Arrival of european companies in india Upsc Ncert Notes

Context and Factors Drawing Europeans to India

• India’s Economic Pre-eminence:
  • Before European powers arrived, India was a vibrant economic and cultural powerhouse, contributing at least one-fourth of the world GDP alongside China.
  • European travellers described India as flourishing, noting its extensive internal and external trading networks, manufacturing prowess, and diverse agricultural output.
  • For centuries, the Indian Ocean had a bustling trade network where the Indian subcontinent was central to the movement of goods, people, customs, and knowledge.
• Commodities in High Demand:
  • European trading companies were attracted by Indian commodities such as fine qualities of cotton and silk, which enjoyed a massive market in Europe.
  • Spices—notably pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon—as well as indigo, ivory, sandalwood, teakwood, gems, and wootz steel were in great demand.
• Commercial Dynamics and Inter-Company Rivalry:
  • Because all European companies sought to purchase the same goods, intense competition pushed up purchase prices in India and squeezed profits.
  • The only way to survive and flourish was by eliminating rivals.
  • Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, European companies engaged in fierce armed battles, sinking rival ships, blockading trade routes, and fortifying trading posts.
  • These efforts to fortify settlements and secure commercial dominance brought them into direct conflict with local Indian rulers, blurring the boundary between commerce and territorial politics.

The Portuguese: Discovery, Commerce, and Exploitation

• Arrival and Sea Route:
  • Portuguese navigator and explorer Vasco da Gama reached Kappad (near Calicut / Kozhikode in Kerala) in May 1498.
  • This discovered sea route—sailing down the western coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, and across the Indian Ocean—initiated the European colonial presence in India.
• Early Relations and Coercion:
  • Though initially received well, Vasco da Gama failed to foster friendly terms due to his aggressive conduct.
  • On his second voyage four years later, he bombarded Calicut from the sea and seized, tortured, and killed Indian merchants.
• Bases and Naval Dominance:
  • The Portuguese captured strategic ports and established bases, seizing Goa in 1510, which served as the capital of Portuguese India.
  • They set up trading outposts along both the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.
  • They enforced the cartaz (pass) system, requiring all ships navigating the Arabian Sea to buy Portuguese permits; vessels lacking a cartaz were confiscated.
  • This naval monopoly over the spice trade between India and Europe was maintained for nearly a century.
• Local Resistance:
  • In the late sixteenth century, the Portuguese repeatedly tried to capture the port town of Ullal (in southern Karnataka).
  • Rani Abbakka I formed strategic alliances with neighboring kingdoms and resisted their attempts, though she was eventually captured and died fighting in prison.
  • Her successor, Rani Abbakka II, set several Portuguese naval ships on fire using fireballs made of coconut shells.
• Religious Persecution:
  • In 1560, the Portuguese instituted the Goa Inquisition (which lasted until its abolition in 1812).
  • The Inquisition severely persecuted Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christian converts suspected of clinging to original beliefs, carrying out forced conversions and destroying many Hindu temples.

The Dutch: Commercial Focus and Displacement

• Arrival and Focus:
  • Arriving in the early seventeenth century, the Dutch focused primarily on commercial trade (especially spices) rather than religious conversion or extensive territorial control.
• Trading Posts:
  • The Dutch East India Company established trading posts across India:
    • West Coast: Surat, Bharuch, and Cochin (Kochi).
    • East Coast: Nagapattinam and Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam).
  • Their most notable presence was along the Malabar region of Kerala, where they displaced the Portuguese from multiple trading centers.
• Decline at the Battle of Colachel (1741):
  • Dutch presence in India was sharply curtailed after suffering defeat in the Battle of Colachel in 1741.
  • Forces of the Kingdom of Travancore under King Marthanda Varma decisively defeated the Dutch on land and sea, marking a rare historical event of an Asian power repelling a European colonial force.

The French: Compagnie des Indes Orientales

• Establishment:
  • Arriving later than the Portuguese and Dutch, French traders established their first trading outpost at Surat in 1668.
  • In 1674, they founded a major settlement and trading base at Pondicherry (Puducherry) under the Compagnie des Indes Orientales.
• Colonial Ambitions and Tactics under Dupleix:
  • Under Dupleix (Governor-General of French India from 1742 to 1754), the French developed plans for an empire in India.
  • Dupleix pioneered methods later copied by the British, including:
    • Training Indian soldiers in European military techniques to form disciplined infantry called sepoys.
    • Establishing indirect rule through puppet rulers installed by intervening in local dynastic succession disputes.
• The Carnatic Wars (1746–1763):
  • A series of conflicts broke out between the British and French in India.
  • Although Dupleix initially captured Madras in 1746, the French were steadily overcome by the British.
  • French possessions were subsequently reduced to Pondicherry and a few minor enclaves, restricting them to modest trade.
• Religious Policy:
  • Unlike the Portuguese, the French rarely interfered in local religious life.
  • A notable exception occurred in 1748 when Dupleix ordered the destruction of Pondicherry’s large Vedapurishwaran temple following requests by Jesuit priests and his wife to assert Christian dominance.

The English East India Company: Foundation and Coastal Footholds

• Royal Charter (1600):
  • In 1600, the East India Company received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the exclusive privilege among English merchants to trade with the East.
  • This eliminated competition from other English companies and empowered the Company to venture overseas, buy goods cheap, and sell them in Europe at higher prices.
  • The charter also gave the Company special powers, including raising a private army.
• Establishment of Coastal Outposts (1612–1690):
  • Operating initially under the guise of ordinary traders, Company merchants established coastal trading centers with minimal local resistance at Surat, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.
  • Indian rulers originally welcomed them as foreign trade had long been practiced.
• Expansion in Bengal:
  • First Factory: Established in 1651 on the banks of the river Hugli, housing offices and a warehouse for export goods where Company agents (called “factors”) operated.
  • Fortification: In 1696, the Company began fortifying its Hugli settlement.
  • Zamindari Rights: In 1698, the Company bribed Mughal officials to obtain zamindari rights over three villages, one of which was Kalikata (which developed into Calcutta / Kolkata).
  • Farman and Misuse: The Company persuaded Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to issue a royal farman granting duty-free trade. Company officials carrying on private trade refused to pay duty, causing vast revenue losses for the government of Bengal and prompting objections from Nawab Murshid Quli Khan.

Transition from Trade to Political Dominance (The British)

• Rising Tensions with Bengal Nawabs:
  • After Aurangzeb died in 1707, strong regional rulers in Bengal (Murshid Quli Khan, Alivardi Khan, and Sirajuddaulah) resisted the Company’s demands.
  • The Nawabs stopped the Company from expanding fortifications, denied it the right to mint coins, demanded large tributes, and accused it of cheating revenues and writing disrespectful communications.
• The Battle of Plassey (1757):
  • When Sirajuddaulah captured the English factory at Kassimbazar and took the Company’s fort at Calcutta, British reinforcements were dispatched from Madras under Robert Clive.
  • Clive struck a secret deal with the Nawab’s military commander, Mir Jafar, promising him the throne in return for turning traitor on the battlefield.
  • At the Battle of Plassey (1757), Mir Jafar’s large wing of the army refused to fight, resulting in Clive’s victory.
  • This became the Company’s first major victory in India, transforming it from a trading entity into a kingmaker.
• Battle of Buxar (1764) and Assumption of the Diwani (1765):
  • Finding puppet rulers difficult to control (deposing Mir Jafar for Mir Qasim, then fighting and defeating Mir Qasim at Buxar in 1764), Clive proclaimed that the Company must become “nawabs ourselves”.
  • In 1765, the Mughal emperor granted the Company the Diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.
  • Prior to this, the Company purchased Indian goods using imported British gold and silver; the Diwani ended this drain of bullion, allowing Indian land revenues to pay for Indian goods, military forces, and Company buildings.
• Technological Edge:
  • In the early nineteenth century, the development of steamships cut sea journey times from six to eight months down to three weeks, accelerating the influx of British personnel, officials, and families.
  • By 1857, the East India Company held direct territorial control over roughly 63 percent of the subcontinent’s land and 78 percent of its population, holding virtually the whole of India through direct or indirect dominance.

Reference Ncert Documents

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees104.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess202.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess303.pdf