Robert Clive’s first term as governor ended on this day. He had been appointed to the post in 1757, the year he had defeated nawab Siraj-ud-Daula. As governor, Clive had won the complete subservience of Mir Jafar, the new nawab, dealt with the Mughals and destroyed Dutch influence in eastern India. He accumulated immense wealth, and a title of nobility and land from the Mughal emperor. Moreover he got from the nawab exemption from internal duties on the company’s goods as well as the private trade of the company’s employees. Back in England, he was given an Irish peerage and was knighted.
He became a Member of Parliament, but had also to face criticism about corrupt practices in India. He would return to Bengal for a second term as governor in 1765.
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