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Joseph Marquis Dupleix (; Unknown – 10 November 1763) was
Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
of French India and rival of Robert Clive.


Biography

Dupleix was born in Landrecies, on January 23, 1697. His father, François Dupleix, a wealthy '' fermier général'', wished to bring him up as a merchant, and, in order to distract him from his taste for science, sent him on a voyage to India in 1715 on one of the French East India Company's vessels. He made several voyages to the
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and India, and in 1720 was named a member of the superior council at
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. He displayed great business aptitude, and in addition to his official duties made large ventures on his own account, acquiring a fortune. In 1730 he was made superintendent of French affairs in Chandernagore. In 1741, he married Jeanne Albert, widow of one of the councillors of the company. Albert was known to the Hindus as Joanna Begum and proved of great help to her husband in his negotiations with the native princes. His reputation procured him in 1742 the appointment of governor general of all French establishments in India. Dupleix saw in the constant succession disputes among the Princes of India an opportunity to advance the interests of the French in India, and for this purpose he entered into relations with the native princes, and adopted a style of oriental splendour in his dress and surroundings. He built an army of native troops, called sepoys, who were trained as infantry men in his service and also included the famous Hyder Ali of
Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
. The British were alarmed by this, but the danger to their settlements and power was partly averted by the bitter mutual jealousy which existed between Dupleix and Bertrand François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, French governor of the Isle of Bourbon (today's
La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
). When the city of
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
capitulated to the French following the
Battle of Madras The Battle of Madras or Fall of Madras took place in September 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession when a Early Modern France, French force attacked and captured the city of Chennai, Madras from its Kingdom of Great Britain, British ...
in 1746, Dupleix opposed that the town be returned under British rule, thus violating the treaty signed by La Bourdonnais. He then sent an expedition against Fort St David (1747), which won over the Nawab of Arcot, ally of the British. Dupleix again attempted the capture of Fort St David, and this time succeeded. In 1748 Calcutta was besieged by the French, but in the course of the operations news arrived of the peace concluded between the French and the British at Aix-la-Chapelle. Dupleix next entered into negotiations about the subjugation of southern India. He sent a large body of troops to the aid of the two claimants of the sovereignty of the Carnatic and the Deccan. The British sided with their rivals to prevent the plans of Dupleix from materializing. In 1750 the Subadar of Deccan gifted the Alamparai Fort to the French. This was a token of his appreciation of the services of Dupleix and the French forces to his services. From 1751, Dupleix tried to expand French influence in
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
by sending the envoy Sieur de Bruno, and by providing military assistance the Mon in their conflict with the Burmese. Bruno proved remarkably successful in this effort, resulting in closer ties between the French and the Mon. However, the advent of the Seven Years' War meant that as French attentions were elsewhere this relationship came to nothing. In 1754 the French government, anxious to make peace, sent out to India a special commissioner with orders to supersede Dupleix and, if necessary, to arrest him. These orders were carried out harshly, what survived of Dupleix's work was ruined at a blow, and he himself was compelled to embark for France on 12 October 1754. He had spent his private fortune in the prosecution of his public policy, but the company refused to acknowledge the obligation, and the government would do nothing for a man whom they persisted in regarding as an ambitious and greedy adventurer. He died in obscurity on 10 November 1763.


Commemoration

A number of things were named in his honour: * A square, road and
metro station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...
in the 15th ''arrondissement'' of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
are named after him. * Four French warships have borne his name (beside two commercial ships): ** The steam corvette (1861–1887), famous for her involvement in the Japanese revolution ** A 7,700-tonne armoured cruiser (1897–1919) ** A 10,000-tonne cruiser (1929–1942), scuttled in Toulon ** The F70 type frigate * College Dupleix was the former name of Kanailal Vidyamandir and the Chandannagar College in Chandannagar, West Bengal. * A road in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
near the Indian parliament named after him. * ''Rue Dupleix'' (''Dupleix Street'') was the former name of Nehru Street in Pondicherry.


Statue of Dupleix at Puducherry Beach

French recognition of his Dupliex's contribution came only in 1870, with the commissioning of two statues – one in Puducherry and the other in France. The former statue is now situated in Goubert Avenue at the end of Rock Beach. It was first installed on 16 July 1870. In 1979 the statue was moved from the middle of the current Bharathy park to its current location at the beach. Dupleix is represented as a man of commanding stature. In the large nose and massive under jaw, some resemblance may be traced to
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
as commonly represented in his portraits. In the statue, Dupleix wears Court dress with bag wig and long riding boots; in his right hand is a plan of Puducherry, his left reposing on the hilt of his sword. Restoration of the Dupleix statue was undertaken by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the government of Puducherry in 2014.


See also

* Ananda Ranga Pillai * French colonial empires * Carnatic Wars * France in the Seven Years' War * Great Britain in the Seven Years' War
genealogy on geneanet samlap's site


References


Sources

*


Further reading

*
Duplieix
by Colonel John Biddulph, 1910


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupleix, Joseph Francois 1697 births 1763 deaths People from Nord (French department) Governors of French India History of Puducherry Yanam