Arrival Of The Europeans In India
Arrival of Portuguese In India ( First to come and last to leave )
Why a sea route to India?
● Roman Empire declined in the seventh century
● Arabs rose to power in Egypt and Persia
● This led to the declination of the direct contact between Europe and India (Arabs had
become middlemen)
● In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, who were on the ascendant
● Therefore, land and sea routes were under the control of the Arabs
Renaissance gripped Europe in the fifteenth century, leading its call for exploration.
Simultaneously, they were advancements in the field of ship building, crop rotation, plowing and
meat industry. This led to the need for voyages and the requirements of spices respectively.
Prince Henry of Portugal (nicknamed, Navigator), Portuguese Royal who supported sea route exploration.
[Note: In 1487, Bartholomew Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and sailed up the
eastern coast. He was well convinced that he had reached India. But only ten years later had
the sea route to India been discovered, when another Portugese expedition arrived in May
1498.]
● 1498- Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in Kerala. He was helped by a Gujarati pilot,
Abdul Majid. Here, he was welcomed by Zamorins (Hindu rulers). After engaging in
the much profitable trade for three months, he returned to Europe.
● 1500- Pedro Alvarez Cabral arrived in Calicut and established a factory to trade for
spices.
● 1501- Vasco Da Gama once again came to India. Got into friendly treaties with
Zamorins, and established trading posts at Cannanore, Calicut and Cochin in Kerala.
Expansion of the Portugese Rule Under the pretext of protection of trade, the Portugese got permission to fortify their centres.
Gradually, efficient Governor Generals were being sent to India to expand the trade. A few have been mentioned below :
● Consolidated portuguese trade and subdued muslim trade
● Encountered the opposition of the Zamorin alongwith the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt.
Initially, defeated at their hands.
● Avenged the defeat by totally crushing both navies next year,
● Wanted to make Portugese the masters of Indian ocean.
● His policy was known as Blue Water Policy (cartaze system).
1509 - Alfonso De Albuquerque
● Introduced a permit system for ships to enter the Indian Ocean
● Acquired Goa from Sultan of Bijapur inn1510
● Abolition of sati
● Encouraged Portugese men to take Indian wives and settle in India (to increase the
demography as well)
● Introduced tobacco, cashew and irrigation system
1529 - Nino Da Cunha
● Shifted the headquarters from Cochin to Goa inn1530
● Helped Gujaratis to fight the Mughals. Got Bassein and Diu as reward
● Expanded to East in Bengal with Hooghly as headquarters Favorable Conditions for Portugese
● Excellent ships, navy with cannons (much better compared to other small kingdoms)
● Egypt and Middle East lacked timber and could not build ships
● No other super powers, Chinese had restricted themselves from entering India
● Knowledge of sea, maps, tradesmen and governors Over the years, Portugese state expanded to almost all coasts of India- Mangalore, Cannanore, Calicut, Cochin, San Thome in Chennai, Nagapattinam in Andhra Pradesh and Hooghly in West Bengal.
Relation with the Mughals - Initial challenges were present but the Mughals were impressed by the Portugese navy. They wanted to convert the Mughals to Christianity. Despite failing in doing so, they got permission to build churches and roads.Meanwhile, the English discovered sea route to India
1608 - William Hawkins came to Jahangir’s court Despite retaliation from Portugese, they started trade, However, upon negotiation with the Mughals, the Portugese successfully stopped the English ships.
1612- English ships finally enter.
During the reign of Shahjahan, Portugese lose their entire rule.
● Emergence of powerful kingdoms in Egypt, North India and Marathas
● Entry of english, loss in trade
● Religious policies and spiritual pressure gained them enemies
● Rampant corruption
● Discovery of Brazil in the West diverted their attention
● Dutch overpowered them in spice trade
Significance of Portugese Rule
● Opened up new era of global trade
● Introduced modern techniques of warfare and navy
● Built churches and roads
Arrival of the Dutch in India
1602- arrival due to commercial interests
1605- established first factory at Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Important trading posts and factories- Surat, Bimlipatnam, Karaikal, Chinsurah, Baranagar,
Kasimbazar, Balasore, Patna, Nagapattanam, Cochin
● Commercial interests in India and Indonesia
● Dutch captured regions in Indonesia
● Dutch withdraw from India and British from Indonesia
Decline in India
The defeat of Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch rivalry and shifting of the Dutch attention to the Malay
archipelago.
Important wars :
● 3rd Anglo Dutch war (1672-74) - Dutch captured English ships
● Battle of Bidara (1759) - The English defeated the Dutch
Arrival of the English in India
1600 - Queen Elizabeth gives a charter to East India Company for trade
1608 - William Hawkins reached Jahangir’s court
1612 - Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portugese which impressed Jahangir
1613 - First factory established at Surat
1615 - Thomas Roe reaches Jahangir’s court and gets the permission to set up factories at
Agra, Ahmedabad and Broach
1632 - Got Golden farman from Sultan of Golconda for trade
1639 - Got permission to fortify at Madras
1662 - Received Bombay as a dowry gift from Portugese
Meanwhile they also got permission to trade in Bengal by paying duties. But, not to fortify.
1717- Farruksiyar’s farman, called the Magna Carta of the company. It gave them permission to
mint their own coins and allowed duty free trade. This ended up giving them a large number of trade concessions.
Danes in India
Entered in 1616 and mostly focused on missionary activities
Important locations : Tranquebar near Tanjore, Serampore near Calcutta
Lots of factories were eventually sold to the British in 1845.
Arrival of the French ( Last Europeans to enter India )
1664 - Got monopoly of trade in India from the King
1667 - Set up first factory at Surat
1673 - Established first township at Chandernagore near Calcutta
1674 - Settlement at Pondicherry - nerve centre of French power in the country
Other possessions- Mahe, Yanaon, Karaikal
Noted Governor-General : DUPLEIX
Anglo French Rivalry, It coincided with the wars fought by both these powers in Europe.Causes :
● For protection and expansion of commercial interests
● Political developments in South India and Europe
Carnatic wars :
● First Carnatic War (1740-48) - English seized French ships, French seized Madras.
Ended with the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle
● Second Carnatic War (1749-54) - the French suffered heavy financial loss
Treaty of Pondicherry: no future interference in states’ disputes
● Third Carnatic War (1758-63)- Reason was the Seven Years war in Europe (1756-63)
The Battle of Wandiwash in 1760 was the final blow to the French.
Treaty of Paris - English became the supreme power
Reasons for English success :
● Sound commercial base
● More stable government
● Excellent military and navy
● Industrial Revolution
● Less zeal for religion
● Never undermined trading activities
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