Editing War of the Austrian Succession (section)

==India==
[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|thumb|Flag of the [[East India Company]] (founded in 1600)]]
[[File:Bombardement de Pondichery en 1748 par la flotte anglaise.jpg|thumb|British Admiral Edward Boscawen [[Siege of Pondicherry (1748)|besieged Pondicherry]] in the later months of 1748.]]

The war marked the beginning of a powerful struggle between [[British Empire|Britain]] and [[French colonial empire|France]] in [[Colonial India|India]] and of European military ascendancy and political intervention in the subcontinent. Major hostilities began with the arrival of a naval squadron under [[Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais|Mahé de la Bourdonnais]], carrying troops from France. In September 1746 Bourdonnais landed his troops near [[Chennai|Madras]] and laid siege to the port. Although it was the main British settlement in the [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]], Madras was weakly fortified and had only a small garrison, reflecting the thoroughly commercial nature of the European presence in India hitherto. On 20 September, only six days after the arrival of the French force, Madras surrendered after a brief bombardment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |title=The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-5266-1850-4 |location=Great Britain |pages=50–51 |language=en}}</ref> The terms of the surrender agreed by Bourdonnais provided for the settlement to be ransomed back for a cash payment by the [[British East India Company]]. However, this concession was opposed by [[Joseph François Dupleix|Dupleix]], the governor general of the Indian possessions of the [[French Indies Company|Compagnie des Indes]]. When Bourdonnais was forced to leave India in October after the devastation of his squadron by a cyclone Dupleix reneged on the agreement. The [[Nawab of the Carnatic]] [[Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan]] intervened in support of the British and advanced to retake Madras, but despite vast superiority in numbers his army was defeated by the French at the [[Battle of Adyar]], one of the earliest demonstrations in the gap in quality that had opened up between European and Indian armies.<ref>George W. Forrest, "The Siege of Madras in 1746 and the action of La Bourdonnais." ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'' 2 (1908): 189–234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3678377</ref>

The French now turned to the remaining British settlement in the Carnatic, [[Fort St. David]] at [[Cuddalore]], which was dangerously close to the main French settlement of [[Puducherry (city)|Pondichéry]]. The first French force sent against Cuddalore was surprised and defeated nearby by the forces of the Nawab and the British garrison in December 1746. Early in 1747 a second expedition laid siege to Fort St David but withdrew on the arrival of a British naval squadron in March. A final attempt in June 1748 avoided the fort and attacked the weakly fortified town of Cuddalore itself, but was routed by the British garrison.

With the arrival of a naval squadron under Admiral [[Edward Boscawen]], carrying troops and artillery, the British went on the offensive, laying siege to Pondichéry. They enjoyed a considerable superiority in numbers over the defenders, but the settlement had been heavily fortified by Dupleix and after two months the siege was abandoned.<ref>Jean Sutton, ''The East India Company's Maritime Service, 1746–1834: Masters of the Eastern Seas'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2010).</ref>

The peace settlement brought the return of Madras to the British company, exchanged for Louisbourg in Canada. However, the conflict between the two companies continued by proxy during the interval before the outbreak of the [[Seven Years' War]], with British and French forces fighting on behalf of rival claimants to the thrones of Hyderabad and the [[Nawab of the Carnatic|Carnatic]].<ref>Jack M.  Sosin, "Louisburg and the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1957): 516–535.</ref>