Test: From Trade to Territory (The Company Establishes Power)- 1

After Shah Jahan's death, his son Aurangzeb, who had the regnal name of Alamgir, ascended the Peacock Throne. Aurangzeb was the last of the strong Mughal emperors.

Aurangzeb (4 November 1618 – 3 March 1707) was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire. He ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707. 

After his death in 1707, several Mughal governors (Subadars) and big Zamindars began asserting their authority and setting up regional kingdoms.

The Renaissance is a period in European history, covering the span between the 14th and 17th centuries. It is an extension of the Middle Ages, and is bridged by the Age of Enlightenment to modern history. It grew in fragments, with the very first traces found seemingly in Italy, coming to cover much of Europe, for some scholars marking the beginning of the modern age.

India. On the Indian subcontinent, the Mughal Empire ruled most of India in the early 18th century. The "classic period" ended with the death and defeat of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707 by the rising Hindu Maratha Empire, although the dynasty continued for another 150 years.

The eighteenth-century political formations in India were very dramatic and the country was changing at a very rapid pace. During the first half of the century, the Mughal Empire was shrinking due to the emergence of independent kingdoms. In the second half, the British had started creating a strong presence in eastern India.

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route to India in 1497-1498. Actually, an unnamed Indian navigator he hired in Kenya directed the journey from the east coast of Africa to what is now Kozhikode, India. That arrival is romanticized in this 1880 watercolor.

In 1600, the East India Company acquired a charter from the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the sole right to trade with the East, without competition from other British traders. But that royal charter could not stop other European powers such as the Portuguese, Dutch, and French.

The East India Company acquired a charter granting it the sole right to trade with the East in 1600. This was granted to it by the ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth I.

Vascodagama discovered searoute to India. After he reached India he was welcomed by the king zamorin of calicut, then he tried to establish contacts with the western parts of Kings and established Portuguese power in Western parts.