When and why British and Portuguese first landed on Indian territory?
The first Europeans to discover the sea route to India were the Portuguese. After Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut on the Malabar Coast in 1498 AD, they had their first interaction with the Indian Subcontinent. The local monarch, Zamorin, greeted him and gave him a specific command to develop direct trade relations with Portugal. In this article, we will provide a timeline of Portugal's history as a trader and their colonisation in India, when and how British set their foot in India etc., which will be relevant for competitive exams such as UPSC prelims, SSC, NDA, and Railways, and many more.
Portugal’s relationship with India as a trader
On May 20, 1498, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut, an important seaport in South-West India. The local ruler, King Zamorin, welcomed him and bestowed some rights on him. After a three-month stay in India, Vasco da Gama returned to Europe with a valuable cargo, which he sold on the European market for 60 times the cost of his expedition.
In 1501 AD, Vasco da Gama returned to India for the second time. At Cannanore, he established a trading factory. Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin became important Portuguese centres in India as trade links were established.
Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese ruler in India, was appointed in 1505 AD. The Blue Water Policy, which was centred on controlling the Indian Ocean, was his policy. The father of Portuguese dominance in India is Alfonso de Albuquerque, who succeeded Almeida as governor in 1509 AD and seized Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510. Following then, Goa became the administrative centre for the Portuguese possessions in India. The Portuguese's control of the coastal areas and naval dominance aided them greatly. The Portuguese had conquered not just Goa, Daman, Diu, and Salsette but also huge parts of the Indian coast by the end of the 16th century.
Timeline of the history of Portugal as a trader around the world
When and why British first landed on Indian territory?
The British East India Company arrived in India as spice dealers, a valuable product in Europe at the time since it was used to preserve meat. They mostly traded silk, cotton, indigo dye, tea, and opium. In 1613, Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Captain William Hawkins a Farman, allowing the English to build a factory in Surat. The Ambassador to James I, Thomas Roe, procured an imperial Farman from Jahangir in 1615 to trade and develop industries throughout the Mughal empire.
Soon after, the Vijayanagara Empire granted the corporation permission to construct a plant in Madras. The British firm began to eclipse the other European trading firms in terms of strength. A number of commercial posts sprang up along India's east and west coastlines, and British settlements sprang up in the three principal trading cities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay.
Factors in the growth of modern nationalism during British rule
The British government's response to the development and spread of Indian nationalism was the formation of a new institution, new possibilities, and a new type of resource distribution and a worldwide explosion of nationalist notions, begun by the French Revolution. The following are some of the elements or factors that contributed in the growth of Modern Nationalism during British rule: 1) Indian unification through political, administrative, and economic reforms, 2) western thought and education, 3) use of press and literature, 4) socio-religious movement, and so on.
In the 16th century, European traders arrived, but the British, among other Europeans, proved to be the most powerful, breaking the Dutch monopoly of trade in India. They gained political authority and began exploiting Indian resources, depleting India's wealth. Under British rule, the Indian subcontinent stretched from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin in the south and from Assam to the Khyber Pass in the west.
Reforms such as professional civil services and a civil court supported by civil and criminal laws gave the dimensions of political and cultural unification a new rise. Railways, roads, electricity, and the telegraph were important driving forces since they brought people together, particularly leaders from distant regions.
Because it assimilates modern western concepts, modern education played a significant role in awakening Indian political thinking. The British give modern education to a select group of upper and middle-class people in order to develop a class of people who are "Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste" who can work as interpreters between the government and the people.
As a result, they enacted numerous acts and reforms, including the General Committee of Public Instruction in 1823, Lord Macaulay's Education Policy in 1835, and Wood's Dispatch in 1854, which is known as the "Magna Carta of English Education in India" and contains a comprehensive plan for the spread of education in India.
The development of the Indian press was hampered by developmental issues, illiteracy, colonial restrictions, and persecution. It promoted freedom ideas and became a powerful tool in the fight for liberty. In 1870, there were 169 newspapers published in vernacular languages, with a circulation of almost 900,000 copies.
In a nutshell, Indian nationalism grew partly as a result of colonial policies and partly as a result of the effect of global movements.
FAQs on Timeline Of The History Of Portugal As A Trader
1. When did the Portuguese start trading?
In the 16th century, the Portuguese monopolised the lucrative eastern spice trade. Vasco da Gama's maritime expedition to India in 1498 established the first European direct trade in the Indian ocean.
2. Who was the first British to land in India?
Vasco Da Gama, a Portuguese explorer, arrived on the Malabar Coast by the sea in 1498. A century later, in 1599, the first British explorer, John Mildenhall, arrived in India on land and claimed to be the East India Company's representative.
