European Commerce
European Commerce
Portuguese
With the discovery of sea route from Europe to India, the Political , Economical and Social structure had been changed. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached calicut on 27 May 1498. The Ruler of calicut Zamorin welcomed him. Cochin was the early capital of the Portuguese in India and in 1530 shifted to Goa. Almeida was the first Portuguese Governor in India .The 2nd Governor Alfonso de Albuquerque was the most important Governor of Portuguese in India. He captured Goa from Bijapur in 1510, in 1515 he captured ormuz from Persia and in 1511 he captured Malaca. They had establishments in Daman, Salsette, chaul and Bombay on the western coast and in the East at San Thome near Madras and at Hugli in Bengal. However they lost their settlement to their rivals, in 1631 Mughal noble Qasim Khan drove them from Hugli, in 1661 the king of Portugal gave Bombay to British and finally in 1739 Marathas captured Salsette and Bassien from them. They retained Goa, Daman & Diu till 1961.
Dutch
The Dutch East India company was formed in 1602. Pulicat was their main centre later Negapatam replaced it. They captured Malaca in 1641 and Amboyna in 1605. Dutch power in India began to decline with rise of British. They were defeated by the British in the Battle of Bedera in 1759.
English
Merchant Adventures popularly known as English East India Company was formed in 1599 . A charter granting monopoly of trade with East was granted by queen Elizabeth. Captan Hawkins arrived at Jahangirs court (1609) to seek permission to built a factory at Surat. However a farman was issued only in 1613 due Portuguese resistance. Sir Thomas Roe visited visited Jahangirs court as the ambassador of James I to Jahangirs court in 1615 , stayed there till the end of 1618 and obtained permissions to erect factories in India. The company acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease at annual rate of 10 pounds in 1668. Bombay replaced Surat as the headquarters of the western coast.
In 1639 Francis day obtained the site of Madras from Raja of Chandragiri and built a fortified factory named Fort St George. In 1658 all the eastern settlements were placed under the president of fort St. George. In 1690 a factory was established at Sutanuti by Job Charnock and the Zamindari of three villages of Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindpur was acquired by the British (1698). These villages grew as Calcutta and the fortified settlement in calcutta was known as Fort William. A farman of Aurangazeb in 1691 gave trade concession in Bengal to British and a farman of Farukh Siyar extended them to Gujarat and Deccan.
In 1639 Francis day obtained the site of Madras from Raja of Chandragiri and built a fortified factory named Fort St George. In 1658 all the eastern settlements were placed under the president of fort St. George. In 1690 a factory was established at Sutanuti by Job Charnock and the Zamindari of three villages of Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindpur was acquired by the British (1698). These villages grew as Calcutta and the fortified settlement in calcutta was known as Fort William. A farman of Aurangazeb in 1691 gave trade concession in Bengal to British and a farman of Farukh Siyar extended them to Gujarat and Deccan.
French
The French East India Company (French Compagnie des Indes Orientales) was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies. Planned by Jean Baptiste Colbert, it was chartered by King Louis XIV for the purpose of trading in the Eastern Hemisphere. They first established their factory in India at surat in 1668 by Fracois Caron. A small village was aquired from governor of vaikundapuram and it developed into Pondicherry. They occupied Mahe ,Yannam in 1725 and Karikal in 1739. From 1741 the French under Joseph François Dupleix pursued an aggressive policy against both the Indians and the English until they ultimately were defeated by Robert Clive.
Danish
Danes arrived in India in 1616 . They established their settlements at Tranquebar in (Tamil Nadu) and serampore (Bengal). They were forced to sell their settlement to British in 1845.
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