Advent of Europeans & Rise of British Rule (Quick Review)

Political & Economic Backdrop (c.$1600$-$1750$)

• Mughal Empire at its zenith; Surat main port; Akbar’s revenue reforms.
• South India fragmented (Nayaks of Madurai, Thanjavur, Senji); frequent wars; Dutch & English gain coastal bases.
• Agricultural economy; brisk coastal grain trade; cotton textiles key export; merchant network (banias, nagarseths, Jagat Seths, Coromandel traders); hundi system.

Why Europeans Came

• Closure of land route after Turkish capture of Constantinople ($1453$) + Ottoman control of West Asian trade.
• High European demand for pepper, cloves, cinnamon; need direct sea route.

Portuguese (first Europeans in India)

• $1498$: Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut via Cape of Good Hope.
• Early forts/factories – Cochin ($1500$), Cannanore, Calicut; Goa seized ($1510$) → headquarters.
• Key Governors:
– Francisco de Almeida ($1505$-$1509$), “Blue-Water Policy”; naval victories near Diu.
– Albuquerque ($1509$-$1515$): capture of Goa, Malacca; encouraged luso-Indian marriages.
– Nino da Cunha ($1529$-$1538$): Bassein, Daman, Diu.
• Contributions: tobacco, printing press at Goa ($1556$); spread of Catholicism; control of pepper trade.
• Decline: beaten by Dutch (17th C) → by $1739$ confined to Goa, Daman, Diu.

Dutch

• United East India Company (VOC) formed $1602$.
• Indian factories: Masulipatnam ($1605$), Pulicat (HQ till $1690$), Nagapattinam, Surat, Chinsura, Cochin, Balasore.
• Monopoly in spices, diamonds (Pulicat).
• Amboyna massacre ($1623$) intensifies Anglo-Dutch rivalry; decisive defeat at Bedera $1759$ ends Dutch power in India.

Danish

• Danish East India Company chartered $1616$.
• Settlements: Tranquebar/Tarangambadi ($1620$, Fort Danesborg), Serampore ($1676$).
• Missionary Ziegenbalg sets up first Tamil press.
• Sold all Indian possessions to British $1845$.

French

• French East India Company created $1664$ (Colbert).
• Factories: Surat ($1668$), Masulipatnam ($1669$), Pondicherry ($1673$, Fort St Louis), Chandernagore ($1673$), Mahe, Karaikal, Balasore, Kasimbazar.
• Governors: François Martin, Dumas, Dupleix (from $1742$ – expands French influence).
• Rivalry with British leads to three Carnatic Wars; French power ruined, British ascend.

British (English East India Company)

• Charter $31/12/1600$ by Queen Elizabeth I.
• Initial base Surat (permission $1613$ after Capt. Best’s naval victory).
• Eastern coast: Masulipatnam factory $1611$; Madras obtained $1639$ (Fort St George, first British fort).
• Western coast: Bombay received from Charles II ($1668$ lease).
• Bengal: Sutanuti factory $1690$ → Fort William $1700$; zamindari of three villages $1698$; grows into Calcutta.
• Military victories: Plassey $1757$, Buxar $1764$ → political power.
• Company rule till $1858$, then Crown.

Reasons for British Success

• Strong navy & capital, superior trade organisation, support from London government, flexible diplomacy, national character, European dominance.

Key Forts / Factories Timeline (quick scan)

• Goa $1510$ (Portuguese)
• Pulicat $1610$ (Dutch)
• Masulipatnam $1611$ (English)
• Fort St George (Madras) $1639$ (English)
• Fort Danesborg $1620$ (Danish)
• Pondicherry $1673$ (French)

Sources for Modern Indian History

• Written: travellers’ accounts, diaries (e.g., Ananda Ranga Pillai $1736$-$1760$), government papers, pamphlets, manuscripts.
• Archives: National Archives of India (New Delhi); Tamil Nadu Archives (Chennai) – holds Dutch ( $1657$-$1845$) & Danish ($1777$-$1845$) records.
• Material: forts (St George, St Louis, St Francis, etc.), coins (first Crown issue $1862$; RBI notes $1938$), museums (National Museum $1949$), printing presses (Goa $1556$, Tranquebar).

Bottom Line

• European entry driven by spice trade led to successive waves: Portuguese → Dutch → Danish/French → British.
• By late $18^{th}$ C, British supremacy established, paving way for colonial rule till $1947$.