Joseph François Dupleix
| Joseph François Dupleix | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Governor-General of French India | |
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In office 14 January 1742 – 15 October 1754 |
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| Monarch | Louis XV |
| Preceded by | Pierre Benoît Dumas |
| Succeeded by |
Charles Godeheu As Acting Governor-General |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1697 Landrecies, France |
| Died | 10 November 1763 (aged 66) Paris, France |
Joseph-François, Marquis Dupleix (1 January 1697 – 10 November 1763) was Governor-General of French India and rival of Robert Clive.
Dupleix was born in Landrecies, France. His father, François Dupleix, a wealthy fermier général, wished to bring him up as a merchant, and, in order to distract him from his taste for science, sent him on a voyage to India in 1715 on one of the French East India Company's vessels. He made several voyages to the Americas and India, and in 1720 was named a member of the superior council at Pondichéry. He displayed great business aptitude, and, in addition to his official duties, made large ventures on his own account, and acquired a fortune. In 1730 he was made superintendent of French affairs in Chandernagore, the town prospered under his administration and grew into great importance. In 1741, he married Jeanne Albert, widow of one of the councillors of the company; Albert was known to the Hindus as Joanna Begum and proved of great help to her husband in his negotiations with the native princes.
His reputation procured him in 1742 the appointment of governor general of all French establishments in India. He succeeded Dumas as the French governor of Pondichéry. His ambition now was to acquire for France vast territories in India, and for this purpose he entered into relations with the native princes, and adopted a style of oriental splendour in his dress and surroundings. He built an army of native troops, called sepoys, who were trained as infantrymen men in his service also included the famous Hyder Ali of Mysore. The British took the alarm. But the danger to their settlements and power was partly averted by the bitter mutual jealousy which existed between Dupleix and Bertrand François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, French governor of the Isle of Bourbon (today's La Réunion).
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