Summary

Why a Sea Route to India

(i) Spirit of renaissance in the 15th-century Europe.

(ii) European economy growing rapidly, leading to prosperity and demand for luxury goods; increase in the supply of meat requiring spices for preservation.

(iii) Capture of Constantinople in 1453, and Syria and Egypt later by the Ottoman Turks calling for a new route to reach India without dealing with Arabs and Turks.

(iv) Venice and Genoa too small to stand up to the Turks.

(v) Spain and Portugal aided with money and men by the North Europeans and by ships and technical knowledge by the Genoese.

(vi) The Portuguese the pioneers followed by the Dutch, English, Danes and the French respectively to reach India.

The Portuguese

Vasco Da Gama discovered sea route to India in 1498.

Vasco’s second visit in 1502 led to the establishment of trading stations at Calicut, Cochin and Cannanore.

Francisco de Almeida (1505-09) First governor, initiated the blue water policy (cartaze system).

Alfonso de Albuquerque (1509-1515) Considered to be the founder of the Portuguese power in India: captured Goa from Bijapur; persecuted Muslims; captured Bhatkal from Sri Krishna Deva Rai (1510) of Vijayanagara; and initiated the policy of marrying with the natives of India and banned the practice of sati in his area of influence.

Nino da Cunha (1529-38) shifted the capital from Cochin to Goa in 1530. In his rule, Diu and Bassein came under the Portuguese occupation from Gujarat King Bahadur Shah. Bahadur Shah got killed in 1537 at Diu while negotiating with the Portuguese.

Factors for Decline of the Portuguese in India (a) Emergence of powerful dynasties in Egypt, Persia and north India and the appearance of the Marathas as neighbours; (b) political fears aroused by the activities of Jesuit missionaries, and hatred of persecution (such as inquisition) that caused reaction against Portuguese spiritual pressure; (c) rise of the English and Dutch commercial ambitions challenging the Portuguese supremacy; (d) rampant corruption, greed and selfishness along with piracy and clandestine trade practices of the Portuguese administration in India; (e) diversion of Portuguese colonising ambitions towards the West due to the discovery of Brazil.

The Dutch

(i) The United East India Company of the Netherlands

(Verehgidge Oost Indische Compagnie), formed in March

1602 by the Charter of Dutch Parliament, had the powers to wage wars, make treaty and build forts.

(ii) Dutch Factories in India Masulipatnam (1605), Pulicat (1610), Surat (1616), Bimlipatam (1641), Karikal (1645), Chinsurah (1653), Cassimbazar (Kasimbazar), Baranagore, Patna, Balasore, Nagapatam (1658) and Cochin (1663).

(iii) Decline in India The defeat of the Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch rivalry and the shifting of Dutch attention towards the Malay Archipelago.

(iv) Battle of Bidara (1759) The English defeated the Dutch.

The English

Factors for Foundation Drake’s voyage round the world, and English victory over the mighty Spanish Armada leading to great ambitions.

Formation English East India Company was formed on December 31, 1600 by the charter issued by Queen Elizabeth I, which gave the company monopoly to trade in the East Indies for 15 years.

Settlements in India (i) With Captain Thomas Best’s victory over the Portuguese (1612), the English established their first factory at Surat (1613). Subsequently Sir Thomas Roe secured permission from Jehangir to establish factories at Agra, Ahmedabad and Broach.

(ii) Bombay came under the control of the Company, with Charles II (who received it as a part of the Portuguese dowry) leasing it out to the English Company for an annual rent of 10 pounds.

(iii) Madras with the Fort St. George replaced Masulipatnam as the English headquarters on the east coast, when the former was given by the Chandragiri chief to the English in 1639.

(iv) The city of Calcutta grew from the development of three villages Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata secured from the Mughal governor of Bengal. The fortified settlement was named Fort William (1700) and it became the seat of British power in India till 1911.

Farrukhsiyar’s Farmans In 1717, the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar’s farmans, called Magna Carta of the East India Company, gave significant privileges to the Company in Bengal, Gujarat and Hyderabad.

Merger of Companies In 1635, a rival company named Courteen

Association later called the Assada company, formed by Sir William Courteen, was given license to trade by Charles I. In 1657, both the companies merged.

In 1698, another rival company emerged. In 1702, the rivalry between the old and the new company came to an end, but their final amalgamation took place in 1708 under the title ‘The United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies, after the arbitration of the Earl of Godolphin. This Company ruled in India till 1858.

The French

Foundation In 1664, Colbert, a minister of Louis XIV, laid the foundations of Compagnie des Indes Orientales.

Settlements in India Pondicherry, developed as headquarters, was granted to Francois Martin, the director of Masulipatnam factory, by Valikondapuram governor Sher Khan Lodi in 1673. Finally incorporated into Indian Union in 1954.

Anglo-French Rivalry in India The Anglo-French rivalry in India coincided with the wars between the English and French in Europe.

Causes ● For protection and expansion of commercial interests.

● Political developments in the south India and Europe provided pretexts to contest their claims which culminated in three Carnatic wars.

First Carnatic War (1740-48) It was an extension of the Anglo- French rivalry in Europe and ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle.

Second Carnatic War (1749-54) Although inconclusive, it undermined the French power in South India vis-à-vis the English.

Third Carnatic War (1758-63) ● A decisive war, known for the Battle of Wandiwash (1760-61);

● An echo of the Anglo-French struggle in Europe.

● By the Treaty of Paris (1763), the French were allowed to use Indian settlements for commercial purposes only and fortification of settlements were banned.

Causes of the French Failure ● Inadequate Military and Financial Support

● France’s Involvement in Europe

● Ill-managed Policy of Imperial France

● Lack of Commercial Incentive to the French Company

● Sound Commercial Base of the English Company

Chapter 4

India on the Eve of British Conquest

The first half of the eighteenth century saw the decline of the mighty Mughals, who had been the envy of their contemporaries for almost two centuries. The reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707) proved to signify the beginning of the end of Mughal rule in India. It is argued that Aurangzeb’s misguided policies weakened the stability of the state and the decline gained momentum after his death due to wars of succession and weak rulers. Though Muhammad Shah ruled for a long spell of 29 years (1719-48), a revival of the imperial fortunes did not take place as he was an incompetent ruler. Muhammad Shah’s reign witnessed the establishment of the independent states of Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh and Punjab. Several local chiefs began to assert their independence and the Marathas began to make their bid to inherit the imperial mantle.