➤➤THE PORTUGUESE
➤➤In 1498, Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese voyager, became the first European to discover the sea route to India.
➤➤He arrived at Calicut on 27 May 1498 and was given a warm reception by the Hindu ruler king Zamorin of Calicut.
➤➤Francisco-de-Almeida (1505-1509A.D.) – He was the First viceroy of the Portuguese in India.
His policy was to increase the Portuguese naval power, this policy of controlling the settlement by naval force was known as the “Blue Water Policy”
➤➤Alfonso-De-Albuquerque (1509-1515A.D.) – Albuquerque was the second viceroy of the Portuguese in India.
He captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510 and made it the capital.
➤➤THE DUTCH
➤➤The Dutch people of Holland founded the Dutch East India Company in 1602.
➤➤They established their first factory in Masulipatnam (1605), followed by factories in Pulicat (1610), Surat (1616).
➤➤In 1619, they were granted permission by the Mughal emperor Jahangir to trade at Surat on the west coast and Hoogly in the east.
➤➤The Dutch supremacy ended with their defeat at the hands of the English in the Battle of Bedara in 1759.
➤➤THE ENGLISH
➤➤In 1600, the English East India Company was established through a charter signed by Queen Elizabeth I.
➤➤In 1608, King James I of England sent Captain William Hawkins to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir to obtain permission to establish a factory at Surat, but was denied any trading rights.
➤➤In 1619, when Sir Thomas Roe visited the court, they were allowed to set up their first factory in Surat.
➤➤They founded the city of Kolkata which included the regions of Sutanuti, Kalikota and Govindpur.
➤➤In 1640 the English built Fort St.George to protect their trade.
➤➤In 1700, they fortified the factory at Sutanati and named it Fort William.
➤➤Charles II the king of England married Catherine the daughter of the king of Portugal and got Bombay, as a part of dowry.
➤➤THE DANISH
➤➤In 1616, the East India Company of Denmark reached Indian coasts and established settlements in Tranquebar in Tamil Nadu (1620) and Serampore in Bengal (1676).
➤➤THE FRENCH
➤➤The French East India Company was established in 1664 by Colbert, the minister of Louis XIV, the king of France.
➤➤They set up their factories at Surat in 1668 and Masulipatnam in 1669.
➤➤In 1674 they got a place to the south of Madras from the ruler of Tanjore and laid the foundation of Pondicherry, which became the headquarters of the French settlements in India.
➤➤In 1690 they established their settlement at Chandranagore.
➤➤During 1742, the French Governor Dupleix started repulsing English power, which resulted in the Carnatic wars and eventually the defeat of the French.
