These advent of European companies in India notes for OPSC/UPSC trace how the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danes and French reached India after 1498, where they set up their factories and why only the English company survived as a ruling power. For OAS prelims the chapter is a source of dates, founders, factory locations and treaties, and for mains it explains how a trading rivalry turned into territorial conquest.
European Companies in India: Why the Sea Route Was Sought
The Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453 disturbed the old overland trade between Asia and Europe, and Arab and Venetian middlemen kept prices of Indian spices and textiles high. Portugal, helped by Prince Henry the Navigator (d. 1460), explored the African coast for a direct route. Bartholomew Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa in 1488, Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, and Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498.
Order of arrival: Portuguese (1498), Dutch (1596 first voyage, 1602 company), English (1600 charter), Danes (1616), French (1664). The Portuguese were first to arrive and last to leave (Goa, Daman and Diu were taken over by India only in 1961).
IMAGE (Map): Sea routes of Dias, Vasco da Gama and Columbus
Labels: Lisbon, Cape of Good Hope (Dias 1488), Malindi, Calicut (da Gama 1498), Americas (Columbus 1492), Constantinople (1453)
Caption: The Cape route to India opened in 1498.
Find it: Wikimedia Commons ‘Age of Discovery routes’, NCERT Class 11 world history maps
Portuguese in India Notes: Estado da India
Arrival and Early Governors
Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498 and was received by the Zamorin. The Portuguese possessions were called the Estado da India. Francisco de Almeida (1505-09) was the first viceroy and followed the Blue Water Policy, which relied on naval control of the Indian Ocean instead of land forts. His fleet defeated the Mamluk-Gujarat fleet at Diu in 1509.
Alfonso de Albuquerque (1509-15) is the real founder of Portuguese power. He took Goa from Bijapur in 1510, captured Malacca in 1511 and encouraged Portuguese soldiers to marry Indian women. Nuno da Cunha (1529-38) shifted the capital from Cochin to Goa and acquired Bassein (1534) and Diu (1535). Bahadur Shah of Gujarat died in a clash with the Portuguese in 1537. Martim Afonso de Sousa arrived in 1542 with the Jesuit St Francis Xavier.
| Year | Portuguese event |
|---|---|
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama at Calicut |
| 1503 | Fort Manuel at Cochin, first Portuguese fort in India |
| 1505 | Almeida, first viceroy |
| 1509 | Naval victory at Diu |
| 1510 | Albuquerque captures Goa |
| 1556 | First printing press in India at Goa |
| 1560 | Goa Inquisition begins |
| 1579-80 | Settlement at Hooghly with Akbar’s permission |
| 1632 | Shah Jahan’s forces capture Hooghly |
| 1661 | Bombay passes to England as Catherine of Braganza’s dowry |
Trade Control, Crops and Legacy
Ships in Asian waters needed a Portuguese pass called a cartaz or risk seizure. The Portuguese introduced tobacco, chilli, potato, maize, cashew and pineapple from the Americas. Cloth shipped from Calicut came to be called calico in Europe. Their decline came from the rise of the Dutch and English, Mughal pressure and religious intolerance.
- Almeida is linked with the Blue Water Policy and sea power; Albuquerque with Goa and territory.
- Bassein and Diu were gained under Nuno da Cunha, not Martim Afonso de Sousa.
- Hooghly was Portuguese, Chinsura Dutch, Serampore Danish, Chandernagar French.
Dutch East India Company in India
Cornelis de Houtman led the first Dutch voyage to the East in 1596, and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed in 1602, the first permanent joint-stock company. The Dutch gave priority to the spice islands of Indonesia and used India mainly for textiles and saltpetre.
| Dutch centre | Year / note |
|---|---|
| Masulipatnam | 1605, first factory |
| Pulicat | 1610, Fort Geldria |
| Surat | 1616 |
| Patna | 1632 |
| Karaikal | 1645 |
| Cochin | Captured from the Portuguese in 1663 |
| Chinsura | Bengal base, handed to the British in 1825 |
The Massacre of Amboyna (1623), in which the Dutch executed English traders in the Moluccas, pushed the English towards India. The Dutch lost out to the English, who defeated them at Bedara (1759) near Chinsura.
English East India Company Notes: From Surat to Calcutta
Charter and Early Factories
Queen Elizabeth I granted the Company a charter on 31 December 1600 with a monopoly of Eastern trade for 15 years, during Akbar’s reign. James Lancaster led the first voyage (1601). William Hawkins came to Jahangir’s court in 1608-09 and failed to win lasting concessions. The first English factory was at Surat in 1613, under Jahangir. Sir Thomas Roe (1615-19), sent by James I, secured facilities for factories.
| Centre | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Surat | 1613 | First factory; early western base |
| Madras (Fort St George) | 1639-40 | Site obtained by Francis Day from the Vijayanagara ruler; first English fort in India |
| Bombay | 1668 | Transferred by Charles II to the Company |
| Sutanuti (Calcutta) | 1690 | Job Charnock; Fort William begun 1696; zamindari of three villages 1698 |
Sir Charles Eyre was the first President of Fort William (1700). Sir John Child’s war with Aurangzeb (1686-90) failed, and the Company had to seek pardon and pay compensation.
Farman of 1717
After the Company’s surgeon William Hamilton cured Farrukhsiyar, the Emperor issued the farman of 1717 allowing duty-free trade in Bengal on an annual payment of Rs 3,000, and use of dastaks (passes). It is called the Company’s Magna Carta. Misuse of dastaks later caused conflict with the Nawabs of Bengal. Bengal’s main exports were cotton and silk textiles, saltpetre and opium.
IMAGE (Map): European settlements in India c. 1700
Labels: Goa, Daman, Diu, Cochin (Portuguese); Pulicat, Nagapattinam, Chinsura (Dutch); Surat, Madras, Bombay, Calcutta (English); Tranquebar, Serampore (Danish); Pondicherry, Chandernagar (French)
Caption: Trading posts of the five European powers.
Find it: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History III, Wikimedia Commons ‘European colonies in India’
Danish and French Companies in India
Danes
The Danish company was founded in 1616. Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur granted Tranquebar in 1620, and it became their headquarters. Serampore (Srirampur) in Bengal followed in 1676. The Danes were more active in missionary work than trade and sold their settlements to the British in 1845.
French
Colbert founded the French company in 1664 under Louis XIV. Francois Caron set up the first factory at Surat (1668), Marcara another at Masulipatnam (1669), and Francois Martin built Pondicherry (1674) after obtaining the area from the Bijapur governor of Valikondapuram. Chandernagar in Bengal became the second main base. Dupleix, governor from 1742, wanted a French empire in India.
Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) shows the Danish pattern: a small fort-town on the Coromandel coast with a Lutheran mission, and the Danes sold it to the British in 1845 along with Serampore.
Carnatic Wars Notes: Anglo-French Rivalry
| War | Period | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| First | 1746-48 | Extension of the War of the Austrian Succession; French took Madras; ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which restored Madras |
| Second | 1749-54 | Succession disputes at Hyderabad and Arcot; Anwaruddin killed at Ambur (1749); Clive seized Arcot (1751); Chanda Sahib killed (1752); Dupleix recalled; Treaty of Pondicherry or Godeheu (1754) |
| Third | 1758-63 | Linked to the Seven Years’ War; Eyre Coote defeated Count de Lally at Wandiwash (1760); Pondicherry fell (1761); Treaty of Paris (1763) |
- The Second Carnatic War is 1749-54, not 1750-52.
- Aix-la-Chapelle ended the First war, Godeheu the Second, Paris the Third.
- Dupleix belongs to the first two wars and Lally to the third.
Why the French Failed
The French company depended on the state and was short of funds, while the English company was a private concern with capital and sea power. The English also held Bengal’s wealth after 1757, and Dupleix was recalled at a crucial time. After 1763 the French kept only trading posts, and Pondicherry remained French until 1954.
Asked as matching or chronology: arrival order (Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danes, French), company foundation years (1600, 1602, 1616, 1664), and which settlement belongs to which power.
IMAGE (Timeline): Foundation of European companies and Carnatic Wars
Labels: 1498 da Gama; 1600 English; 1602 Dutch; 1616 Danish; 1664 French; 1746-48, 1749-54, 1758-63 Carnatic Wars; 1760 Wandiwash
Caption: Five European powers and the contest for the Carnatic.
Find it: Draw from the tables above; Spectrum Modern India timelines
European Companies in Odisha: Odisha Angle
The Portuguese reached the Odisha coast early in the 16th century and traded at Pipili and Balasore. The English set up their first Odisha factories at Hariharpur and Balasore in 1633, and Balasore grew into a port where English, Dutch and Danish factories stood side by side. Odisha then formed part of the Mughal subah of Bengal, and the Company’s later hold on the coast followed the grant of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765.
For mains, link Balasore’s role as a coastal port with the later British takeover of the region, and note that several European companies competed for the same coastal trade.
European Companies in India MCQ and PYQ Practice
Who was the first Portuguese viceroy in India?
- Diaz
- Vasco da Gama
- Francisco de Almeida
- Albuquerque
Show answer
(c) - Almeida arrived in 1505 as the first viceroy. BPSC 2002
Which of the following is related to the Blue Water Policy?
- De Almeida
- Albuquerque
- Dupleix
- Robert Clive
Show answer
(a) - Almeida stressed naval control of the Indian Ocean. UKPSC 2016
The first to come and last to leave India were
- The French
- The Portuguese
- The English
- The Dutch
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(b) - The Portuguese came in 1498 and left Goa, Daman and Diu in 1961. SSC 2008
Which one of the following crops was introduced by the Portuguese in India?
- Opium
- Coffee
- Betel leaf
- Chilli
Show answer
(d) - Chilli came from the Americas through the Portuguese. NDA 2018
The English established their first factory in India at
- Bombay
- Surat
- Sutanuti
- Madras
Show answer
(b) - Surat, in 1613. WBCS 2020
Which one of the following was the first fort constructed by the British in India?
- Fort William
- Fort St George
- Fort St David
- Fort St Angelo
Show answer
(b) - Fort St George at Madras, 1639-40. UPSC 2007
The French East India Company was set up
- during the reign of Louis XIV
- during the reign of Louis XIII
- during the reign of Louis XV
- during the reign of Louis XVI
Show answer
(a) - It was founded in 1664 by Colbert under Louis XIV. UPPSC (Mains) 2014
With reference to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), consider: I. The First Carnatic War was ended. II. The English got back Madras. Which is/are correct?
- Only I
- Only II
- Both I and II
- Neither I nor II
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(c) - The treaty ended the first war and restored Madras to the English. UPPSC 2020
Consider the following statements about the Dutch in India: 1. The Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602. 2. Their first factory in India was at Masulipatnam. 3. The English defeated them at Bedara in 1759. How many are correct?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
Show answer
(c) - All three statements are correct.