History · Spectrum Books A Brief History of Modern India
Chapter 3 : Advent of the Europeans in India
Table of contents43 sections
- 1.Advent of the Europeans in India
- 2.The Portuguese in India
- 3.Discovery of a Direct Sea Route to India
- 4.From Trading to Ruling
- 5.Favourable Conditions for Portuguese
- 6.Portuguese State (Estado Portugues da India)
- 7.Portuguese Administration in India
- 8.Religious Policy of the Portuguese
- 9.Portuguese Lose Favour with the Mughals
- 10.Capture of Hooghly
- 11.Decline of the Portuguese
- 12.Chronology of Portuguese Rise and Fall
- 13.Significance of the Portuguese
- 14.Key Terms
- 15.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 16.The Dutch
- 17.Dutch Settlements
- 18.Anglo-Dutch Rivalry
- 19.Decline of the Dutch in India
- 20.Key Terms
- 21.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 22.The English
- 23.Charter of Queen Elizabeth I
- 24.Progress of the English Company
- 25.Formative Years of the East India Company
- 26.Other English Companies
- 27.Key Terms
- 28.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 29.The French
- 30.Foundation of French Centres in India
- 31.Pondicherry—Nerve Centre of French Power
- 32.Early Setbacks to the French East India Company
- 33.Reorganisation of the French Company
- 34.The Anglo-French Struggle for Supremacy: the Carnatic Wars
- 35.Key Terms
- 36.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 37.The Danes
- 38.Key Terms
- 39.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 40.Why the English Succeeded against Other European Powers
- 41.Key Terms
- 42.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 43.Quick-Recall Box
Chapter preview
Advent of the Europeans in India
The Portuguese in India
Till the end of the 6th century, European nations like Greece and Rome had extensive trade contacts with India. After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 7th century, the Arabs established domination in Egypt and Persia, declining direct European contact and affecting accessibility to Indian commodities (spices, calicoes, silk, precious stones). In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. Merchandise from India went to Europe through Arab Muslim intermediaries. The Red Sea trade route was a state monopoly of Islamic rulers, and land routes were controlled by Arabs, prompting Europeans to seek a direct sea route.
Discovery of a Direct Sea Route to India
- Causes for Exploration: 15th-century European Renaissance, advances in ship-building/navigation, economic development (expansion of cultivation, improved plough, scientific crop rotation), and increased meat supply requiring spices for cooking and preservation.
- European Dynamics: Venice and Genoa were too small to fight the Ottoman Turks or explore alone. North Europeans aided Portugal and Spain with money/men; Genoese provided ships/technical knowledge. Portugal assumed leadership in Christendom's resistance to Islam.
- Prince Henry ('Navigator'): The idea of an ocean route to India was an obsession for the Portuguese prince.
- 1454: Pope Nicholas V gave Prince Henry a bull conferring the right to navigate the "sea to the distant shores of the Orient" and "as far as India" to fight Islamic influence and spread Christianity. (Henry died before this was realised).
- Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): Rulers of Portugal and Spain divided the non-Christian world by an imaginary line in the Atlantic (1,300 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands). Portugal claimed everything east of the line; Spain claimed everything west.
- Bartholomew Dias (1488): Portuguese navigator rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and sailed up the eastern coast, convinced he found the route to India.
- 1497: An expedition of Portuguese ships set out, arriving in India in slightly less than 11 months.
From Trading to Ruling
Vasco da Gama
- Arrival : Arrived at Calicut in May 1498 with three ships,…
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