Advent of Europeans in India

Portuguese in India :

 • The Portuguese voyager  Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on May 17, 1498. At that time Calicut was ruled by a king named  Zamorin.

Vasco da Gama’s voyage was successful in establishing a sea route from Europe to India that would permit trade with the Far East, without the use of the costly and unsafe Silk Road caravan routes, of the Middle East and Central Asia. In 1502, he established a factory at Cochin.

• The first Governor of Portuguese in India ------- Francisco Almeida.

• He was followed by  best governor Alfonso de Albuquerque in 1503. He captured Goa in 1510 from the Bijapur ruler. He also abolished Sati Sahagamana tradition in India.

• Nino – da – Cunha  transferred the Portuguese  capital in India from  Cochin to Goa in 1530 and acquired Diu (in 1535) and Daman (in 1559).

• Portuguese lost Hugly in 1631 during the rule of Shahjahan.

• In 1661, the Portuguese king gave Bombay to Charles II of England as dowry, for marrying his sister.

• Gradually, Portuguese lost their Indian territories due to various reasons. The Dutch played an important role to oust them.

 Dutch East India Company :

• Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602.

 • They set – up their first factory at Masulipatnam in 1605. Their other factories were at Pulicat, Chinsura, Patna, Balasore, Nagapattanam, Cochin, Surat, Karikal, Kasimbazar.

 English East India Company :

 • The English East India Company was formed in 1599, and was given the royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 to trade in the east.

 • Captain William Hawkins stayed in Jahangir’s court from 1609 – 1611. But he failed to get the king’s permission to erect a factory at Surat. Captain Middleton succeeded in this effort in 1611.

 • An imperial Farman allowed the Company to set up a permanent factory at Surat in 1613. Sir Thomas Roe played an important role in this.

 • In 1616, the Company established its first factory in the south in Masulipatnam. In 1633, it established its first factory in east India in Hariharpur, Balasore (Orissa).

• The Company got the lease of Madras in 1639 and built Fort St. George in Madras, which acted as its headquarter on the Coromandal coast.

• Bombay was made the Company’s main settlement on the west coast in 1668.

 • Aurangzeb gave the Company the Farman in 1667 to trade in Bengal. In 1690, a factory was set up at Sutanuti village. Calcutta formed with three cities  Sutanati , Kalikata and Gobindpur.

•  In 1696, the Company fortified the Calcutta factory into Fort William.

• In 1717, John Surman obtained a Farman from Farrukhsiyar which gave large concessions to the Company. This Farman is called the ‘Magna Carta’ of the Company.

Danes in India :

• The Danish East India Company was formed in 1616.

 • They established settlements at Serampur (Bengal) and Tranquebar (Tamil Nadu).

• The Danes sold their settlements to the English in 1845.

 French in India :

 • The French East India Company was set in 1664, at the instance of a minister, Colbert, in the reign of Louis XIV.

• The French Company was created, financed and controlled by the State and it differed from the English Company which was a private commercial venture.

• They established their first factory  at Surat in 1668 and at Masulipatnam in 1669.

 • The foundation of Pondicherry was laid in 1673 which, afterwards, became its capital. They also developed a factory in Chandernagar.

The British Conquest of Bengal :

 • The Mughal governor of Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan, made Bengal virtually independent of the Mughal Empire during his reign (1717 – 1727).

• His son Alivardi Khan  succeeded him and ruled till 1756.

 • After his death, sirajuddaulah  became nawab Bengal.

• These three rulers , suppressed the East India Company domination and attempt to take over the , Bengal . But Company constantly increased its power taking advantage of the corrupt officer

 • This conflict led to the Battle of PLASSEY in 1757 and  Sirajuddaulah  got defeated in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. In this battle major part of the Nawab’s army (led by Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh) didn’t take part in the battle. The Nawab was defeated and killed.