MODERN HISTORY

THE COMING OF THE EUROPEAN POWER

• The commercial contacts between India and Europe were very old via the land route either
through the Oxus valley or Syria or Egypt.
• But, the new sea route via the Cape of Good Hope was discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1498.
• Thereafter, many European trading companies came to India and established their trading
centres. They entered India as traders at the outset but by the passage of time indulged in the
politics of India and finally established their colonies.
• The commercial rivalry among the European powers led to political rivalry. Ultimately, the British
succeeded in establishing their rule, India.

The Portuguese

• Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498 and he was received by Zamorin the ruler of Calicut.
• Pedro Alvarez Cabral arrived in 1500 and Vasco da Gama also made a second trip in 1502.
• They established trading stations at Calicut, Cannanore and Cochin.
• First governor of the Portuguese in India was Francis de Almeida. He introduced the Blue Water
Policy, of maintaining superiority at sea, to protect politico-economic interests on land.
• In 1509 Alfonso de Albuquerque was made the governor of the Portuguese territories in India.
• In 1510, he captured Goa from the ruler of Bijapur. Thereafter, Goa became the capital of the
Portuguese settlements in India.
• Albuquerque captured Malacca and Ceylon. He also built a fort at Calicut.
• Albuquerque died in 1515 leaving the Portuguese as the strongest naval power in India.
• Later, Portuguese established themselves at Daman, Salsette and Bombay on the west coast and
at San Thome near Madras and Hugli in Bengal on the east coast.
• To maintain superiority at sea, Portuguese introduced Cartaze System, which involved all ships
trading in Indian waters to stop, take permission and pay customs duty to Portuguese at Goa.
• However, the Portuguese power declined in India by the end of the sixteenth century. They lost
all their possessions in India except Goa, Diu and Daman in the next century.

The Dutch

• The Dutch East India Company was established in 1602.

• The Dutch established their settlements at Masulipattinam, Pulicat, Surat, Karaikal,
Nagapattinam, Chinsura and Kasimbazar.
• In 17th century they won over the Portuguese and emerged the most dominant power in
European trade in the East.
• Pulicat was their main centre in India and later it was replaced by Nagapattinam.
• In mid-17th century the English began to challenge Dutch. The Anglo-Dutch rivalry resulted in
the Dutch establishing control over Spice Islands (Indonesia), but the English emerging as
dominant power in India.
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 The English

• East India Company was established in 1600 and the Charter was issued by Queen Elizabeth of
England.
• Captain Hawkins arrived at the royal court of Jahangir in 1609 to seek permission to establish
English trading centre at Surat. But it was refused by the Mughal Emperor due to Portuguese
pressure.
• Later in 1612, Jahangir issued a farman (permission letter) to the English and they established a
trading factory at Surat in 1613.
• Sir Thomas Roe came to India as English ambassador to the Mughal court in 1615. He obtained
permission from Jahangir to establish English trading factories in different parts of India.
• The English established their factories at Agra, Ahmadabad, Baroda and Broach by 1619.
• In 1639, Francis Day founded the city of Madras where the Fort St. George was built.
• In 1668, English East India Company acquired Bombay from Charles II, the then king of England,
who had received it from the Portuguese.
• In 1690, an English factory was established at a village Sutanuti by Job Charnock. Later it
developed into the city of Calcutta where Fort William was built.
• Thus Bombay, Madras and Calcutta became three presidency towns of the English settlements in
India.

The French

• The French East India Company was formed in 1664 by Colbert, a Minister under Louis XIV.
• The first French factory in India was established at Surat by Francis Caron.
• Francois Martin founded Pondicherry in 1673. It soon became the headquarters of French
possessions in India.
• Other French factories in India were Masulipattnam, Chandranagore, Mahe and Karaikal.

The Danes

• First Danish settlement in India at Tranquebar was founded in 1620.

• Later they established a settlement at Serampore in Bengal, which soon became their
headquarters in India.
• They failed to strengthen themselves in India and they sold all their settlement in India to the
British in 1845.

ANGLO-FRENCH RIVALRY: THE CARNATIC WARS

• In the beginning of 18th century, the English and the French were competing with each other to
establish their supremacy in India.
• The downfall of the Mughal Empire led to the independence of Deccan under Nizam-ul-Mulk. The
Carnatic region, though nominally under Nizam’s suzerainty, too was ruled by an autonomous
Nawab.

1st Carnatic War (1746-48)

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• Cause of the War was the outbreak of Austrian War of Succession in Europe in 1740.
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 • The French attacked the English in 1746. The English sought help from the Nawab of Carnatic,
Anwaruddin.
• But the French concluded a treaty with his rival Chanda Sahib.
• In the meantime, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle was concluded in 1748 to end the Austrian
Succession War. Thus, the First Carnatic War came to an end.

2nd Carnatic War (1749-1754)

• As the English and French continued to take opposite sides in the internal politics of India, it
resulted in the Second Carnatic War.
• Dupleix supported the cause of Muzafar Jang, who wanted to become the Nizam of Hyderabad
and Chanda Sahib, an aspirant for the throne of Arcot (Carnatic).
• The allies defeated and killed Nawab Anwaruddin. After this victory, Muzafar Jung became the
Nizam and Chanda Sahib the Nawab of Arcot. French officer Bussy was stationed in Hyderabad.
• Muhammad Ali, son of Anwaruddin, escaped to Tiruchirappalli. The English now supported
Muhammad Ali and captured Arcot under Robert Clive to relieve besieged Muhammad Ali.
Chanda Sahib was captured and beheaded.
• Meanwhile Dupleix was replaced by Godeheu as the French governor. The war came to an end
by the Treaty of Pondicherry in 1754.

3rd Carnatic War (1756-1763)

• The outbreak of the Seven Years War (1756-1763) in Europe led to the Third Carnatic War.
• Count de Lally was the commander of the French troops. He recalled Bussy from Hyderabad.
• But British General Sir Eyre Coote defeated Lally at Wandiwash in 1760.
• By next year, all French possessions, including Pondicherry, were captured by the British.
• The Seven Years War came to an end by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The Third Carnatic War also
ended.
• The French were forced to cede all their political interests in India, but were allowed to retain
their purely economic interests, confined to Pondicherry, Karaikkal, Mahe and Yenam.
• Thus, the Anglo-French rivalry came to a close with British success and French failure.

Causes for the French failure against the British:

1. Commercial and naval superiority of the English.

2. Lack of support from the French government.
3. French had support only in the Deccan but the English had a strong base in Bengal.
4. English had three important ports – Calcutta, Bombay and Madras but French had only
Pondicherry.
5. Difference of opinion between the French Generals.
6. England’s victory in the European wars decided the destiny of the French in India.
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 BRITISH OCCUPATION OF BENGAL

Battle of Plassey (1757)

• The beginnings of British political sway over India may be traced to the battle of Plassey in 1757,
when the English east India company’s forces defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the nawab of Bengal.
• Bengal was the most fertile and the richest of India’s provinces. East India Company and its
servants had highly profitable trading interests in the province.
• The company had secured privileges in 1717 under a royal farman by the Mughal emperor,
Farukh Siyar. It had granted the company the freedom to trade in Bengal without paying taxes
and the right to issue passes or dastaks for the movement of such goods.
• This farman was a perpetual source of conflict between the company and the Nawabs of Bengal.
• Matters came to a head in 1756 when the young Siraj-ud-daulah demanded of the English that
they should stop misuse of Dastaks. Nawab also suspected that the company was hostile to him
and was favouring his rivals for the throne of Bengal.
• The breaking point came when, without taking the Nawab’s permission, the company began to
fortify Calcutta in expectation of the coming struggle with the French, who were stationed at this
time at Chandernagore.
• Nawab rightly interpreted this action as an attack upon his sovereighty, and attacked the English
factory at Qasimbazar and Calcutta. But then retired to celebrate his easy victory.
• The English in revenge organized a conspiracy with the lending men of the Nawab’s court (Mir
Jafar, Manick chand Amichand, Jagat seth) to replace Siraj with Mir Jafer, the commander-in
chief.
• The fateful battle of Plassey was a battle only in name. The major part of the Nawab’s army, led
by the traitors Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh, took no part in the fighting. The Nawab was captured
and put to death by Mir Jafar’s son Miran.
• The English proclaimed Mir Jafar the Nawab of Bengal. The company was granted undisputed
right to free trade in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
• The battle of Plassey was of immense historical importance. It payed the way for the British
mastery of Bengal and eventually of the whole of India. It boosted British prestige and at a single
stroke raised them to the status of a major contender for the Indian Empire. The rich revenues
of Bengal enabled them to organize a strong army. Control over Bengal played a decisive role in
the Anglo-French struggle.

Battle of Buxar (1764)

• Mir Jafar soon disvovered that it was impossible to meet the full demands of the Company and
its officials, in October 1760, they forced him to abdicate in favour of his son-in-law, Mir Qasim.
• Mir Qasim, however, belied English hopes, and soon emerged as a threat to their position and
designs in Bengal.
• Mir Qasim formed an alliance with Shuja-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Avadh, and Shah Alam II, the
fugitive Mughal Emperor.
• The three allies clashed with the Company’s army at Buxar in October 1764 and were thoroughly
defeated.
• Buxar firmly established the British as masters of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and also placed Avadh
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 • Nawab was to disband most of his army and to administer Bengal through a Deputy Subahdar
who was to be nominated by the Company and who could not be dismissed without its approval.
• From Shah Alam II, who was still the titular head of the Mughal Empire, the Company secured
the Diwani, or the right to collect revenue, of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

Dual system of Administration of Bengal

• The East India Company became the real master of Bengal at least from 1765. The Nawab
depended for his internal and external security on the British.
• As the Diwan, the Company directly collected its revenues, while through the right to nominate
the Deputy Subahdar, it controlled the Nizamat or the police and judicial powers.
• The same person acted in Bengal as the Deputy Diwan on behalf of the Company and as Deputy
Subahdar on behalf of the Nawab.
• It held a great advantage for the British: they had power without responsibility. The Nawab and
his officials had the responsibility of administration but not the power to discharge it.
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