics.

In 1740, England and France took opposite sides in the War of the Austrian Succession. This brought the two companies in India technically in the state of war. Madras had been besieged by French both by sea and land. So in June 1748 to avenge the capture of Madras, a large army was sent under Rear Admiral Boscawen. But by October the War of Austrian Succession had been concluded and under the treaty Madras was restored to English.

Then during the second Carnatic War, where Duplex, governor of Pondicherry, opened negotiations with the English and the treaty was concluded. The English and the French have decided not to interfere in the quarrels of the native princes and took possession of the territories which are actually occupied by them during the treaty.

In the third Carnatic war, the British East India Company defeated the French forces at the battle of Wandiwash ending almost a century of conflict over supremacy in India. From 1744, the French and English fought a series of battles for supremacy in the Carnatic region. This battle gave the British trading company a far superior position in India compared to the other Europeans.