Robert Clive was born in Shropshire on the 29th September 1725. As a boy he was constantly picking fights and local shopkeepers would pay him not to break their windows! Robert was the eldest of his family and he also had five sisters and a brother. His mother was the daughter of Nathaniel Gaskell of Manchester and his father represented Montogomeryshire in parliament for many years. Clive was famous for establishing the political and military supremacy of the EIC. Together with Warren Hasting he was one of the key figures in the creation of British India.

Aurangzeb the Mughal emperor died in 1707 and his death led to a power vacuum. This led to war between rival princes in India. The french helped some of the princes to win battles and in return the princes traded with them. This meant that unless the EIC done something it would be squeezed out of India. In 1743 Clive was sent to India to work for the EIC, he was only 18 years old! When the french threatened British trade, Clive joined the EIC army and quickly became a general. In 1751 Clive won remarkable victories against much larger French and Indian armies. After this, Indian princes traded with the British and ignored the french.

These factors affected the future of india greatly. If the french had control over India then the Indians might have spoke french as a first language and the city names might have been French aswell!