What difficulties britishers were facing due to Dutch and Portuguese capturing Indian market? Contain?
Answers
When the Portugese discovered a new route to India, they started settling down in coastal areas with fortified settlements with enough naval patrols thus eliminating many rivals and almost monopolise the spice trade in the mid-16th century. They followed the policy of divide and rule. They extended their trade and monopoly to other produce through conquer and intimidation, to other coastal parts of India. Smaller and less-established traders in Southern and Eastern India were completely eliminated out of the inter-Asian trade. Others survived by accepting Portugese conditions and also demands for tribute for safe passage of their product.
Some did survive by using smaller ports which were free from Portugese and learnt to protect themselves from Portugese attack. Majority of the profits of trade then went to the Portugese though.
Eventually and quickly, the Dutch and then the British came onto the scene. They started their attempts at replacing the monopoly of the Portugese with one of their own. First, the Dutch succeeded in their endeavour to establish their trade compared to the British and the French and they started imposing their will on most Indian shippers.
Impressed by the range of Indian manufactured products, the Dutch and British started establishing factories not ionly in their own port settlements but also inland. With limited political control in India, both the British and the Dutch could not influence Indian trade scene. Indian monarchs were happy so long as European traders were profitable to them.
When the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate, it was only a matter of time before one or the other European powers would dominate not only trade but India too. It was the British who eventually succeeded to rule over India thus edging out the European rivals.
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