Dupleix
Also called: Joseph Francois Dupleix · Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 4 "The Colonial Era in India"
Meaning
Joseph François Dupleix was Governor-General of French India from 1742 to 1754, based at Pondicherry. He wanted to build a French empire in India. He pioneered two methods the British later copied. First, he trained Indian soldiers, called sepoys, to fight in the European way. Second, he ruled indirectly through puppet rulers, meaning Indian princes who held the title while the French held the real power. He placed them on thrones by taking sides in disputes over who should inherit a kingdom.
Example
During the Carnatic Wars, the French captured Madras from the English in 1746. In 1748 Dupleix destroyed Pondicherry's large Vedapurishwaran temple, urged on by Jesuit priests and his wife.
Don't confuse with
- Robert Clive: Clive was the English Company's leader who won Plassey (1757). Dupleix was the French leader whose methods Clive's side later used.
Related concepts
- Dutch East India Company
- Battle of Colachel
- Marthanda Varma
- Danish East India Company
- French East India Company
- Carnatic wars
- Siege of Arcot 1751
- Battle of Chandernagore 1757
- Battle of Bedara 1759
- Battle of Wandiwash 1760