Question

Read the following passage and make notes: Europe carried on a profitable trade along the overland route to the east until in the mid fifteenth century. The Turks blocked this trade route. The Europeans then discovered new sea routes to the East. In 1498, Vasco da Gama of Portugal sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and landed at Calicut on the Malabar Coast in south India. Portugal’s profitable Eastern trade attracted other Europeans to overseas trade with last. Trading companies by the end of the sixteenth century Europe’s overseas trade with the east began to fetch enormous profits. The rulers of some European countries allowed groups of merchants to start trading companies with monopoly to trade with the East. This meant that no other merchants in these countries could participate in the Eastern trade. In return, the rulers took a share of the profits. The English East India Company was established on 31st December, 1600 when Queen Elizabeth I of England issued a royal charter granting its founders monopoly to trade with the East. Similar East India companies were founded by the Dutch in 1602 and the French in 1664. These companies set up trade settlements in the East. They purchased goods in bulk at the cheapest possible prices with the gold and silver they brought from Europe. Mercantilism during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the routers of some Europeans countries, followed the policy of mercantilism,. That is protecting their countries trade from foreign competition to increase trade profits. These rulers encouraged the establishment of colonies, where raw materials could be bought cheap and finished goods could be sold at high prices without competition from foreign traders. Their efforts to establish colonies and capture other’s trade canters in different parts of the world. Led to intense rivalry, and resulted in wars on land or sea. (i) Now make notes from the above passage: (ii) Write its summary.

Answer 1

Answer:

On May 20, 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut what is now Kozhikode, India. Da Gama was the first European to reach the lucrative ... More