Question

what were the developments that led to European settlements in India? Explain in detail.

Answer 1

This was due to the trading activities of the various European companies which came to India during this period. India had commercial relations with the western countries from time immemorial.

But from the seventh century A.D. her sea-borne trade passed into the hands of the Arabs, who dominated the Indian Ocean and the Red sea. It was from them that the enterprising merchants of Venice and Genoa purchased Indian goods.

This monopoly of Indian trade by the Arabs, and the Venetians was sought to be broken by direct trade with India by the Portuguese.

The geo­graphical discoveries of the last quarter of the 15th century deeply affected the commercial relations of the different countries of the world and produced far-reaching consequences. The discovery of a new all-sea route from Europe to India via Cape of Good Hope by Vasco da Gama had far-reaching reper­cussions on the civilised world.

The arrival of the Portuguese in India was followed by the advent of other European communities and soon India’s coastal and maritime trade was monopolized by the Europeans.The European merchants who came to India during this period differed from the earlier foreign merchants and had the political and military support of their respective governments.

They were not individual merchants but represented their respective countries and tried to establish and safeguard their maritime trade on the strength of their superior naval power. In course of time, their commercial motives turned into territorial ambitions.Between the middle of the 16th century and the middle of the 18th century India’s overseas trade steadily expanded. 

Answer 2

This was due to the trading activities of the various European companies which came to India during this period. India had commercial relations with the western countries from time immemorial.

But from the seventh century A.D. her sea-borne trade passed into the hands of the Arabs, who dominated the Indian Ocean and the Red sea. It was from them that the enterprising merchants of Venice and Genoa purchased Indian goods.

This monopoly of Indian trade by the Arabs, and the Venetians was sought to be broken by direct trade with India by the Portuguese.

The geo­graphical discoveries of the last quarter of the 15th century deeply affected the commercial relations of the different countries of the world and produced far-reaching consequences. The discovery of a new all-sea route from Europe to India via Cape of Good Hope by Vasco da Gama had far-reaching reper­cussions on the civilised world.

The arrival of the Portuguese in India was followed by the advent of other European communities and soon India’s coastal and maritime trade was monopolized by the Europeans.The European merchants who came to India during this period differed from the earlier foreign merchants and had the political and military support of their respective governments.

They were not individual merchants but represented their respective countries and tried to establish and safeguard their maritime trade on the strength of their superior naval power. In course of time, their commercial motives turned into territorial ambitions.

The Portuguese:

The Portuguese under the leadership of Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut on the 17th May, 1498 and were received warmly by the Hindu ruler of Calicut bearing the hereditary title of Zamorin. Profits of goods brought by Vasco da Gama to Portugal were 60 times cost of the entire expedition to India.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The arrival of Pedro Alvarez Cabral in India in 1500 A.D. and the second trip of Vasco da Gama in 1502 led to the establishment of trading stations at Calicut, Cochin and Cannanore. Cochin was the early capital of the Portuguese in India.

The Portuguese maritime empire acquired the name of Estado da India and its initial objective was to seize the spice trade, but after Cabral’s voyage she decided to divert to herself all the trade of the east with Europe.

A new policy was adopted in 1505, by which a Governor was to be appointed on a three-year term. Francisco de Almeida was the first Portuguese Governor (1505-09) who defeated the combined alliance of the Sultans of Gujarat, Bijapur and the Egyptians in 1509 in a naval battle near Diu.

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