Franco-Indian Alliances

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the French alliance in Northern America, see
Franco–Indian alliance
.
Suffren meeting with Hyder Ali
in 1782, J.B. Morret engraving, 1789.
Foreign alliances of France
Frankish–Abbasid alliance 777–800s
Franco-Mongol alliance 1220–1316
Franco-Scottish alliance 1295–1560
Franco-Polish alliance 1524–1526
Franco-Hungarian alliance 1528–1552
Franco-Ottoman alliance 1536–1798
Franco-English alliance 1657–1660
Franco-Indian alliance 1603–1763
Franco-British alliance 1716–1731
Franco-Spanish alliance 1733–1792
Franco-Prussian alliance 1741–1756
Franco-Austrian alliance 1756–1792
Franco-Indian Alliances 1700s
Franco-Vietnamese
alliance 		1777–1820
Franco-American alliance 1778–1794
Franco-Persian alliance 1807–1809
Franco-Prussian alliance 1812–1813
Franco-Austrian alliance 1812–1813
Franco-Russian alliance 1892–1917
Entente Cordiale 1904–present
Franco-Polish alliance 1921–1940
Franco-Italian alliance 1935
Franco-Soviet alliance 1936–1939
Treaty of Dunkirk 1947–1997
Western Union 1948–1954
North Atlantic Alliance 1949–present
Western European Union 1954–2011
European Defence Union 1993–present
Regional relations

Various Franco-Indian Alliances were formed between France and various Indian kingdoms from the 18th century to the ascent of Napoleon. Following the alliances of Dupleix, a formal alliance was formed between by King Louis XVI during the American Revolutionary War in an attempt to oust the British East India Company from the Indian subcontinent. Later, numerous proposals of alliance were made by Tipu Sultan, leading to the dispatch of a French fleet of volunteers to help him, and even motivating an effort by Napoleon to make a junction with the Kingdom of Mysore through his 1798 campaign in Egypt.

Early French involvement

Main articles: French India and France–India relations
Murzapha Jung
.

In the 17th century, François Bernier (1625–1688), a French physician and traveler, became the personal physician of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for 12 years.

In the early 18th century, France was actively involved in the powerplay in

Carnatic Wars, in their conflict against Robert Clive of the East India Company. These relationships were beneficial to the French, and French allies gifted areas such as the Alamparai Fort
in return for the services provided by the French in conflicts against the British.

The French won a victory in the

Wandewash (1760).[2]

Alliance of Louis XVI

Poona
in 1792.

French had lost preeminence in India with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, although five trading posts were being maintained there, leaving opportunities for disputes and power-play with Great Britain.[3] France was successful in supporting the American Revolutionary War in 1776, and wished to oust the British from India as well.[4]

In 1782,

Ceylon.[7][8]

Between February 1782 and June 1783, Suffren fought with the British admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and collaborated with the rulers of Mysore.[9][10] Suffren fought in the Battle of Sadras on February 17, 1782, the Battle of Providien on April 12 near Trincomalee, the Battle of Negapatam on July 6 off Cuddalore, after which Suffren seized upon the anchorage of Trincomalee compelling the small British garrison to surrender. An army of 3,000 French soldiers collaborated with Hyder Ali to capture Cuddalore. Finally, the Battle of Trincomalee took place near that port on September 3. These battles can be seen as the last battles of the Franco-British conflict that encompassed the American War of Independence, and would cease with the signature of the Treaty of Versailles of 1783 establishing peace and recognizing American independence.

Proposals of Tipu Sultan

Louis XVI receives the ambassadors of Tipu Sultan in 1788, Voyer after Emile Wattier, 19th century.

Following the 1783 Treaty of Versailles and the removal of French support, Tipu Sultan, the son of Hyder Ali, was unable to recapture Mangalore from the British, although he later managed to regain control after a 10-month siege in 1784.[11] He finally made peace with the British in spring 1784.[12]

In 1786, Tipu Sultan nevertheless sent an embassy to France through Constantinople, but the embassy had to be cancelled.[13] In July 1787, Tipu Sultan sent a new embassy directly to Paris, formed of three ambassadors Mohammed Dervich Khan, Akbar Ali Khan and Mohammad Osman Khan, who were accompanied by the French trader from Pondicherry, M. Monneron. After arriving in Toulon, the ambassadors were able to meet with Louis XVI in August 1788 in Versailles.[14] However, France, which was now at peace with London, did not wish to resume hostilities.[15]

Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
: Portrait of Mohammed Dervish Khan, Tipu's ambassador to France (1788)

Tipu Sultan again proposed an offensive and defensive alliance to France in October 1794, and April 1796.[16] France was hampered in its support to India by the French Revolution, but contacts would resume with the rise of Napoléon.[17]

In 1794, with the support of French Republican officers, Tipu helped found the Jacobin Club of Mysore for 'framing laws comfortable with the laws of the Republic' He planted a Liberty Tree and declared himself Citizen Tipoo.[18]

French soldiers, mobilized by François Ripaud in 1797 to support Tipu Sultan, were buried in a cemetery at Harohalli, which has fallen into disrepair as the locals steal iron grills, bricks, metal plaques, and expensive marble.[19][20]

Napoleon's attempted junction with India

Tipu again made a proposal in October 1797 through

Ali Khan Asaf Jah II, but following British diplomatic intervention, the Nizam was persuaded to remain neutral in the conflict.[24]

Talleyrand: "Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send a force of 15,000 men from Suez to India, to join the forces of Tipu-Sahib and drive away the English."[27] The Directory, though troubled by the scope and cost of the enterprise, agreed so the popular general would be absent from the centre of power.[28]

Napoleon was defeated by a combined Ottoman-British force at the

Horace Sebastiani as envoy extraordinary, promising to help the Ottoman Empire recover lost territories.[31] Napoleon also formed a Franco-Persian alliance in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars, with the continuous aim of having an eventual open path to attack British India.[32]

Napoleon's interest in the Middle East and India waned when he finally vanquished Russia at the

Shuja al-Mulk of Afghanistan on 17 June 1809 in order to better resist the Franco-Persian threat, but by that time Persia had already denounced its alliance with France and was moving towards Great Britain.[34]
These last events rendered the Franco-Indian alliance impossible to pursue further.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 160
  2. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 160
  3. ^ "The National Galleries of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  4. ^ "The National Galleries of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  5. ^ "The National Galleries of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  6. ^ The influence of sea power upon history, 1660–1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan p.461 [1]
  7. ^ "The History Project, University of California". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  8. ^ Britain as a military power, 1688-1815 by Jeremy Black, p
  9. ^ Britain as a military power, 1688-1815 by Jeremy Black, p
  10. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p.159
  11. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 162
  12. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 162
  13. ^ "The National Galleries of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  14. ^ "The National Galleries of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  15. ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini p.11
  16. ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini p.11
  17. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 162
  18. ISBN 9780143030461
    .
  19. ^ Jean Boutier. Les ”lettres de créances” du corsaire Ripaud. Un ”club jacobin” à Srirangapatnam (Inde), mai-juin 1797. Le monde créole : peuplement, sociétés et condition humaine XVIIe-XXe siècles : mélanges offerts à Hubert Gerbeau / sous la direction de Jacques Weber ; avec le concours de Jean Benoist et Sudel Fuma, Les Indes Savantes, 2005, 978-2-84654-059-9. ffhalshs-00007971f
  20. ^ B, Mahadeva (29 October 2013). "Uneasy lie the fallen here". No. Bangalore. Dean Herald. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  21. ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini p.11
  22. ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini p.11
  23. ^ Historical Sketches of the South of India by Mark Wilks p.341
  24. ^ The dispatches of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington 著者: Arthur Wellesley Wellington, Duke of Wellington, p. 4 [2]
  25. ^ Tricolor and crescent William E. Watson p.13-14
  26. ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini, p.12
  27. ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini, p. 12
  28. ^ Schom 1998, pp. 72–73
  29. ^ Karsh, p.11
  30. ^ Karsh, p. 11
  31. ^ Karsh, p. 11
  32. ^ The Islamic world in decline by Martin Sicker p.97
  33. ^ The Islamic world in decline by Martin Sicker p.97
  34. ^ The Islamic world in decline by Martin Sicker p.97-98

References

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