European traders and the Company's expansion
From Vasco da Gama's arrival in 1498 to 1818, European companies traded, fought each other, and the English East India Company conquered most of India.
How it was ruled
The Portuguese took Goa (1510); the Dutch, English and French set up trading companies. After Plassey, the English Company defeated Mysore (Tipu Sultan died in 1799) and the Marathas (1818).
How people lived
Port towns such as Madras, Bombay and Calcutta grew; Indian rulers, merchants and bankers dealt with the Europeans, and some prospered while others were ruined.
What people did
Weaving for export, farming, and service in Indian and Company armies (sepoys).
What people ate
New World crops brought by the Portuguese — chilli, potato, tomato, maize, groundnut, cashew — entered Indian kitchens.
Trade
Indian cotton and silk, pepper, indigo and saltpetre went to Europe; the Company's later control of revenue drained wealth out of India.
Region by region
- Kerala: Vasco da Gama reached Kozhikode (Calicut) in 1498.
- Goa: Portuguese rule from 1510 until liberation in 1961; the Churches and Convents of Goa (UNESCO).
- Tamil Nadu: Fort St George at Madras (1639); the Carnatic wars between the English and the French.
- Puducherry: French settlement from 1674.
- Karnataka: Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore fought four wars with the Company.
Key events
- 1498: Vasco da Gama lands near Kozhikode
- 1600: English East India Company chartered
- 1799: Tipu Sultan killed at Srirangapatna
- 1818: The Maratha confederacy defeated
Legacy
Chilli and potato in every Indian kitchen, and port cities that became today's metros.
Sources