Trade, Revolt, Consolidation & Colonisation
Even before the establishment of the Mughal Empire, traders from the Western world had begun arriving in South India, making the coastal regions fully aware of these new changes. European ships were frequently seen navigating the Indian Ocean, carrying trade goods, while European merchants purchased Indian commodities in exchange for gold, silver, or other precious items in coastal cities. This trade was not entirely new; commercial exchanges between India and the Western world had existed in ancient and medieval times, though Arab groups dominated medieval trade.
A significant change occurred when the Turks conquered Asia Minor in 1453, capturing Constantinople. This placed the traditional trade routes between East and West under Turkish control, excluding emerging Western European nation-states, particularly Spain and Portugal, from sharing in the trade. This exclusion spurred the search for alternative routes to India.
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) departed from Lisbon in 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on Africa's west coast, and reached Calicut (Kozhikode) in May 1498. His voyage yielded profits reportedly 60 times the cost. In 1502, he led a second expedition to India, clashing with Muslim traders in the region. Two decades later, Vasco da Gama returned as Portuguese Viceroy but died of illness in 1524.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, South India saw continuous trader movements, establishment of factories for goods exchange, and monetary impacts like increased use of precious metals as coins. The local Hindu population of Calicut initially welcomed Portuguese sailors, leading to Portuguese trading settlements in Cochin, Goa, Diu, and Daman. From the outset, Portugal combined trade with military force, leveraging superior armed ships to dominate the seas.
Before the Mughals solidified power in India, Alfonso de Albuquerque led Portuguese forces to establish dominance from the Persian Gulf's Hormuz to Malaya and Indonesia's Spice Islands along Asian coasts. Capturing Goa in 1510 allowed expansion in Indian coastal areas, defending trade monopolies against European rivals through relentless warfare. South India remained outside northern Sultanates and Mughal influence, aiding Portuguese success. Their strict discipline, naval control, and brutal tactics against opponents laid foundations for future empires like the English East India Company (EIC).
In 1602, the Dutch East India Company formed, chartered by the Dutch States General with powers to wage war, sign treaties, acquire territories, and build forts. Dutch interests focused less on India and more on Indonesian islands like Java and Sumatra for spices.
A significant change occurred when the Turks conquered Asia Minor in 1453, capturing Constantinople. This placed the traditional trade routes between East and West under Turkish control, excluding emerging Western European nation-states, particularly Spain and Portugal, from sharing in the trade. This exclusion spurred the search for alternative routes to India.
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) departed from Lisbon in 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on Africa's west coast, and reached Calicut (Kozhikode) in May 1498. His voyage yielded profits reportedly 60 times the cost. In 1502, he led a second expedition to India, clashing with Muslim traders in the region. Two decades later, Vasco da Gama returned as Portuguese Viceroy but died of illness in 1524.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, South India saw continuous trader movements, establishment of factories for goods exchange, and monetary impacts like increased use of precious metals as coins. The local Hindu population of Calicut initially welcomed Portuguese sailors, leading to Portuguese trading settlements in Cochin, Goa, Diu, and Daman. From the outset, Portugal combined trade with military force, leveraging superior armed ships to dominate the seas.
Before the Mughals solidified power in India, Alfonso de Albuquerque led Portuguese forces to establish dominance from the Persian Gulf's Hormuz to Malaya and Indonesia's Spice Islands along Asian coasts. Capturing Goa in 1510 allowed expansion in Indian coastal areas, defending trade monopolies against European rivals through relentless warfare. South India remained outside northern Sultanates and Mughal influence, aiding Portuguese success. Their strict discipline, naval control, and brutal tactics against opponents laid foundations for future empires like the English East India Company (EIC).
In 1602, the Dutch East India Company formed, chartered by the Dutch States General with powers to wage war, sign treaties, acquire territories, and build forts. Dutch interests focused less on India and more on Indonesian islands like Java and Sumatra for spices.
Historians offer contrasting views on the 18th century's turmoil and a trading company's empire-building. Traditional perspectives label it a "dark age" where British empire in India emerged accidentally, not by design. Revisionist views challenge this, arguing deliberate strategies.
Aurangzeb's death in 1707 marked the decline's onset. Despite contradictions, Aurangzeb—remembered as a cause of Mughal fall—left a will dividing his empire among sons Muazzam, Azam, and Kam Bakhsh, urging brotherly harmony over the throne. Succession wars ensued, exposing the Mughal system's fragility, reliant on exploiting the masses. Within 50 years, a British trading group began seizing Bengal; exactly 100 years later, the last Mughal was deposed in 1857 and exiled to Burma, 2,000 km east of Delhi.
The 1857 Great Revolt, involving sepoy mutiny, faced brutal British suppression. Victoria's 1858 proclamation ushered 90 years of direct British rule, marked by consolidation tactics and Indian resistance. Independence on August 15, 1947, resulted from prolonged movements, but Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny" speech at midnight granted physical freedom while mental chains from empire persisted. Anti-colonial struggles failed to dismantle British cultural hold or build equitable global order. As Munshi Premchand implied, John's place was taken by a Govind who was hardly Indian.
The British employed tools like the 1835 Macaulay's Minutes on Education, imposing a civilizing mission on "natives." Pre-colonial India had robust systems: village gurukuls (permanent/temporary), Brahmin-led education via exchange, local languages, group learning. Seasonal disruptions occurred during rains, festivals, or harvests, but modern schools brought regularity, excluding rural children tied to chores. Education grew costly, limiting public access.
Early 19th-century institutions like Fort William College trained British in local languages for administration. Macaulay's utilitarian push for English education aimed to create loyal intermediaries, boosting colonial rule. Charles Wood's 1854 dispatch mandated English for higher education. This fostered elite anglicized middle class engaging Western knowledge, ignorant of India's rich traditions. Modern Indian press unified aspirations across regions. New elites infiltrated bureaucracy, judiciary, professions.
Aurangzeb's death in 1707 marked the decline's onset. Despite contradictions, Aurangzeb—remembered as a cause of Mughal fall—left a will dividing his empire among sons Muazzam, Azam, and Kam Bakhsh, urging brotherly harmony over the throne. Succession wars ensued, exposing the Mughal system's fragility, reliant on exploiting the masses. Within 50 years, a British trading group began seizing Bengal; exactly 100 years later, the last Mughal was deposed in 1857 and exiled to Burma, 2,000 km east of Delhi.
The 1857 Great Revolt, involving sepoy mutiny, faced brutal British suppression. Victoria's 1858 proclamation ushered 90 years of direct British rule, marked by consolidation tactics and Indian resistance. Independence on August 15, 1947, resulted from prolonged movements, but Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny" speech at midnight granted physical freedom while mental chains from empire persisted. Anti-colonial struggles failed to dismantle British cultural hold or build equitable global order. As Munshi Premchand implied, John's place was taken by a Govind who was hardly Indian.
The British employed tools like the 1835 Macaulay's Minutes on Education, imposing a civilizing mission on "natives." Pre-colonial India had robust systems: village gurukuls (permanent/temporary), Brahmin-led education via exchange, local languages, group learning. Seasonal disruptions occurred during rains, festivals, or harvests, but modern schools brought regularity, excluding rural children tied to chores. Education grew costly, limiting public access.
Early 19th-century institutions like Fort William College trained British in local languages for administration. Macaulay's utilitarian push for English education aimed to create loyal intermediaries, boosting colonial rule. Charles Wood's 1854 dispatch mandated English for higher education. This fostered elite anglicized middle class engaging Western knowledge, ignorant of India's rich traditions. Modern Indian press unified aspirations across regions. New elites infiltrated bureaucracy, judiciary, professions.
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