Advent of the Europeans

European nations wanted direct access to Indian spices, textiles and wealth without paying middlemen, so they searched for a sea route to the East.

• The main aim of all European companies in India was trade, profit and acquisition of valuable goods — especially spices and textiles.
• Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498, where he was welcomed by the local ruler, the Zamorin.
• On his return to Portugal in 1499, Vasco da Gama carried cargo worth 60 times his expenses, proving how profitable the India trade was.
• They came in order: Portuguese → Dutch → English → Danish → French.

The Portuguese were the pioneers among Europeans to establish control in India through their sea route and chain of coastal fortresses.

• Pedro Alvarez Cabral arrived in 1500; Vasco da Gama made a second trip to India in 1502.
• The Portuguese set up trading stations at Calicut, Cochin and Cannore in 1502.
• The Cartaz system (passes/licences issued to ships) was introduced by the Portuguese to control sea trade.
• Cochin was the early capital of the Portuguese in India; later Goa replaced it as the capital.

• Francisco de Almeida was the first Portuguese governor (1505–1509) — he introduced the Blue Water Policy (Cartaz) to dominate the seas.
• Alfonso de Albuquerque arrived in 1503 as a squadron commander and became the second governor in 1509; he captured Goa from the Bijapur ruler in 1510.
• Albuquerque encouraged his men to marry Indian women, but persecuted the Muslims.
• At Albuquerque's death in 1515, Portugal was the strongest naval power in India.
• Nino da Cunha (Governor 1529–38) transferred the capital from Cochin to Goa in 1530, and acquired Diu and Bassein from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.
• Martin Alfonso de Souza (Governor 1542–45) arrived with the famous Jesuit saint Francisco Xavier.

• In 1661, the Portuguese king gave Bombay to Charles II of England as dowry for marrying his sister (Catherine of Braganza).
• The Marathas captured Salsette and Bassein in 1739.
• The Portuguese lost Hooghly in 1631 during the reign of Shah Jahan.

The Dutch followed the Portuguese, focusing on spice trade and setting up factories mainly along the coasts.

• Pulicat was the Dutch main centre in India till 1690; thereafter Nagapattam replaced it.
• Dutch factories: Masulipatnam (1605), Pettapoli (Nizampatnam), Devanampattam/Tegnapattam (Fort St David), Pulicat (1610) and Surat (1616).
• The Dutch were finally defeated by the English in the Battle of Bedara in 1759, ending their power in India.
• They lost their settlements one by one to the English East India Company.

The English East India Company started as a group of merchants and slowly grew into the most powerful European force in India.

• Queen Elizabeth was the largest shareholder of the East India Company.
• Captain Hawkins arrived at Jahangir's court in 1609 and was given a mansab of 400.
• Sir Thomas Roe came as an ambassador of James I to Jahangir's court (1615).
• Masulipatnam (1611) was the first English settlement on the east coast; the company's immediate aim was the trade of spices and pepper.
• In 1717, Farrukh Siyar's farman confirmed the company's trading privileges and extended them to Gujarat and the Deccan.
• Sir Thomas Roe secured a farman in 1615 for a factory at Surat (1613).

• English factories: Surat (1613), Masulipatnam (1611), Madras (1639), Hariharpur, Balasore, Pipli, Hooghly (1651), Patna, Qasim Bazar, Rajmahal.
• Charles Eyre was the first President (Governor) of Fort William; General Aungier was the first governor of Bombay (1669–1677).
• In 1668, Bombay was transferred to the East India Company by James II for just ₹10 per year, replacing Surat as headquarters by 1687.
• In 1661, Shah Jahan's nishan granted free trade in Bengal for ₹3000 per annum.

The Danes were minor players who eventually sold their possessions to the British.

• Serampore was the Danish headquarters in India.
• Danish settlements: Tranquebar (1620) and Serampore.
• They sold their settlements to the British (English) in 1845.

The French were the last to arrive and became the chief rivals of the English in the south.

• Pondicherry was the French headquarters in India.
• The first French factory was established at Surat by Francois Caron in 1668; a factory at Masulipatnam was set up by Marcara in 1669.
• In 1673, the French acquired the village of Valikondapuram (Pondicherry) from Sher Khan Lodi; Francois Martin was the first French governor of Pondicherry.
• In 1690, the French acquired Chandernagar in Bengal from the Mughal governor Shaista Khan.

• Dupleix arrived as French Governor in 1742, beginning the Anglo-French (Carnatic) Wars, which defeated French power in the south.
• The French were finally defeated by the English in the Battle of Wandiwash (1760).
• Almost all Indian settlements went to the English by the Treaty of Paris (1763), leading to the rise of British power in India.

This single table summarising every power, its company and its key settlement is one of the most exam-relevant points of the topic.

The sequence in which the European powers reached India is a classic one-mark question — remember that the Portuguese were first and last.

Remember: The Portuguese came first and were the last to leave India (they held Goa, Daman & Diu until 1961).

Each European power is best fixed in memory by its company and its main settlement together.

Several foreign travellers visited medieval India and left valuable accounts of its culture, economy and polity — examiners love matching the traveller to the ruler.