Joseph François Dupleix
Joseph François Dupleix (Landrecies, January 1, 1697 – Paris, November 10, 1763) was a French colonial administrator and leader in India during the Anglo-French conflicts of the 18th century, and a rival of Robert Clive.
Biography
Joseph François Dupleix was born in 1697, the son of a general who wanted Joseph to pursue a career in commerce. In 1715, he was sent to India on a ship of the French East India Company. He traveled extensively between America and India, and in 1720, he was appointed to the Superior Council of Puducherry. He demonstrated a keen business sense and, in addition to his official duties, engaged in private speculation, amassing a personal fortune. In 1730, he became Superintendent of French Affairs in Chandernagore.
In 1741, Dupleix married Jeanne Albert, the widow of a company advisor. She was known in India as Joanna Begum, a strong-willed woman who greatly aided negotiations between her husband and local princes.
Governor-General of French Affairs in India
His reputation earned him the post of Governor-General of all French affairs in India in 1742. Dupleix aspired to secure large territories for France in India, establishing relations with local princes and adopting their customs in his private life. A rivalry developed between Dupleix and Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, Governor of Réunion (a French department).
When the city of Madras capitulated to the French during the War of the Austrian Succession, Dupleix opposed returning the city to the British under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). He sent an expedition against Fort St. David (1747), which was defended by British allies. Although Dupleix defeated them, he failed to seize the fort.
In 1748, Puducherry was besieged by the British, but peace was achieved in Aix-la-Chapelle. Dupleix entered into negotiations to secure southern India and dispatched an army to assist one of the claimants to Carnatic. The British supported his rival.
The conflict between the two powers continued until 1754, when the government of King Louis XV of France, eager to restore peace, sent a special commissioner to replace Dupleix. The orders were carried out with unnecessary brutality. The remnants of Dupleix's achievements were destroyed, and he was forced to return to France on October 12.
Final Years
Dupleix had invested his personal fortune in the colonial cause, but the company refused to compensate him, and the government dismissed him as an ambitious adventurer. The greatest French colonial governor died in poverty on November 10, 1763.
See also
- French India