QJoseph Fran

DUPLEIX, JOSEPH FRANÇOIS (1697–1763), influential governor-general (1742–1754) of the French East India Company During his three decades in India, the Marquis Joseph François Dupleix expanded the commercial, political, and military operations of the French East India Company (La Compagnie perpétuelle des Indes), and his administration marked the apex of French colonial ambitions in India. His accumulation of an enormous personal fortune led to suspicions about his integrity and, eventually, his recall to France. Nonetheless, Dupleix successfully protected French interests from threats from local authorities such as the Marathas, the naw?bs of Arcot, and nizams of Hyderabad. His lifestyle and methods defined the paradigm of the "Nabob Game." He also led the French in a war with the British East India Company and prevailed on the ground at first. The high point occurred in 1746, when French forces captured nearby Madras (Chennai) and held it until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle restored it in 1748. Many of Dupleix's practices were imitated by the British East India Company, most notably by Robert Clive.