Battle of Wandiwash 1760
Also called: Battle of Vandavasi · Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Battle of Wandiwash (Vandavasi), in present-day Tamil Nadu, was fought in January 1760. It was the decisive battle of the Third Carnatic War between the British and the French. British forces under Eyre Coote defeated the French under Count de Lally. It ended French hopes of building an empire in India. The British captured Pondicherry soon after. Under the 1763 peace, France got back Pondicherry and a few trading posts but was not allowed to fortify them, which means it could not build defences or keep an army there.
Example
After Wandiwash, French power in South India was finished. The British were left as the only European power able to compete for Indian territory.
Don't confuse with
- Battle of Plassey (1757): Plassey won the British control of Bengal from an Indian Nawab. Wandiwash knocked out their European rival, France, in the South.
Related concepts
- Dutch East India Company
- Battle of Colachel
- Marthanda Varma
- Danish East India Company
- French East India Company
- Dupleix
- Carnatic wars
- Siege of Arcot 1751
- Battle of Chandernagore 1757
- Battle of Bedara 1759