What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company?

The areas of conflict between the Bengal Nawabs and the East India Company were Plassey and Buxar. East India Company wanted concessions and privileges related to trade. When Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb was ruling he granted the company a royal order or Farman which gave them the right to trade duty-free. But those who were involved in private trade were supposed to pay duty which they refused and this led to the loss of a huge amount of revenue for Bengal.

When Mughal emperor died, Bengal Nawabs tried to claim their authority and power. Even regional powers were doing the same. The then Nawab of Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi Khan and then Sirajuddaulah were the strong rulers who opposed to granting Company concessions, demanded large tributes for the Company’s right to trade, denied it any right to mint coins and stopped them expanding its fortifications.

The Nawab accused the company of treachery as they were not paying taxes, writing disrespectful letters and trying to disgrace the Nawab and his officials. Also, the company was not respecting the authority of the Nawabs and causing Bengal government loss of the huge amount of revenue. On the other hand, the company was worried about the growing demand of the local officials which was destroying their trade and trade would only prosper if the duty will be removed completely. Along with this, the company demanded expansion of its settlements, buy up villages, and rebuild its forts.

All this led to the two famous battles known as Battle of Plassey and Battle of Buxar.