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Major-General Robert Clive (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. He began as a writer for the East India Company (EIC) who established the military and political supremacy of the EIC by securing a decisive victory at the Battle of Plassey in Bengal. He was born in 1725 in England.
- The EIC and General Governor Robert Clive
- Was Clive’s Failure as Governor of Bengal The Cause of Famine?
- Was Clive’s Conduct at Odds with The Values of His Age?
- Why Is There A Statue Celebrating Robert Clive Outside The Foreign Office?
- Historical Interpretations Change Over Time
- What Should Be Done with The Clive of India Statue?
The EIC established the foundations for the British rule of India. At its height, it ruled a territory larger than Britain and was involved in global trade, politics, war and the transportation of slaves. The EIC began as a trading company; granted a trade monopoly by the English crown in 1600. It possessed its own private army, which it used to wa...
Historians do not dispute that Robert Clive was a talented soldier and general. In 1757, William Pitt, the British Prime Minister, described him as a ‘heaven-born general’ in recognition of his military success at Plassey. Nor do historians dispute that Clive’s victories, against the Mughals, marked the beginning of British rule in India. However, ...
In December 1772, the government began examining the affairs of the EIC. It found evidence of widespread and large-scale company greed and corruption in Bengal. It was also revealed how the EIC had bribed MPs and ministers at Westminster to pass legislation favourable to the company using their vast Indian fortunes. As for Clive, he was vilified fo...
It was not Robert Clive’s contemporaries, or the Victorians, who erected the statue in London. Indeed, Victorian governments were embarrassed by the exploitation that Clive and the EIC represented. It was the Edwardians who erected the statue, to celebrate Clive’s achievements, over one hundred years after his death. As the power of the empire was ...
It is unsurprising that historians have prioritised different aspects of Clive’s career. The study of history is marked by academic debate and as new evidence has come to light a recognition of Clive’s role in the Bengal famine has developed. Historians must wrestle with Clive’s numerous reputations: brilliant army general, corrupt company governor...
Should the Clive of India statue be moved to an empire museum where historical context can be provided? Or will the addition of an information board suffice to give an account of Clive’s history and the impact of the EIC on India? How we understand Britain’s imperial past impacts on prejudice and societal inequality today. The question about what t...
Robert Clive was born at Styche, the Clive family estate, near Market Drayton in Shropshire, on 29 September 1725 to Richard Clive and Rebecca (née Gaskell) Clive. [15] The family had held the small estate since the time of Henry VII and had a lengthy history of public service: members of the family included a Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland under Henry VIII , and a member of the Long Parliament .
Oct 25, 2021 · It was a rout. Despite having only about 3,000 troops to face a force of around 50,000, Clive scored a victory which laid the ground for the British becoming the greatest economic and military ...
Robert Clive’s (1725-74) first career was as a Writer (clerk) in the East India Company’s civil service at Madras. This ended in 1746, when it was taken over by the French. Clive became an ensign in the Company’s service the following year. He briefly returned to the civil establishment in 1749, before re-entering the military as a brevet ...
Oct 6, 2022 · Clive fought with distinction in the failed attempt to take French-controlled Pondicherry, and he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He was involved in two attacks on French-held Tanjore in 1749. the first operation was a failure, but the second was a success, and Clive earned the following praise from his commander Major Stringer Lawrence: "This young man's early genius surprised and engaged my attention…he behaved in courage and judgement much beyond what could be expected from his ...
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Oct 26, 2022 · With rumours rife that the former Governor of Bengal's vast riches had largely been gained through corruption, Parliament set up an inquiry into Clive's affairs in 1773. In the end, Clive was honourably acquitted, but his advice to Parliament to take over the EIC was not heeded. There was, though, a restructuring of the management of the company.
