Advent of European in India Upsc Notes 79
Advent of European in India Upsc Notes 79
Advent of European in India Upsc Notes 79
Many locations in the Indian subcontinent were key trading centres for the advent of Europeans
in India during the ancient and medieval periods. Trade between India and European countries
was anticipated even before the British established their formal rule in India. The Oxus Valley,
Egypt, and Syria served as the routes for overland trade between India and Europe. Europe's
land and waterways were extensively explored throughout the 15th century.
Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, founded America in 1492, while Vasco da Gama, a
Portuguese explorer, found a new maritime route connecting Europe and India in 1498.
Following this discovery, numerous European trading firms moved to India and set up shops.
Europeans visited India in stages.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in India as traders, followed by the British,
Dutch, Danes, and French, who later formulated plans to rule India politically.
However, maritime trade had many challenges, including piracy and natural disasters. When
Arabs conquered these nations in the seventh century, the ancient trade routes through Egypt
and the Persian Gulf through Syria were cut off. As a result, trade with India was monopolized,
and goods from India were shipped to marketplaces in the Levant.
Additionally, the overland route was shut when the Turks took Constantinople in 1453. Venetian
and Genoese businesspeople gained control of the trade between Europe and Asia. They
refused to share it with the rising nation-states of Western Europe, particularly Spain and
Portugal.
As a result of the Portuguese Empire, the Portuguese Kingdom could chart and discover much
of the world's coastlines and maritime routes to the East and West. This led to incredible
expeditions, such as the discovery of the sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope. Vasco
da Gama, who arrived in Calicut through the Cape of Good Hope in May 1498 and was warmly
welcomed by the local king Zamorin, served as the leader of the first Portuguese mission. The
Portuguese dispatched the second mission in 1500 under Pedro Alwares Cabral.
The Portuguese Enterprise established its commercial stations in India as the first European
trading corporation. They established trading outposts at Cochin, Goa, Daman and Diu, Salsette
and Bassein, and Bombay. The Cartaz System was developed by the Portuguese. The cartaz
was a maritime trade license or permit granted by the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean during
the sixteenth century (about 1502-1750) when the Portuguese empire was in charge.
The Portuguese used this strategy once they gained control of the export-import across the
Indian Ocean. After the entrance of the Portuguese, tobacco cultivation, shipbuilding (in Gujarat
and Calicut), and printing press use all started. Additionally, they helped to shape Gothic
architecture and its impact on India.
The Portuguese Empire in India eventually broke up due to the weak and ineffective leadership
of the governors who replaced Afonso de Albuquerque. The Portuguese were intolerant and
fanatic in religion, and the indigenous people were coerced into accepting Christianity. People
strongly disagreed with their approach in India, where religious tolerance was the norm.
James I of England despatched Captain William Hawkins to Jahangir's court in 1608 to request
permission to set up trading posts in India. He was the first British person to enter India by sea.
The Portuguese and Surat local traders initially opposed the emperor, but the Portuguese naval
contingent's loss by English captain Middleton in 1611 changed the emperor's mind.
After that, in 1613, the Mughal emperor authorized the establishment of the East India
Company's factory at Surat with an imperial firman. However, the British were not happy and, in
1615, sent a second mission led by Sir Thomas Roe to request additional concessions. This
time, the Mughal Empire's Emperor Jahangir approved the construction of factories anywhere
inside the Mughal Empire. As a result, the British built their plants in Bharuch, Ahmedabad, and
Agra.
At Masulipattam in Southern India, the British built their first factory outside of the Mughal
Empire in 1611; Madras (1639) and Hooghly (1642) followed (1651). The factory was founded in
Orissa's Balasore in 1633 in eastern India. In exchange for a yearly payment of '3,000, the
Company was granted the exclusive right to conduct business from Bengal without paying
customs duties in 1691.
In exchange for a payment of '12,00, the Subedar of Bengal, Azim ush Shan, granted the British
the zamindari rights to Sutanuti, Kalikata, and Gobindpur, where they built the present-day city
of Calcutta and a fort known as Fort St. Williams. In the meantime, King Charles received
Bombay as a dowry from the Portuguese in 1662. The King of England leased Bombay to the
East India Company.
The firm received permission from the King of Chandragiri in 1639 to build a factory close to
Madras, where the British had already built Fort St. George. In addition to confirming the
company's advantages in 1717, Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar also granted the corporation
several new privileges, such as the ability to trade from Bengal without paying tax in exchange
for an annual payment of '3,000. Additionally, it granted them the right to use the Bombay mint
to produce their coins. This list of rights has been referred to as "the Magna Carta of the East
India Company."
The Dutch company's trading system was based on the cartel system. A dividend of 18% was
given to shareholders by the Dutch corporation, which is considered a first in commercial
history. The Travancore ruler Marthanda Verma soundly defeated them in the Battle of Colachel
in 1741 and by Robert Clive's British forces in the Battle of Bedara in 1759. The declining
economy, high degree of centralization, dominance of the spice trade, the relative weakness of
the Dutch navy compared to the British, etc., were the causes of the Dutch collapse.
He asked for armed assistance against the Portuguese in return for the helping party's promise
to hold a monopoly over all business dealings. 5 Europeans first arrived in India He convinced
Christian IV, King of Denmark-Norway, with his justification. He thus authorized the Danish East
India Company to have a 12-year monopoly on trade between Denmark and Asia when he
signed a charter in 1616.
In 1799 A.D., Danish missionaries founded Serampore Mission Press in Serampore. In the end,
the Danes could not consolidate their position in India, and in 1845 they sold every outpost
there to the British.
Following this, Marcara opened a factory at Masulipattam in 1669 with approval from the
Golkonda monarch. Martin oversaw the establishment of Pondicherry in 1673. The Nawab of
Bengal Shaista Khan designated a location for the trading post to be built in Chandranagar.
In 1690 CE, the French captured Chandranagore, close to Calcutta, from governor Shaista
Khan. The French built industries in Karaikal, Balasore, Mahe, and Qasim Bazar. The Anglo-
French conflict began with the arrival of French administrator Joseph Francois Dupleix in India
around 1742 CE, and it culminated in the fabled Carnatic wars.
The Decline of French in India:
The French East India Company was reorganized in 1720 due to the decrease in French
influence in India between 1706 and 1720. Between 1720 and 1742, governors Lenoir and
Dumas restored French power in India. In 1725, they took control of Mahe in Malabar, Yanam in
the Coromandal, and Karikal in Tamil Nadu (1739). The Anglo-French battle (Carnatic wars),
which led to their ultimate defeat in India, began in 1742 with the advent of Dupleix as the
French administrator in India.