Invasion of European Trade Companies (Part-2)

After the Dutch, the British came to India. The East India Company, on the other hand, was founded before the Dutch East India Company. In 1599 AD, a group of merchants created a firm with the goal of doing commerce with eastern countries. The ‘Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading in the East Indies’ was issued a charter by Queen Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600.

                                                Queen Elizabeth I of England signed a decree on December 31, 1600, giving the country a 15-year trade monopoly with the east. A committee was constituted for the company’s leadership. A director, a deputy director, and 24 personnel made up IT. The committee thereafter became known as the ‘court of directors’ or ‘Board of directors.’ James, I granted the corporation a new commercial charter under the Charter Act of 1609. The company’s status was further strengthened by the emperors’ jurisdiction, which was granted by successive emperor charters in 1615 and 1624 AD. 

In Surat, Gujarat, the first ship named Hector arrived and the captain of the ship was William Hawkins. Captain Hawkins was the first Englishman to set foot on Indian soil by water. He arrived at Jahangir’s Mughal court and delivered James I’s letter to Akbar because he spoke Turkish. Captain Middleton destroyed the Portuguese fleet at Swally in 1611 AD. In 1613 AD, Jahangir was so impressed by the Portuguese loss that he permitted the British to establish a permanent factory in Surat. After paying 500 Pagodas, the Sultan of Golconda granted a golden Farman to Britishers in 1632 AD, allowing them to trade freely in Golconda state. Francis Day leased Madras from the king of Chandragiri in 1639 AD and constructed a fortified Kothi there. It was given the name Fort St. George. 

After William Hawkins, Sir Thomas Roe was the one who visited the court of Jahangir in 1615 AD and got some facilities to trade. Catherine, the Portuguese princess, get married to King Charles II of England in 1661 AD. Charles II was given the island of Bombay as a dowry by the Portuguese. In 1668, Charles II gave the East India Company a ten-pound-per-year lease on the island of Bombay.

British East India was able to convince Farrukhsiyar and get Royal Farman in 1717, which gave them more rights to trading. The Farman, also known as the Magna Carta, provided that the corporation would receive duty-free trade (dastak) in Bengal in exchange for Rs.3000 per year and a one-time payment of Rs.10,000.

Battles that Changes Fate of British:

1. Battle of Plassey 1757- Mughal Emperor Alamgir II 

Following Siraj ud-Daulah ascension to power, Britishers openly questioned the Nawab’s administration, which included the misappropriation of 1717 farmaan by company personnel for private gain. When confronted, the firm began levying taxes on Indian traders as well. As a result, two sides met at Plassey in 1757, and Nawab was beaten and murdered without resistance. The British gained control of resource-rich Bengal, which helped them overcome European competitors such as the French and the Dutch.
Plassey war established British governmental authority as well as a commercial body. During the conflict, Clive proclaimed Mir Jafar as Nawab of Bengal and put him on the throne of Murshidabad. The 24 Parganas of Bengal as its Zamindari was also provided to East India company by Mir Jafar.

2. Battle of Buxar 1764 – Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II 

The battle of Buxar in 1764 paired Mir Qasim, Siraj ud-Daulah, and the French against the British, but the British ultimately triumphed. After this battle the company got immense power as a strong political as well as military force. EIC did not annex Awadh after the war. In 1765, the corporation formed a dual system with the Treaty of Allahabad: power without responsibility and responsibility without power.
a. Diwani – By this EIC (power without responsibility) controls revenue.
b. Nizamat — In charge of law and order (responsibility without authority)

DANE:

They arrived in India in 1616 and founded their first factory in Tranquebar, Tanjore district, in 1620. In 1676 AD, they opened a second plant in Serampore, Bengal. He sold all of his factories to a British corporation in 1745 and fled India. They were India’s leading proponents of Christianity.

THE FRENCH:

In 1664, Colbert, a senior official under Emperor Louis XIV of France, founded the French EIC company the oriental. The Emperor gave 50-year trading permission to trade in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Francocaro (Francis Caron) founded the first French colony in Surat, Gujarat, in 1668. Mercara established a second plant in Masulipatnam in 1669, which was copyrighted by the Sultan of Golconda. In 1673 near Calcutta at Chandernagore, another Kothi was set up with permission from Shaista Khan, Mughal Subhadra of Bengal. Mahe and Karaikal were two other French plants in India (Puducherry). In 1673, Francois Martin established Pondicherry and became its first governor. Pondicherry becomes the French possession’s headquarters in India.

IMPORTANT TIMELINES:

1492-	Columbus claims Bahama islands and cuba from spain
1494-	The ‘Undiscovered world’ divided between portugal and spain
1497-	John Cabot, Englishman explores North America coast
1498-	Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut/Kozhikode
1499-	Amerigo Vespucci sights south american coast
1500-	Cabral claims Brazil from Portugal
1521-	Cortes defeats Aztecs
1522-	Magellan circumnavigates the globe
1532-	Pizarro conquers Inca Kingdom
1571-	Spanish Conquer the Philippines
1600-	British East India Company Formed
1602-	Dutch East India Company Formed