History - - Posted on April, 5 at 9:22 pm
Changes in the trade patterns with Asia set the stage for the arrival of Europeans in India. Arab Merchants purchased commodities like spices, precious stones, fine cotton and silk, sugar and so on from the Asian markets for sale in European markets. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, European sailors discovered new sea routes from Europe to Asia. Now the Arab intermediaries were not needed and Europeans started coming to India as merchants. The Portuguese were the first to establish any European settlement in India, followed by the English, Dutch and French.
From a humble beginning in trade, the European trading companies were inevitably drawn into the politics of India. Each one was trying to get the largest share of trade and power, the struggle for the uppermost position was coloured by the political dynamics between their own countries. Their entry into the local politics had a backdrop of complicated relations and rivalry shared by the local rulers at that time. The dwindling Mughal empire giving way to small local powers, the rise and fall of Maratha power and the formation of a strong Sikh state had an immense and long-lasting impact on the happenings in the region, which led to the rise of British power and the revolt of 1857.
This section makes an effort to give a picture of the local dynamics at the time of the advent of the Europeans and the internal dynamics between the French, British, Dutch and Portuguese.
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