The beginning of British rule in India is conventionally dated to 1757, after the English East India Company won the Battle of Plassey against the Nawab of Bengal. But the Europeans had arrived in India by the beginning of the sixteenth century to procure pepper, cinnamon, cloves and other spices for European markets. The Portuguese came first; the Dutch and the English, who came nearly a century later, modelled their activities on the Portuguese blueprint. The process ended with the English emerging as the undisputed colonial power after the three Carnatic Wars.
1. Political Affairs in India (1600-1750)
The Mughal Empire (1600-1650)
- The Mughal empire was at the peak of its power; English poets wrote of the fabulous "wealth of India".
- Akbar conquered Gujarat in 1573, gaining access to the port of Surat - the gateway to west Asia and Europe.
- Akbar's revenue system was revamped by Todar Mal. Bengal became a province (subah) only under Jahangir.
- The Dutch, followed by the English, arrived in Surat in the early 1600s. They could set up "factories" but were given no territorial authority.
- The English acquired the islands of Bombay in 1668 and set up their headquarters there in 1687.