William Watts (East India Company official)

[1] On 24 March 1749 in Calcutta, William married Frances Altham, née Croke (10 April [1725] 1728 – 3 February 1812), a well-connected widow.

She is known to history as Begum Johnson and lived most of her remarkably long life in Calcutta, which in 1772 became the de facto capital of British India.

Clive engaged Watts to work out a secret plan for the final overthrow of Siraj ud-Daulah and to install a favourable ruler instead.

Watts thus set up contact with the dissident emirs (nobles, commanders) of the Murshidabad durbar (court), including Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh and Yar Lutuf Khan.

Watts played a role in forging the grand conspiracy against Siraj Ud Daulah which led to the Battle of Plassey.

In 1759 he was offered government backing to fight Ipswich but he refused what was likely to be a competitive election saying that he was "quite unfit for a bustle" but ready to pay for a seat "where no kind of opposition can be.