The European trading companies in India were a significant factor in the history of the subcontinent, as they played a crucial role in shaping its economy and society. These companies, also known as East India companies, were chartered by European monarchs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to trade with the East, including India. The most famous of these companies was the British East India Company, but there were also Dutch, French, and Portuguese trading companies operating in India.
The European trading companies in India were motivated by the desire to secure a share of the lucrative Indian market, which was renowned for its spices, textiles, and other luxury goods. The companies established trading posts in various parts of India, including Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and used these bases to conduct trade with local merchants and rulers. The companies also engaged in naval warfare with each other and with local powers in order to secure trading concessions and protect their interests.
The impact of the European trading companies in India was far-reaching and profound. They brought new technologies, such as the printing press and the steam engine, to India, which helped to modernize the country's economy and society. They also introduced new forms of currency, such as the rupee, which became the standard currency in India.
However, the European trading companies in India also had a darker side. They were often ruthless in their pursuit of profit, and were willing to engage in unethical practices such as bribery, corruption, and exploitation of local labor. They also played a role in the spread of European imperialism in India, as they helped to establish European control over large parts of the subcontinent.
In conclusion, the European trading companies in India were a complex and influential force in the history of the subcontinent. They brought new technologies, forms of currency, and economic opportunities to India, but they also contributed to the spread of imperialism and engaged in unethical practices. Their impact is still felt today in the modern-day economies and societies of India and the rest of South Asia.
Advent of the European Trading Companies in India
Retrieved 21 August 2018. Their important commercial centres in India were Pulicat, Surat, Negapattam, Cochin, Chinsurah, Cossimbazar, Baranagore, Patna, and Belasore. Two years later 1700 the factories of Bengal were placed under a separate-President and CounÂcil, and a fort was constructed and named after King William II of England which became the seat of the newly constituted Council. Two years later 1700 the factories of Bengal were placed under a separate-President and CounÂcil, and a fort was constructed and named after King William II of England which became the seat of the newly constituted Council. Indian textile had huge markets in Europe. The farman of 1717 has been called by Robert Orme, the Magna Carta of the East India Company.
Why did European trading companies come to India?
Their policy was influenced by two motives, first, to take revenge against the Portuguese who were the allies of Spain, the enemy of the Dutch independence. The East India Company: And the British Empire in the Far East. The Portuguese were also engaged in piratical raids on the merchant ships of other traders. Later they established its factories in Machalipatanam, Chandranagara, Mahe, Karaikallu, Cossimbazar, Balasur. Retrieved 10 February 2014. Which Indian commodities were in great demand in European countries? This was priary thing that attract most Western explorer and European tranding companies to have low coast trade with high profits in India. The Portuguese were naturally rougish and corrupt and carried on depredations on the neighbouring villages, forcibly converted people into Christianity, carried on trade without paying any customs duties and sell the natives as slaves.
The European Trading Companies In India
Ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. In 1639 Francis Day obtained the lease of Madras from the ruler of Chandragiri and constructed a fortified factory there and named it Fort St. The Malabar pirates also posed a great threat to the English trade. The Dutch Government granted this company not only charter to carry on trade in the East, but also to enter into war and peace, maintain troops, construct forts etc. Answer: The Indian Ocean trade routes connecting Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa, began at least the third century BC. The Return of the Armadas: The Last Years of the Elizabethan Wars Against Spain 1595—1603.
