Skip to content

Early European Settlements

2020-04-26 19:36:37


  • Danish EIC established 1616 and in 1620 a factory at Tranquebar/Tanjore
  • Principal settlement at Serampore near Calcutta sold to the British in 1845
  • known for missionary activities than for commerce

![[Early-European-Settlements-image1-23543556.png|400x400]]

2020-04-27 12:42:29


  • Vasco da Gama came in 1498, trading factory at Cannanore, Cochin and Calicut - imp trading centres
  • voyage undertaken by Pedro Alvarez Cabral to trade for spices, establishing factory at Calicut arrived in September 1500
  • appointed in 1505 to consolidate position
  • destroy Muslim trade - seized Aden, Ormuz and Malacca.
  • advised to build fortresses at Anjadiva, Cochin, Cannanore and Kilwa.
  • Blue Water Policy aka Cartaze System started by him
  • Sultan of Egypt, Ruler of Gujarat and Zamorin of Calicut sent fleet to defeat Portuguese but were routed in 1509 making their navy supreme in the area.
  • from 1509
  • estd bases in East Africa, off the Red Sea, at Ormuz; in Malabar; and at Malacca later in Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Malacca.
  • permit system for other ships
  • control over major ship-building centres
  • acquired Goa from Sultan of Bijapur in 1510. Goa was excellent natural harbour and fort, strategically located to control Malabar trade and close to Gujarat.
  • Abolished sati, encouraged to take local wives
  • new roads and irrigation works,
  • new crops eg tobacco and cashew nut, or better plantation varieties of coconut
  • appointed November 1529
  • shifted headquarters of from Cochin to Goa.
  • Bahadur Shah of Gujrat took help from him against Humayun, drowned in 1537

Image unavailable in web version: Protugues Settlements and Factories in India

  • head Viceroy serv 3 years, w/ secretary in later years,
  • assisted by council which also had a religious head
  • Vedor da Fazendarevenues, cargoes, dispatch fleets
  • Portuguese were initially tolerant towards the Hindus
  • Jesuit fathers, Rodolfo Aquaviva and Antonio Monserrate were sent to Akbars Court in 1580
  • In 1595 Fathers Jerome Xavier and Emanuel Pinheiro arrived at Akbars Court. Letters details later stages of his rule
  • P offended Jehangir captured ships, imprisoned Muslims, plundered cargoes
  • settled in Satgaon in Bengal in 1579
  • monopolised manufacturing salt , custom house, enforced duty on tobacco
  • slave trade seizing Children including 2 slave girls of Mumtaz Mahal on 1632  -> siege of Hooghly, Satgaon was base of Piracy.
  • defeated by Shah Jahan
  • Union of Spain and Portugal in 1580-81, dragged Portugal into Spain’s wars with England and Holland, badly affected P. trade

#MainsPYQ

  • military innovation in their use of body armour, matchlock men, guns landed from the ships.
  • system of drilling groups of infantry, on the Spanish model,
  • Ship buillding using western technique started at Cochin. Multi-decked ships, use of castled prow and stern
  • skilled organisers created royal arsenals and dockyards and the maintained a ==regular system of pilots and mapping== and pitting state forces against private merchant shipping.
  • silversmith and goldsmith flourished so did creation of sculpture.
  • brought the ==tradition of trade w/ warfare== upsetting Aisan traders who wanted open trade.
  • some say that P estd transparency in eastern trade by setting network of factories and warehouses that made market prices more stable this is not true Asians knew spot and futures
  • impact on political system in Asia was small since their nos were small and territory limited
  • encouraged intermarriages -> new Indo Portugues Goanese society came into being but their was racial discrimination among them
  • opened IN way for close integration w/ growing world economy -> growth of market economy
  • Latin american products viz Potato, corn, pineapple entered IN rural economy
  • P king had dec trade in spices, drugs, dyes including indigo, copper, silver, gold etc to be royal monopolies by 1510.
  • No trader in Asia or Europe could trade in it.
  • Private traders and Royal officials were permitted to trade in them who had to obtain a permit or cartaze from P officials.
  • Forced all ships going from Malacca to East Africa to pass from Goa and pay tolls.
  • Suspected ships were sunk or captured and men and women aboard treated as slaves.
  • was later liberalised since it became unpopular, patrolling entire ocean was impossible.
  • Strucutre of Asia trade network
  • strength and resourcefulness of Asian merchants, Arabs, Gujaratis, Tamil etc were very experienced.
  • Naval and Military strength of Turkey and ruler fo north Sumatra
  • internal limitation of P and their Cartaze system.
  • P were unable to pay for the control of Indian trade.

2020-04-27 12:42:37


  • @ EIC of Netherlands in 1602 .
  • First factory in Masulipatnam (Andhra) -> 1605
  • Captured Nagapatam (Chennai) from P -> main stronghold
  • $ Eng and Dutch compromise in 1667 -> British agreed to withdraw all their claims on Indonesia, Dutch retired from India.
  • traded in silk, cotton , indigo , rice and opium.
  • ! not interested in Empire building, influence decreased after losing 3rd Anglo Dutch war 1672-1674 .
  • Captured Pondicherry in 1693 during 9 years war. Treaty of Ryswick Sep 1697 restored France.
  • In the battle of Chinsurah in 1759 that happened near Hoogly BR defeated the Dutch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chinsurah

Image unavailable in web version: Dutch Factories and Settlements in India