Advent of Britishers to India: From mere traders to becoming the Rulers of India - Part I

                                                                                                    Fig: Captain William Hawkings visited the Badshah Jahangir's court

It was during the time of the late 14th century when India was one of the richest, if not the richest country in the world. It still accounts for 28% of the world's GDP, even though it has been invaded, plundered, and looted by many people like Mahmud of Ghazni (who invaded India 17 times), Taimur (Ruler of Samarkand) in the late 13th century, etc. But the people of India always find a way to recover from all these events as we have a very robust economy and our products are desired by everyone around the world. 

But the plunders done by the Europeans, especially the Britishers, had a much more devastating effect than by any other political power that reigns in India. The Britishers made India, from one of the richest in the world to one of the poorest in the world within just 200 years. The handicraft industry of India, at that time, was one of the most desired industries in the world but by the time the Britishers left India, the Handicraft industry perished. They have committed numerous atrocities against Indians which is a tale of its own.

In this first part, let us explore the reason why and how the Britishers, along with other European powers came to India and how the Britishers slowly built their factories and their influences across India.

Before the advent of the Europeans, India was under Muslim rule, starting from the Slave Dynasty up to the Mighty Mughals. Since Muslim power was dominant in Middle Eastern countries as well as in Southeast Asian countries, the trade and commerce to and from these countries to Europe and vice versa was mainly dominated by the Muslim world. There was only a single route from Europe to the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries, i.e. by crossing the Hindukush mountains. Due to this reason, the Muslim world has practically had a monopoly over trade and commerce.

Europe has a temperate climate and for this reason, they need spices from the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries and India happens to be one of the largest exporters of spices in the world. But their main problems were since there was no alternate route to India and Southeast Asian countries, they had to rely on the Muslim world and they used to charge heavy taxes for that.

So, the Europeans thought of searching for an alternate route to India and other Southeast Asian countries whereby they could bypass the Muslim world. They had two motives in their mind- I) To find spices at cheaper rates, and II) To spread Christianity. During those times, there were two European superpowers i.e. Spanish and the Portuguese. In 1494 AD, they signed the "Treaty of Tordesillas" and they divided the non-Christian world into two halves between them by an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean, some 1300 miles west of Cape Verde. Under this treaty, the Portuguese claimed everything to its east and the Spanish were free to navigate everything in the west. 

The first European, to navigate through the Cape of Good Hope, and set foot on India's mainland through sea route was Vasco de Gama. He was guided by Abdul Majid (a Gujrati sailor) from Mombasa to Calicut, where he was received by King Zamorin. And like this way, a new sea route was discovered by the Europeans to reach India and other Southeast Asian countries. 

In 1599 AD, a company to trade was formed under the Group of Merchants known as "Merchants Adventurers". The company was called East India Company (EIC), known by the nickname "John Company". In 1600 AD, they got a "Royal Charter" from Queen Elizabeth I, to trade freely to the east of Cape of Good Hope. The Britishers were the third Europeans to set foot in India, after the Portuguese and the Dutch.

During those times, India was under the rule of Mighty Mughals and Badshah Jahangir was sitting on the throne. In 1608 AD, Captain William Hawkings became the first British to set foot in India and he came to the court of Jahangir to obtain permission to open a factory at Surat. But he didn't get permission due to the Portuguese influence. In 1611 AD, the Bristishers opened their first factory at "Masulipatnam" and later in 1613 AD, they defeated the Portuguese in the "Battle of Swalley" and opened their second factory at "Surat". In 1615 AD, Sir Thomas Roe, obtained permission from Jahangir to open factories in all parts of the Mughal Empire.

English in South India:

But soon, they feel insecure in the absence of a fortified structure. So they tried to fortify Surat in 1625 AD. But they didn't get the permission. So, to avoid direct confrontation with the Mughals, they shifted their focus to the south. The English first obtained permission from the Ruler of Golconda and later obtained permission from the Raja of Chandragiri to trade in Madras and it is here they constructed their first fort, Known by the name of Fort Saint George in 1639AD.

English in Bengal:

The Britishers set up their first factory in Bengal in 1651 AD at Hoogli. Over the years, they had established many factories across Bengal. In 1690 AD, Job Charnock established a factory at Sutanati, which was later fortified by the British and came to be known as "Fort William". It was their second fortification, first being the Fort Saint George. In 1698 AD, the Subahdar of Bengal gave the Diwani rights to the villages of Sutanati, Kalikata, and Gobindpur and soon these villages came to be known as Calcutta. 

English in Bombay:

                                                            Fig: Marriage of King Charles II of England and Princess Catherine of Braganza

In 1662 AD, King Charles II of England received Bombay as a dowry for marrying Princess Catherine of Braganza from the Portuguese King. Later in 1668 AD, it was transferred to EIC for a mere annual rent of 10 pounds and it became the principal depot of the western coast for the EIC. 

In this way, in a matter of nearly 100 years, the EIC exerted its influence across the Mughal Empire and became ready to challenge the Mighty Mughals in the coming years. From what was merely a trading company slowly went on to establish many factories and forts within the Mughal Empire and ultimately captured the powers after the Mughals' downfall in the 1857 battle.

In the second part, we'll dive into the tussle between different European powers and how the Britishers emerged as the sole power of the entire Indian subcontinent.

Arindam Kumar Dutta