Every major colonial military campaign and its treaty, from the Battle of Swally (1612) to the Treaty of Lhasa (1904) — with detailed notes on the decisive battles.
| Period | War | Sides | Treaty & Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1612 | Battle of Swally | English vs Portuguese | Portuguese pushed back to Daman, Diu & Goa |
| 1740–48 | First Carnatic War | French vs English | Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748 — territories restored |
| 1749–54 | Second Carnatic War | French vs English | Treaty of Pondicherry, 1755 — inconclusive, French weakened |
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey | English vs Siraj-ud-Daulah | Opened the door for British political control |
| 1758–63 | Third Carnatic War | French vs English | Treaty of Paris, 1763 — no European rival left for the British |
| 1759 | Battle of Bedara | English vs Dutch | Dutch pushed out of India |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar | English vs Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah & Shah Alam II | Treaty of Allahabad, 1765 — Dual Government in Bengal |
| 1767–69 | First Anglo-Mysore War | English+Nizam+Marathas vs Mysore | Treaty of Madras, 1769 — Mysore came out on top |
| 1775–82 | First Anglo-Maratha War | Marathas vs British | Treaty of Salbai, 1782 |
| 1780–84 | Second Anglo-Mysore War | English+Nizam+Marathas vs Mysore | Treaty of Mangalore, 1784 — inconclusive |
| 1790–92 | Third Anglo-Mysore War | English+Nizam+Marathas vs Mysore | Treaty of Seringapatam, 1792 — Mysore defeated |
| 1799 | Fourth Anglo-Mysore War | English+Nizam+Marathas vs Mysore | Mysore brought under Subsidiary Alliance |
| 1803–05 | Second Anglo-Maratha War | Marathas vs English | Treaty of Bassein, 1802 — heavy Maratha setback |
| 1817–19 | Third Anglo-Maratha War | Marathas vs English | Confederacy broken up; Peshwa exiled to Kanpur |
| 1824–26 | First Anglo-Burmese War | Burmese vs English | Treaty of Yandaboo, 1826 |
| 1839–42 | First Anglo-Afghan War | Afghans vs English | Won militarily, but territory handed back |
| 1845–46 | First Anglo-Sikh War | Sikhs vs English | Treaty of Lahore & Bhairowal, 1846 |
| 1848–49 | Second Anglo-Sikh War | Sikhs vs English | Punjab annexed, 1849 |
| 1852 | Second Anglo-Burmese War | Burmese vs English | Lower Burma (Pegu) annexed, 20 Dec 1852 |
| 1870–80 | Second Anglo-Afghan War | Afghans vs English | Treaty of Gandamak, 1879 — Afghanistan retained as buffer state |
| 1885 | Third Anglo-Burmese War | Burmese vs English | Upper Burma annexed |
| 1904 | Anglo-Tibetan Relations | Tibetans and English | Treaty of Lhasa, 1904 |
Fought on 23 June 1757 in Bengal along the Bhagirathi river, north of present-day Kolkata, between the East India Company (Robert Clive) and Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (backed by a small French contingent). Siraj-ud-Daulah's anti-British policies brought matters to a head; his own commander Mir Jafar switched sides in a deliberate conspiracy, handing Clive a decisive win. Mir Jafar was installed as the new Nawab and made to pay large sums to the Company. The victory eventually fed into the Treaty of Allahabad, 1765, securing Diwani (revenue-collection) rights over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa for the British.
The northward-marching Maratha army clashed with an alliance led by Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali), joined by the Rohilla Afghans and Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh. A heavy Maratha defeat — driven by infighting among Indian rulers, a neglected north-west frontier, and lukewarm regional support — cost the Marathas significant prestige and indirectly worked in England's favour.
The Company faced a coalition of Mir Qasim (who had replaced Mir Jafar but fell out with the Company over unpaid dues), Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh, and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II — fought near Buxar (today a district of Bihar). A decisive British victory fed directly into the Treaty of Allahabad, 1765: Diwani rights over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa passed to the British, and Shuja-ud-Daulah paid a 5-million-rupee war indemnity.
In most individual rounds Tipu Sultan held his own, but the combined weight of the Nizam and the Marathas ultimately swung the balance toward England. The First War (1767–69) saw Hyder Ali's diplomacy win over both the Marathas and the Nizam, ending in the Treaty of Madras, 1769 in Mysore's favour. The Second War (1780–84) was triggered when the British reneged on that treaty and withheld support from Hyder Ali against a Maratha attack; it ended inconclusively at the Treaty of Mangalore after Hyder Ali's death (1782) and Tipu Sultan's continuation of the fight. The Third War (1786–92), after Tipu declared war on British-allied Travancore, ended at the Treaty of Seringapatam, 1792 — Tipu ceded half his kingdom, including Malabar, Dindigul, Coorg and Baramahal. The Fourth War (1799), triggered by Tipu's refusal of Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance and his continuing French ties, ended in a decisive British victory at the Battle of Seringapatam, 1799 — Tipu's territories were split between the British and the Nizam, and the Wodeyar dynasty was restored to Mysore.
The First War (1775–79), sparked by succession rivalry after Peshwa Madhav Rao's death, saw the Marathas under Mahadji Shinde win decisively at Wadgaon, forcing the Treaty of Wadgaon, 1779. The Second War (1803–05), following the 1802 Battle of Poona and Baji Rao II's Treaty of Bassein seeking British protection, ended with the British bringing large parts of central India under control. The Third War (1817–19), over British conflict with the Pindaris, ended in a decisive British victory — the last major war the British won in India — after which they held direct or indirect control over most of the subcontinent.
The First War (1845–46), following Ranjit Singh's death and rising Company military presence, ended in British victory at Sobraon and the Treaty of Lahore, 1846. The Second War (1848–49) ended at the decisive Battle of Gujrat (near the Chenab) in 1849 — Punjab was annexed, and the Koh-i-Noor diamond passed into British hands as part of the post-war settlement.
