With reference to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, which of the following statements is/are correct?

Question

With reference to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The first Carnatic war ended.

2. Madras was returned to the British.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Only 2
2. B. Neither 1 nor 2
3. C. Both 1 and 2 (Correct answer)
4. D. Only 1

Correct Answer

Option C — Both 1 and 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Both 1 and 2.

Key Points

• Statement 1 is correct. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748 ended the War of Austrian Succession in Europe and, with it, the First Carnatic War (1746-48) in India.
• Statement 2 is correct. Under the treaty, Madras was returned to the British in exchange for Louisbourg in North America, which the British had captured from the French.
• Both hold, giving option (c).

Additional Information

• The First Carnatic War was an extension of a European conflict into India — the standard illustration of how Anglo-French rivalry in India followed rivalry in Europe.
• Its most important episode was the Battle of St. Thome (1746) on the banks of the Adyar, where a small French force under Captain Paradise defeated a much larger army of the Nawab of Carnatic, Anwar-ud-din. This revealed the superiority of trained European infantry over the large but poorly organised Indian armies — a lesson both companies acted upon.
• Dupleix was the French Governor-General during this war.
• The Second Carnatic War (1749-54) ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry, and the Third (1758-63) with the Treaty of Paris, following the decisive Battle of Wandiwash (1760) where Sir Eyre Coote defeated Comte de Lally.