British India - Advent of the Europeans

India's trade relations with European countries goes back all the way to the days of the Greeks. There was a thriving trade between the two countries along a number of routes. However there existed some monopolies. The Arabs controlled the goods on their way to Asia and the Italians controlled the goods en-route to Europe. Although there were so many middlemen in this trade, it still remained remarkably profitable.

The western European nations noticed this and were keen to get into the trade business. However, attempting to break the existing monopolies of the Arabs and the Italians proved to be very difficult. They began to search for another route to the spice islands of India and Indonesia. In 1492 Columbus set out to discover India but ended up discovering America instead. In 1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered a new route to India. He landed at Calicut and the goods he took back with him were sold for sixty times the cost of the trip. These

kinds of profits were absolutely fabulous and the English too were keen to gain a foothold in this lucrative trade. The Dutch meanwhile had established a base in India as well as monopolized trade to Indonesia. A couple of English merchants got together and formed a company called Merchant Adventures later to become better known as the English East India Company. They received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600 to trade in the east. They set up a trading depot in 1608 and obtained Royal favours from the Mughal emperor Jehangir. They were then given permissions to open various trading depots along the west coast. In 1615 they succeeded in getting a farman which allowed them to trade within the entire Mughal Empire. The Portuguese eventually ceased to be a power in India and the English made a deal with the Dutch, whereby the English would not interfere in Indonesia and the Dutch would stay out of India. The English East Indian Company was now the supreme foreign trading power in India

India's trade relations with European countries goes back all the way to the days of the Greeks. There was a thriving trade between the two countries along a number of routes. However there existed some monopolies. The Arabs controlled the goods on their way to Asia and the Italians controlled the goods en-route to Europe. Although there were so many middlemen in this trade, it still remained remarkably profitable.

The western European nations noticed this and were keen to get into the trade business. However, attempting to break the existing monopolies of the Arabs and the Italians proved to be very difficult. They began to search for another route to the spice islands of India and Indonesia. In 1492 Columbus set out to discover India but ended up discovering America instead. In 1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered a new route to India. He landed at Calicut and the goods he took back with him were sold for sixty times the cost of the trip. These kinds of profits were absolutely fabulous and the English too were keen to gain a foothold in this lucrative trade. The Dutch meanwhile had established a base in India as well as monopolized trade to Indonesia. A couple of English merchants got together and formed a company called Merchant Adventures later to become better known as the English East India Company. They received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600 to trade in the east. They set up a trading depot in 1608 and obtained Royal favours from the Mughal emperor Jehangir. They were then given permissions to open various trading depots along the west coast. In 1615 they succeeded in getting a farman which allowed them to trade within the entire Mughal Empire. The Portuguese eventually ceased to be a power in India and the English made a deal with the Dutch, whereby the English would not interfere in Indonesia and the Dutch would stay out of India. The English East Indian Company was now the supreme foreign trading power in India