Advent of Europeans in India in Chronological Order- Complete UPSC Notes

Advent of Europeans in India

The history of modern India can be traced back to the advent of Europeans in India. The trade routes between India and Europe were long and winding, passing through the Oxus Valley, Syria, and Egypt.

We have already seen the advent of Portuguese in the Medieval India. We shall see the advent of Dutch, English, French and other powers in this chapter.

Contemporary European powers in India

The Portuguese were confined basically to the southwest coast of India in the 16^th The English expanded their trading networks to include the Coromandel Coast, Bengal and Gujarat.

The Dutch

The Dutch are an ethnic group (with a shared history, culture and languages) native to the Netherlands.

Dutch Arrival in India

• Cornelis de Houtman was the first Dutch to reach Bantam and Sumatra in Indonesia in 1596.
• The East India Company of the Netherlands was formed in 1602 by The States-General, the national governing body of the Dutch republic.
  • This company was empowered to carry on the war, conclude treaties, take possession of territory, and erect a fortress.
• The Dutch established their first factory in Masulipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) between the Krishna-Godavari basin in 1605.
• They established their capitals at Pulicat (in 1610 and again in 1781), Nagapatnam (in 1690) and Sadras (in 1818).

  Dutch East India Company factory in Hugli-Chuchura, Mughal Bengal

Expansion of Dutch in India

The Dutch built factories on the Coromandel coast in Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.

Prelaya Kaveri (Pulicat Lake) was ruled by Queen Eraivi, wife of King Venkata II of the Vijayanagara Empire. In 1608, under her rule, the Dutch East India Company was permitted to construct a fort and engage in trade.

They opened a factory in 1609 and built Fort Geldria in 1613 in Pulicat. Their other vital factories in India were at –

• Surat (1616)
• Bimlipatam (1641)
• Karaikal (1645)
• Chinsura (1653)
• Balasore, Baranagar, Kasimbazar (near Murshidabad), Patna, Nagapatam (1658)
• Cochin (1663).

Dutch Trade in India

Dutch transported various goods and items from India to the islands of the Far East by engaging in trade. Their trade items from India included –

• 1. Saltpetre from Bihar
  2. Indigo from the Yamuna Valley and Central India
  3. Opium and rice from the Ganga Valley
  4. Textiles and silk from the Coromandel, Bengal and Gujarat

Later, the Dutch maintained their overall supremacy in the intra-Asian trade, particularly between the Coromandel Coast and the southeast Asian markets.