In December of the same year a small French force of 50 Europeans and 100 sepoys landed at Cocanada with the object of entering into negotiations with this same Jagapati Rázu. By this time the English army at Masulipatam, now under the command of Captain Fischer, had commenced its return march. Learning on his arrival at Rajahmundry of the presence of the French at Cocanada, Fischer proceeded thither at once and found the enemy posted in a village two miles from the Dutch fort. They fled at once inside the fort and eventually surrendered, and thenceforth no French forces set foot in the district.
The country north of the Gódávari was now nominally subject to the Nizam, but he was too busy with other affairs to attend to its administration, and the consequence was that 'for seven succeeding years, the completest anarchy recorded in the history of Hindustan prevailed over all the Northern Circars. The forms, nay even the remembrance, of civil government seemed to be wholly lost.'*[1] The provinces had been leased to one Hussain Ali Khán, but his authority was little more than nominal, and an English force despatched to establish it was interrupted by the invasion of the Carnatic by the Subadar. A small body of 200 sepoys and twelve artillerymen under Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Henry) Cosby did, however, reach Rajahmundry, was instrumental in saving Hussain Ali from a conspiracy formed by a disappointed rival to seize the town, and remained there till the Northern Circars were eventually ceded to the English.
This event occurred in 1765. Lord Clive, who had returned to India, entered into negotiations regarding the cession, and on August 12, 1765, received a grant of the Circars from the emperor of Delhi. The Madras Government hesitated to avail themselves at once of this grant of country which the Subadar of the Deccan considered to be his own property, alleging that there was no immediate necessity for taking possession, since Hussain Ali Khán had already collected the revenues and but little more could be obtained that year. In the following March, however, they published the emperor's firman and sent General Calliaud to take possession. The Nizam threatened to retaliate by invading the Carnatic; and Calliaud was ordered to meet him at Hyderabad and negotiate a cession from him. The result was a treaty dated November 12, 1766, whereby the whole of the Northern Circars with the exception of Guntúr (which was not ceded till 1788) was handed over to the English. The
- ↑ * Grant's Political Survey, etc., 146.
