Carnatic Wars

The Carnatic Wars (also spelled Karnatic Wars) were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century on the India subcontinent. The conflicts involved numerous nominally independent rulers and their vassals, struggles for succession and territory, and included a diplomatic and military struggle between the French East India Company and the British East India Company. They were mainly fought on the territories in India which were dominated by the Mughal Empire up to the Godavari delta. As a result of these military contests, the British East India Company established its dominance among the European trading companies within India. The French company was pushed to a corner and was confined primarily to Pondicherry. The British company's dominance eventually led to control by the United Kingdom over most of India and the establishment of the British Raj.

In the 18th century the coastal Carnatic region was a dependency of Hyderabad, the main remaining remnant of the Mughal Empire. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763.

First Carnatic War (1746–1748)

The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707 A.D. He was succeeded by Bahadur Shah I but there had been a general decline in central control over the empire during the tenure of Aurangzeb. Several erstwhile Mughal colonies revolted. Carnatic was ruled by Nawab Dost Ali, despite being under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Dost Ali's death sparked a power struggle between his son-in-law...
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