432. Pitt's Measures and Appointments. The English government now began to show unusual energy. Pitt was domineering and hard to please; he could not work well with Pitt's plans other men and he was much afflicted with gout; and measures. but he was confident and vigorous and knew how to inspire the nation with his own assurance that victory would come. He planned campaigns and sought out the best possible men to carry them through. It had been Whig custom to give offices as rewards to favorites and followers; this custom ceased when Pitt came into power: his appointments were made on the basis of merit. He held a large view of the field of war; while King George looked on the warfare chiefly as an effort to defend and secure his beloved Hanover, Pitt regarded the struggle as one for supremacy in North America, the Orient, and on the Ocean. He sent soldiers and money into Germany Military and that France might be kept busy in those quarters; naval leaders. and Frederick the Great kept the French forces exceedingly busy, while Clive, Amherst, Wolfe, Hawke, Rodney, and Boscawen seized the French colonies and destroyed the French fleet.

Victories of

After a few months the results of Pitt's labors began to appear. The years 1758 and 1759 are the most glorious in the history of English warfare. The series of English 1758 and 1759. victories had really begun the year before (June 23, 1757), when Clive gained the fateful battle of Plassey just a week before Pitt took charge of the war; but the news of this did not reach England for many months. Pitt's victories were gained chiefly in America and on the ocean.

The war in
America.

433. "The Year of Victories." Pitt's plans were especially busied with Canada. He planned four campaigns: one against Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, a French stronghold which was a constant menace to the colonies of Nova Scotia and New England; another against the French forts on Lake Champlain that closed the route northward from New York to Montreal along the valley of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain; a third in the direction of Fort Duquesne to secure

66 THE YEAR OF VICTORIES

465

control of the upper Ohio valley; finally an attack on Quebec. By adopting a conciliatory attitude toward the colonial authorities, he secured their coöperation in all these movements.

Louisbourg fell in July before a combined land and naval attack directed by General Amherst and Admiral Boscawen. The following month Fort Frontenac was seized and the English gained control of Lake Ontario. In November George Washington raised the British flag over the ruins of Fort Duquesne and the gate of the West swung open; the place Victories in was named Pittsburg in honor of the great minis- America. ter. New victories came with the following spring. Guadeloupe, an important island in the West Indies, was seized in May. Two months later, Fort Niagara, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point fell into English hands and the way was open to Montreal and Quebec. In August Admiral Boscawen encountered the French Mediterranean fleet which was on its way northward to join the Atlantic fleet at Brest in an attack on England. The battle was fought at Lagos near Battle of the southern extremity of Portugal: the French Lagos. fleet was almost ruined. In September, James Wolfe, who had spent the summer in trying to reduce the fortress of Quebec, succeeded in forcing his able opponent, the Marquis Montcalm, to come out and fight him on the Plains of Abraham. Both generals fell, but the English were victorious. Quebec and The next year General Amherst completed the Canada. conquest of Canada (1760).1

The "year of victories" closed with Admiral Hawke's defeat of the French fleet at Quiberon Bay. The French maintained two great naval stations, one at Toulon on the Quiberon Mediterranean and one at Brest on the Atlantic. Bay. The Toulon fleet was ruined at Lagos Bay; the Brest fleet was blockaded by an English fleet under Admiral Hawke, the greatest naval commander of the time. The autumn was stormy and Hawke had been compelled to return to England. The French admiral left the harbor but unexpectedly encountered

1 Cheyney, No. 363; Gardiner, 753-756; Kendall, No. 118.

Hawke's fleet which had just returned. In the battle that followed the French ships were scattered or destroyed. France still had powerful forces that she could use against Frederick of Prussia; but against the island kingdom she was helpless. 434. Victories in India.1 The successes in America had their parallel in India. Clive followed up the victory at Arcot with further expeditions until English influence was dominant in southern India. His success became even more wonderful when it is recalled that his forces were composed largely of native Sepoys and a small number of Englishmen recruited chiefly from the lowest classes in London. Nominally India

Decline of the Mogul Empire.

was an empire ruled by a Mohammedan dynasty of Turanian origin. The emperor, usually known as the Great Mogul, resided at Delhi. The various regions or provinces were governed by viceroys (subahdars) and governors (nawabs or nabobs) appointed by the emperor, or by native Hindu kings (rajahs). With the opening of the eighteenth century the Mogul empire began to decay, and the various kings, viceroys, and governors ruled their separate states almost as sovereigns. It was this chaotic state of affairs that made it possible for the English and French to combine conquest with trade and commerce.

Clive in
Bengal.

From the Carnatic Clive turned his attention to Bengal. The Englishmen had a trading post at Calcutta, and the French were at Chandernagore not far distant. Both paid tribute to the nabob of the region for the privilege of trade. The new viceroy was Surajah Dowlah who came into power in 1756. Surajah Dowlah hated the English and planned to oust the East India Company. Pretexts for an attack were soon formed. He seized the company's post and while graciously promising the prisoners their lives, had them confined, 146 in number, in a single room less than twenty feet square, since known as the Black Hole of Calcutta. When the door was opened the following morning, only twenty-three were still alive.3

The Black
Hole.

1 Gardiner, 758-764.

2 Robinson, No. 166.

3 Cheyney, No. 357

When the news came to Madras, Clive at once determined to lead an expedition against the cruel viceroy. With 900 British soldiers and 1500 Sepoys he landed in Bengal just before the close of the year, reëstablished the factory of the company, and a little later drove the French out of Chandernagore. In June, almost a year after the tragedy of the Black Hole, Clive's little army met a native host of more than 50,000 at Plassey and put the Bengalese to flight.1 A of Plassey. native prince who was willing to serve as the company's tool was made nabob of Bengal. The influence of the East India Company spread rapidly up the great valley of the Ganges, and Calcutta became the center of British power in India.

The battle

1757.

1760.

The French made an effort to recover the Carnatic but without success. In 1760 they were completely defeated at Wandewash. Wandewash. A few months later Pondicherri surrendered. French power in India was a thing of the past. In 1761 the East India Company had no serious rival in the great Hindu peninsula. When peace was made, England restored Pondicherri, Chandernagore, and various other points, and these have since belonged to France. But the French possessions in India are mere trading posts; in area they comprise less than 200 square miles.

435. War with Spain. Meanwhile a new war had broken out. In 1759 Charles III ascended the throne of Spain: he was more energetic and aggressive than his predecessor and promptly renewed the Bourbon compact with France. William Pitt realized that war with Spain was coming and was eager to strike the first blow. But in England, too, there was a new king George II died in 1760, and his successor, George III, was anxious to secure a general peace. For a year Pitt labored vainly with the king urging him to secure the advanResignation tages of an early declaration of war; but George refused. In 1761 Pitt suddenly resigned; his office was given to Lord Bute, a Scotchman who had long been a 1 Robinson, No. 166; Kendall, No. 177. 2 Cheyney, No. 367; Innes, 231–233.

of Pitt.

2