European Entry into India
Notes
The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks (1453) disrupted the overland spice trade between Europe and Asia and pushed European powers to search for a direct sea route to India. Motives: control of the lucrative trade in spices, cotton textiles, silk, indigo and saltpetre; mercantilist ideas; advances in navigation (compass, caravel); and religious zeal. The Portuguese, backed by Prince Henry the Navigator, led.
Order of arrival
Power | Arrival and company | Key settlements |
|---|---|---|
Portuguese | Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on 20 May 1498 | Cochin, Goa (1510), Diu, Daman, Bassein |
Dutch | United East India Company (VOC), 1602; first factory at Masulipatnam (1605) | Pulicat, Chinsura, Nagapattinam, Cochin, Surat, Kasimbazar, Patna |
English | East India Company, 1600; Hawkins (1608), Sir Thomas Roe (1615) | Surat (1613), Madras (1639), Bombay (1668), Calcutta (1690) |
Danes | Danish East India Company, 1616 | Tranquebar (1620), Serampore (1676); sold to the British in 1845 |
French | Compagnie des Indes Orientales, 1664 (Colbert, Louis XIV) | Pondicherry (1674), Chandernagore, Mahe, Karaikal, Yanam |
Swedes | 1731 | Minor presence |
The Dutch: their main interest was the spice trade of Indonesia; in India they traded in textiles and indigo. Defeated by the English at the Battle of Bedara (1759); they withdrew from India after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
Anglo-French rivalry: the Carnatic Wars
- First (1746-48): ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; Battle of St Thome.
- Second (1749-54): Dupleix's candidates for Hyderabad and the Carnatic; Robert Clive's capture of Arcot (1751); ended by the Treaty of Pondicherry (1754); Dupleix recalled.
- Third (1758-63): Battle of Wandiwash (1760), where Eyre Coote defeated Lally; the Treaty of Paris (1763) left the French with only trading posts, no political power.
Why the English won: superior naval power, strong financial backing and a joint-stock company's stable management, control of Bengal's resources, better leadership (Clive, Eyre Coote) and the French Government's limited support.
Key Points
- Order of arrival: Portuguese (1498), English (1600), Dutch (1602), Danes (1616), French (1664).
- Fall of Constantinople (1453) pushed the search for a sea route.
- Dutch were focused on the East Indies spice trade; left India after the 1824 treaty.
- Wandiwash (1760) ended French ambitions; Treaty of Paris (1763).
- English advantages: naval power, finance, Bengal wealth.
MCQs
Q1. Which of the following European powers came to India first? (a) Dutch (b) Portuguese (c) English (d) French Ans: (b). Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498.
Q2. The decisive battle in the Third Carnatic War was: (a) Battle of Plassey (b) Battle of Wandiwash (c) Battle of Buxar (d) Battle of Bedara Ans: (b). 1760: Eyre Coote defeated Lally.
Q3. The Danish settlement of Tranquebar was founded in: (a) 1605 (b) 1616 (c) 1620 (d) 1676 Ans: (c). The Danish company was formed in 1616; Tranquebar followed in 1620.