European colonization of India

The first colony in India was captured by the Portuguese in 1510, the state of Goa . Shortly before, in the late 15th - early 16th centuries. Portuguese researchers led by Vasco da Gama opened the sea route to India. Francisco di Almeida was appointed vice-king of the country. Goa by that time became the capital of the Portuguese colonies in India. In 1538, a Google colony was founded in the Ganges Delta. Portugal did not lead trade in India for long: at the end of the 16th century, King Philip II annexed the country to Spain . In 1640, Portugal became independent again, but the superiority of trade by this time was already in the hands of the British and Dutch. Of the colonies of Portugal, only small Goa , Daman and Diu remained, which did not have special significance at that time.

The British Empire was the most developed country in trade with India. The beginning of the 17th century ( 1600 ) was a turning point in the history of Britain and India. The British had a great influence on India. At the end of the 18th century, they defeated the rest of the European colonists and firmly entrenched in their colonies. Under the leadership of the English governor Robert Clive , Bengal was annexed to Britain in 1756-1757. The high taxes imposed by the British on the conquered territory caused a mass famine in 1769-1773, during which 7 to 10 million Bengalis died. Famine spread to Benares , Jammu , Bombay and Madras . In 1857-1859, the Sipay rebellion , also known as the First Indian War of Independence, took place . The uprising was crushed, and the queen passed power over India. The colony was called "British India" ("British Raj"). The English conquests annexed to the territory of the colony Burma (Myanmar) and Pakistan . Indian forces participated in both world wars, along with Canada and Australia . During the Second World War and after, riots spread among the Hindu people and the army. In August 1942, the leader of the Indian Independence Movement, Mahatma Gandhi, launched a campaign of civil disobedience, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Britons. Gandhi was imprisoned and a wave of unrest occurred in the country, in particular in Bihar and West Bengal. In northwest India, relations between Hindus and Muslims escalated. On August 14, 1947, Dominion Pakistan was founded, in which the Muslim leader was appointed Governor General. The next day, August 15, India was declared an independent state.

In 1602, Dutch merchants and conquerors formed the Dutch East India Company with the main trading post in Amboine, thus destroying the Portuguese possessions. In 1652, the first trading post was founded in Palacolla on Madras , and in 1658 the Dutch got the Jaffnapatas. Between 1661 and 1664 the Dutch defeated Portugal on the Malabar coast. In 1758, a crushing battle took place at Chinsurah, where Clive utterly defeated the Dutch. By the beginning of the 19th century, England had selected all the Indian colonies of Holland.

In 1664, the First French East India Company was founded. After it, four more French companies were established in India. In 1719, through the merger of several trading companies, the Sixth Company of France was formed. She had exclusive rights, but she was destroyed by the National Assembly in 1790. In 1674, the colony of Pondicherry ( Puducherry ) was founded, and in 1676 - Chandernagor . ^[one]

In 1612, the First Danish East India Company was founded. In 1670, the Second Company was founded. In 1616, Denmark established colonies in Tranquebar and Serampor, sold to the British in 1845. On the Malabar coast, Denmark had the colonies of Porto Novo, Eddow, and Golcheri.

The remaining companies were short-lived. In 1723, the Austrian East India Company was founded, which went bankrupt in 1784. After 8 years, the Swedish East India Company was founded (1731). Prussia founded two companies in 1750 and 1753.