CLIVE, Robert, BARON CLIVE, English soldier and statesman: b. Shropshire, 29 Sept. 1725; d. London, 22 Nov. 1774. His father ob tained for him the place of a writer in the East India Company's service, and in his 19th year he went in that capacity to Madras. Two years later Madras surrendered to the French, but Clive escaped to Fort Saint David, where he entered the military service. He took part in the unsuccessful attempt to capture Pondicherry in 1748. When the British opposed Chunda Sahib, whom the French wished to make nabob of the Carnatic, and their candidate was be sieged in Trichinopoly by Chunda Sahib, Clive was sent in 1751 to attack Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, which he captured without op position and later with his small force beat off the attempts of overwhelming numbers to re take it. He then relieved Trichinopoly, and captured the forts of Covelong In 1753 he went to England for a time! on his return to India (1755) he was given the government of Fort Saint David. He was soon called to Madras to command the relief expedi tion sent to Bengal, where the nabob Suraj-al Dowlah had taken .Calcutta. Clive took posses sion of that city, and with a very inferior num ber of men entered the nabob's camp and cap tured his cannon. The nabob then offered terms of peace very advantageous to the Eng lish. Clive very shortly formed a plot to de throne Suraj-al-Dowlah and place Mir Jaffier on the throne. In the famous battle of Plassey
(21 June 1757) Clive's force of 3,000 men put to flight the nabob and his army of more than 50,000. Mir Jaffier now wished to govern with out British interference, but the rebellions against him forced him to seek the aid of Clive, who was appointed governor of Bengal. Clive again went to England in 1760, when he was elected member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and raised to the Irish peerage. A disagree ment between Mir Jaffier and the British gover nor officiating in Clive's absence caused Clive's return to India in 1764. He found the trouble with Jaffier settled, and devoted himself to the reform of the civil service in Bengal, and the restoration of discipline in the army. After his final return to England (1767) severe attacks were made upon him for his conduct in India, and a parliamentary inquiry followed which resulted in the passing of resolutions condem natory of certain of his acts, and of a subse quent motion that he Chad rendered a great and meritorious service to his country? But the worry due to the attacks, together with his fail ing health, so depressed him that he committed suicide. He was the creator of the British Indian empire, the foundations of which he laid in 12 short crowded years.