By going through these Maharashtra State Board Class 12 History Notes Chapter 3 India and European Colonialism students can recall all the concepts quickly.
Maharashtra State Board Class 12 History Notes Chapter 3 India and European Colonialism
→ In this chapter, we will learn about the spread of colonialism in India and its impact.
Portuguese.
Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese seafarer reached the port of Calicut (Kozhikode) in 1498. By the 16th century, the Portuguese had established their control over a considerable portion of the Indian coasts. They established colonies on the western coast and built forts for their protection. They had a strong naval force. The Portuguese had established such firm control on the Indian Ocean that the Indian rulers had to get a license (Cartaz) from them for sailing on the Indian Ocean.
The Portuguese had colonies on the west coast of India at Diu, Daman, Chaul, Goa, Honnavar, Gangoli, Mangalore, Kannur, Kochi and Kollam. The Portuguese had colonies spread from Cape of Good Hope to Macau in China. The Portuguese prohibited building of any religious monuments except churches in the Indian provinces under their rule. They also tried to suppress the local languages and offered employment to people with the intention of attracting them to Christianity.
British.
The British established the ‘East India Company’ on 31st December 1600. Queen Elizabeth, I granted permission to the company to trade in the eastern countries. The British were in need of a permanent place as carrying out trading transactions proved to be tedious. To avoid this, the company decided to build their factories (emporiums).
The staff of the factories were called ‘factors’. Charles II, the King of England issued a charter allowing the company to build forts in India, to maintain an army and to make treaties with non-Christians. The company operated from Surat and Madras.
A fort and a factory were built by the British in Chennai. The fort was named ‘Fort St. George’. In 1661, the islands of Mumbai were given as a gift to Charles II, the King of England on his engagement to Princess Braganza of Portugal by the King of Portugal. Abraham Shipman was appointed as the Governor of Bombay. Charles II leased Mumbai to the East India Company. In 1669, Sir George Oxenden was appointed as the Governor of Surat and commander-in-chief of Mumbai.
Dutch.
In 1602, several Dutch companies formed a company known as ‘United East India’. The Dutch Government issued license to the company to conduct trade with the eastern countries. By the middle of the 17th century the company had established Dutch colonies and factories right from the eastern coast of Africa to Japan. It encompassed the present-day regions of Mozambique, South Africa, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Siam, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Taiwan, China, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
They established their first factory in 1602 at Petapuli in the northern parts of Coromandel coast and their first colony at Machilipatnam which is mentioned as ‘Mosalia’ in ‘Periplus of the Erythrean Sea’.
French.
In 1664, the French East India Company was established under the initiative of Jean Baptiste Colbert, the French finance minister to King Louis XIV. The company was given authority to trade with eastern countries. Thereafter they established factories at Surat, Pondicherry, Chandranagar, Mahe, Karikal and Machilipatnam. The first French factory was established in Surat in 1668.
Pondicherry became the main centre of the French operations. The British and the French started interfering in the internal matters of the Nawab of Karnataka which resulted in three battles from 1744 to 1763 C.E. known as the ‘Carnatic Wars’. The French were defeated in the third battle.
Glossary:
→ Factories – Emporiums where goods are bought, stored and sold
→ Vice-rei – Viceroy
→ Commodities – Merchandise or goods
→ Charter – Agreement
→ Lease – Rent
→ Monopoly – Control.