Clive Wins the Battle of Plassey

June 23, 1757

In a mango grove north of Calcutta, Clive's 3,000 men defeated 50,000 Bengalis - because he had already bribed the nawab's chief general to stand still. A thunderstorm ruined the Bengali powder; the Company's held dry under tarpaulins. Bengal, richest province of Asia, became a British asset. The revenue from Bengal would finance the Company's wars across the rest of India for the next century.