Europeans in India and the English East India Company: BPSC Prelims Notes
BPSC Prelims Demand
Prepare arrival–year–place, company–country matching, early English settlements, Mughal permissions and the French-English rivalry. Questions commonly mix up the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French, or confuse a trading company with the later British Crown.
Essential Chronology
| Year | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama reached Calicut. | Portuguese sea route around the Cape of Good Hope connected Europe and India directly. |
| 1505 | Francisco de Almeida became the first Portuguese viceroy in India. | Portuguese political-commercial presence grew on the west coast. |
| 1510 | Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa. | Goa became the key Portuguese base in India. |
| 1600 | Queen Elizabeth I granted the English East India Company its royal charter. | Starting point of the Company’s legal corporate history. |
| 1602 | Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed. | Major Dutch competitor in Asian trade. |
| 1612–1613 | English naval success at Swally/Suvali was followed by a Surat factory. | Early English foothold in Mughal India. |
| 1615 | Sir Thomas Roe reached Jahangir’s court. | English diplomacy sought trading privileges. |
| 1639–1640 | English acquired Madras site and developed Fort St George. | Presidency settlement on the Coromandel coast. |
| 1668 | Bombay was leased to the Company by the English Crown. | It became an important western presidency settlement. |
| 1690s | English settlement developed at Calcutta. | It became the Bengal presidency centre. |
| 1717 | Farrukhsiyar’s farman gave the Company valuable trade privileges, especially in Bengal. | A high-frequency BPSC fact; do not confuse it with the 1765 Diwani. |
| 1760–1763 | English victory at Wandiwash and the Treaty of Paris curtailed French political ambitions in India. | English became the principal European rival with scope for expansion. |
European Powers at a Glance
| Power | Key association in India | BPSC memory cue |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | Vasco da Gama; Goa; first sustained European sea-borne presence. | 1498–Calicut; 1510–Goa. |
| Dutch | VOC (1602); strong spice trade and settlements such as Pulicat/Chinsurah. | VOC = Dutch, not English. |
| English | East India Company (1600); Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. | Charter = Elizabeth I. |
| French | French Company (1664); Pondicherry; Carnatic rivalry. | Wandiwash (1760) weakened French political prospects. |
| Danish | Tranquebar and Serampore. | Smaller trading presence; do not confuse with French Pondicherry. |
The English Company’s Early Path
The royal charter of 31 December 1600 gave English merchants an exclusive right, for a limited period, to trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. The Company initially aimed at profit from Asian trade. It needed permission from Indian rulers, ports, warehouses, ships, Indian merchants and armed protection. A factory in this context means a commercial establishment or trading post; it does not mean a modern manufacturing plant.
William Hawkins reached the Mughal court in the early seventeenth century, and Sir Thomas Roe served as the English ambassador at Jahangir’s court from 1615. English trade expanded through Surat after the naval encounter at Swally/Suvali. The Company later developed three major presidency settlements: Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.
Early English Settlements: Match Carefully
| Place | Key date / event | Exam-safe association |
|---|---|---|
| Surat | Factory established in 1613, after the 1612 Swally encounter. | Early English factory in Mughal India. |
| Madras (Chennai) | Site acquired in 1639; Fort St George developed from 1640. | Coromandel coast; Fort St George. |
| Bombay (Mumbai) | Leased by the Crown to the Company in 1668. | Western presidency; do not put Bombay’s lease in 1600. |
| Calcutta (Kolkata) | Settlement developed in the late seventeenth century; three villages included Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindpur. | Bengal presidency; Fort William. |
Mughal Permissions and the Shift in Power
Trade concessions did not by themselves give the Company sovereignty. The Company used farmans, local agreements and commercial privileges to enlarge trade. Farrukhsiyar’s 1717 farman is remembered for granting important trade privileges to the Company, especially in Bengal. Much later, after Plassey and Buxar, the Company used revenue and military power to turn commercial influence into territorial authority.
Prelims Traps
- Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498; he did not found the English Company.
- VOC is the Dutch East India Company (1602); EIC is the English East India Company (1600).
- Surat is linked with the early English factory; Madras with Fort St George; Bombay with the 1668 lease; Calcutta with the Bengal presidency.
- Wandiwash was a French-English conflict, not a Portuguese-English battle.
- Farrukhsiyar’s farman (1717) gave trading privileges; Diwani (1765) gave revenue rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
- A factory means a trading station, warehouse and office—not a machine-based industrial factory.