Spectrum Test: The Advent of Europeans & Consolidation of British Power in India- 1

It was the Portuguese who first discovered a direct sea route to India. Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut. After staying in India for three months Vasco da Gama returned with a rich cargo which he sold in the European market at an exorbitant price- 60 times the cost of his voyage. But soon Vasco da Gama came back to India for the second time in 1501 AD. He set up a trading factory at Calicut. With the establishment of trade links, Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin emerged as the significant Portuguese centers in India.

Statement 1:The government of Portuguese India started in 1505, six years after the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, then settled at Kochi.

Statement 2: They established their first factory at Calicut.

Statement 3: The first viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, established his headquarters in Cochin. After 1510, the capital of the Portuguese viceroyalty was transferred to Goa.

• The next important Portuguese governor was Nuno da Cunha. During his time, the ruler of Gujarat was Bahadur Shah. 

• In 1529, Nuno was able to sack Daman and Diu (Damao), which were territories of Bahadur Shah.

• Later in 1534, he was able to compel Bahadur Shah to sign the treaty of Bassein. Based on the treaty of Bassein, Bahadur shah gave Bassein (modern Vasai and Nallasopara in Mumbai Suburbs) to the Portuguese.

• In 1639, Francis Dey obtained the site of Madras from the Raja of Chandragiri with permission to build a fortified factory, which was named Fort St. George. 

• The East India Company’s original trading station in south India was at Masulipatam, established in 1611. 

• It was moved to Madras, where permission to build a fort was obtained from the raja of Chandragiri in 1639, mainly because it was nearer the weaving centers from which the company obtained goods for export to Persia and the East Indies.

The French Indian Settlements (or French India) included Pondicherry (now Puducherry), Karikal and Yanaon on the Coromandel Coast, Mahe on the Malabar Coast, and Chandernagore in West Bengal. Other than this, there were lodges in Machilipatnam, Kozhikode, and Surat.

•  In 1780, James Augustus Hickey published the first newspaper in India entitled The Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser. 

• Hickey’s press was seized within two years, owing to his outspoken criticism of government officials.

Sugarcane was already cultivated in India. Potato, tomato, tobacco, and maize were introduced from South America by the Portuguese.

• Vasco Da Gama was received at Calicut port. The Portuguese explorer was not greeted warmly by the Muslim merchants of Calicut, and in 1499 he had to fight his way out of the harbor on his return trip home. In 1502, he led a squadron of ships to Calicut to avenge the massacre of Portuguese explorers there and succeeded in subduing the inhabitants. 

• The Company was not welcome, and in 1611 it asked King James to send an ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, to visit the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir. The Emperor ruled over a prosperous civilization that produced many goods and had many different religions (the Mughals were Muslim).

• The Calico Act banned the import of most cotton textiles into England, followed by the restriction of the sale of most cotton textiles. It was a form of economic protectionism, largely in response to India (particularly Bengal), which dominated world cotton textile markets at the time. 

• The Act was a precursor to the Industrial Revolution when Britain eventually surpassed India as the world’s leading textile manufacturer in the 19th century.

The Danes formed an East India Company and arrived in India in 1616 AD. They established settlements at Tranquebar (in Tamil Nadu) in 1620 AD and Serampore (Bengal) in 1676 AD. However, they failed to strengthen themselves in India and were forced to sell all their settlements in India to the British.