United States or Mexico ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
I took upon myself to obtain permission from Monsieur de la Bourdonnais to undertake this voyage; and I determined previously to mention the affair to Paul. But what was my surprise, when this young man said to me, with a degree of good sense above his age, "And why do you wish me to leave my family for this precarious pursuit of fortune?
David's and the other British settlements in that country, from the insults of monsieur da la Bourdonnais, his strength was not sufficient to enable him to undertake any enterprise of importance against the enemy; the ministry of England therefore resolved to equip a fresh armament, that, when joined by the ships in India, should be in a condition to besiege Pon-dicherry, the principal settlement belonging to the French on the coast of Coromandel.
"Monsieur de la Bourdonnais, at the request of Madame de la Tour, placed himself next her at the table, and breakfasted in the manner of the Creoles, upon coffee mixed with rice boiled in water. He was delighted with the order and neatness which prevailed in the little cottage, the harmony of the two interesting families, and the zeal of their old servants.
George, with all the stored wealth of the company as spoils of war, La Bourdonnais thought that he might be not unlenient in the terms he accorded to his enemies. He allowed the English inhabitants of Madras to remain prisoners of war on parole, and stipulated that the town should remain in his hands until the payment of a ransom of some nine millions of francs.
Having done this part of its work, the English squadron sailed to the coast of India, and in July, 1745, appeared off Pondicherry, the political capital of French India, prepared to sustain an attack which the governor of Madras was about to make by land. La Bourdonnais' time was now come.
La Bourdonnais had received from France this express order "You will not, keep any of the conquests you may make in India." The chests containing the ransom of the place descended slowly from the white town, which was occupied solely by Europeans and by the English settlements, to the black town, inhabited by a mixed population of natives and foreigners of various races, traders or artisans.
The inhabitants of Madras, smarting under what may fairly be called the treachery of Dupleix, considered rightly that they were no longer bound by the convention with the luckless La Bourdonnais. One at least of the inhabitants was a man not likely to be bound by the mere letter of a convention which had already been broken in the spirit.
To select one example among a thousand, what marvellous results would have been attained by an entente cordiale between two men like Dupleix and La Bourdonnais.
It was not given to Dupleix to guess that what he dreamed of and nearly accomplished was to be carried out at last by Robert Clive. The history of French empire in India contains two specially illustrious names the name of La Bourdonnais and the name of Dupleix.
Months rolled by, and the French remained alone at Madras. A jealous love of power and absorption in political schemes had induced Dupleix to violate a promise lightly given by La Bourdonnais in the name of France; he had arbitrarily quashed a capitulation of which he had not discussed the conditions.
Word Of The Day