History Quiz: The advent of Europeans and the British Conquests |18 May, 2021

The arrival of three ships under Vasco Da Gama, led by a Gujarati pilot named Abdul Majid, at Calicut in May 1498 profoundly affected the course of Indian history.

• The Hindu ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin (Samuthiri), however, had no apprehensions as to the European’s intentions.
• As the prosperity of his kingdom was due to Calicut’s position as an entrepot, he accorded a friendly reception to Vasco Da Gama.

• The Arab traders, who had a good business on the Malabar Coast were apprehensive and were not keen on the Portuguese getting a hold there.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

In 1505, the King of Portugal appointed a governor in India for a three-year term and equipped the incumbent with sufficient force to protect the Portuguese interests.

• Francisco De Almeida, the newly appointed governor, was asked to consolidate the position of the Portuguese in India and to destroy Muslim trade by seizing Aden, Ormuz and Malacca.

• He was also advised to build fortresses at Anjadiva, Cochin, Cannanore and Kilwa. What Almeida, however, encountered along with the opposition of the Zamorin, was a threat from the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt.
• Encouraged by the merchants of Venice whose lucrative commerce was now at risk due to the Portuguese interference, the Egyptians raised a fleet in the Red Sea to stop the advance of the Portuguese.
• In 1507, the Portuguese squadron was defeated in a naval battle off Diu by the combined Egyptian and Gujarat navies, and Almeida’s son was killed. Next year, Almeida avenged his defeat by totally crushing the two navies.
• Almeida’s vision was to make the Portuguese the master of the Indian Ocean. His policy was known as the Blue Water Policy (cartaze system).

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

Captain Hawkins arrived in the court of Jahangir in April 1609 itself. But the mission to establish a factory at Surat didn’t succeed due to opposition from the Portuguese, and Hawkins left Agra in November 1611.

• In 1611, the English had started trading at Masulipatnam on the south-eastern coast of India and later established a factory there in 1616.
• It was in 1612 that Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese in the sea off Surat; an impressed Jahangir granted permission to the English in early 1613 to establish a factory at Surat under Thomas Aldworth.
• In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe came as an accredited ambassador of James I to the court of Jahangir, staying on their till February 1619.

• Though he was unsuccessful in concluding a commercial treaty with the Mughal emperor, he was able to secure a number of privileges, including permission to set up factories at Agra, Ahmedabad and Broach.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

Q4: Arrange the following events in Chronological order:

1. Battle of Ambur
2. Battle of Plassey
3. Battle ofBidara

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 – 2 – 3
2. 2 – 3 – 1
3. 3 – 2 – 1
4. 2 – 1 – 3

ANS: A

Explanation: In the Second Carnatic War, the combined armies of Muzaffar Jang, Chanda Sahib and the French defeated and killed Anwarud- din at the Battle of Ambur (near Vellore) in 1749.

• Muzaffar Jang became the subahdar of Deccan, and Dupleix was appointed governor of all the Mughal territories to the south of

In the Second Carnatic War, the combined armies of Muzaffar Jang, Chanda Sahib and the French defeated and killed Anwarud- din at the Battle of Ambur (near Vellore) in 1749.

• Muzaffar Jang became the subahdar of Deccan, and Dupleix was appointed governor of all the Mughal territories to the south of the River Krishna.
• A French army under Bussy was stationed at Hyderabad to secure French interests there. Territories near Pondicherry and also some areas on the Orissa coast (including Masulipatnam) were ceded to the French.

• The Third Carnatic War proved decisive. Although the Treaty of Peace of Paris (1763) restored to the French their factories in India, the French political influence disappeared after the war.
• Thereafter, the French, like their Portuguese and Dutch counterparts in India, confined themselves to their small enclaves and to commerce.
• The English became the supreme European power in the Indian subcontinent, since the Dutch had already been defeated in the Battle of Bidara in 1759.
• The Battle of Plassey, in 1757, is usually regarded by historians as the decisive event that brought about ultimate British rule over India.
• However, one cannot quite ignore the view that the true turning point for control of the subcontinent was the victory of British forces over the French forces at Wandiwash in 1760.

• The victory at Wandiwash left the English East India Company with no European rival in India.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

The education imparted in 18th-century India was still traditional which could not match with the rapid developments in the West.

• The knowledge was confined to literature, law, religion, philosophy, and logic and excluded the study of physical and natural sciences, technology and geography.

• In fact, due to over-reliance placed on ancient learning, any original thought got discouraged.
• Elementary education among the Hindus and the Muslims was quite widespread. The Hindu and Muslim elementary schools were called pathshalas and maktabs respectively.
• The education was confined to reading, writing, and arithmetic. Children from the lower caste sometimes attended the schools, but female presence was rare.
• Chatuspathis or Tols, as they were called in Bihar and Bengal, were the centres of higher education.
• Some of the famous centres for Sanskrit education were Kasi (Varanasi), Tirhut (Mithila), Nadia and Utkala.

• Madrasahs were the institutions of higher learning for Persian and Arabic, Persian being the court language and learnt by the Muslims as well as the Hindus.
• Azimabad (Patna) was a famous centre for Persian education. People interested in the study of the Quran and Muslim theology had to acquire proficiency in Arabic.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

After the battle of Buxar, the East India Company became the real masters of Bengal.

• Robert Clive introduced the dual system of government, i.e., the rule of the two—the Company and the Nawab—in Bengal in which both the diwani, i.e., collecting revenues, and nizamat, i.e., police and judicial functions, came under the control of the Company.
• The Company exercised diwani rights as the diwan and the nizamat rights through its right to nominate the deputy subahdar.

• The Company acquired the diwani functions from the emperor and nizamat functions from the subahdar of Bengal.
• The system held a great advantage for the Company. It left the appearance of authority to the puppet Indian ruler, while keeping the sovereign power in the hands of the Company.
• The nawab was responsible for maintaining peace and order, but he depended both for funds and forces upon the Company because the latter controlled the army and revenues.
• For the exercise of diwani functions, the Company appointed two deputy diwans, Mohammad Reza Khan for Bengal and Raja Sitab Roy for Bihar.
• Mohammad Reza Khan also acted as deputy nazim or deputy subahdar.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

Warren Hastings took charge as the governor-general at a critical period of British rule when the British were to encounter the powerful combination of the Marathas, Mysore and Hyderabad.

• He followed a policy of ring-fence which aimed at creating buffer zones to defend the Company’s frontiers.
• Broadly speaking, it was the policy of defence of their neighbours’ frontiers for safeguarding their own territories.

• This policy of Warren Hastings was reflected in his war against the Marathas and Mysore.
• The chief danger to the Company’s territories was from the Afghan invaders and the Marathas.
• To safeguard against these dangers, the Company undertook to organise the defence of the frontiers of Awadh on the condition that the Nawab would defray the expenses of the defending army.
• The defence of Awadh constituted the defence of Bengal during that time. Thus, the states brought under the ring-fence system were assured of military assistance against external aggression—but at their own expense.
• Wellesley’s policy of subsidiary alliance was, in fact, an extension of the ring-fence system which sought to reduce the Indian states into a position of dependence on the British government.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

Subsidiary Alliance of Wellesley: Subsidized States are:

• Hyderabad (1798; 1800)
• Mysore (1799)

• Tanjore (October 1799)
• Awadh (November 1801)
• Peshwa (December 1801)
• Bhonsle of Berar (December 1803)
• Sindhia (February 1804)

• Jodhpur (1818)
• Jaipur (1818)
• Macheri (1818)
• Bundi (1818)
• Bharatpur (1818)

Doctrine of Lapse: Lapsed States under Lord Dalhousie (1848-56)

• Satara (1848)
• Sambhalpur (1849)
• Bhagat (1850)
• Udaipur (1850)

• Nagpur (1854)
• Jhanshi (1855)
• Awadh (1856; on charge of mal-administration)

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

Relations of British India with Neighboring Countries:

• Anglo-Nepal Relations (Treaty of Sagauli, 1816)
• Anglo-Burma Relations
• First Anglo-Burma War, 1824-26
• Second Anglo-Burma War, 1852

• Third Anglo-Burma War, 1885
• Anglo-Tibetan Relations
• Treaty of Lhasa (1904)
• Anglo-Afghan Relations
• Forward Policy of Auckland

• First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842)
• John Lawrence’s Policy of Masterly Inactivity
• Lytton and the Policy of Proud Reserve
• Second Anglo-Afghan War (1870-80)
• Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879)

• North-West Frontier
• Durand Agreement (1893)

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.

A distinct feature of the literary life of the 18th century was the growth of Urdu language and poetry. It was the period of Urdu poets like Mir, Sauda, Nazir and Mirza Ghalib (19th century).

• In south India, Malayalam literature flourished under the patronage of the Travancore rulers. Kanchan Nambiar was a noted Malayalam poet.
• The Tamil language was enriched by sittar poetry. Tayumanavar (1706-44), one of the best exponents of sittar poetry, protested against the abuses of temple-rule and the caste system.
• Heer Ranjha, the romantic epic in Punjabi literature, was composed by Warris Shah.
• In Sindhi literature, Shah Abdul Latif composed Risalo, a collection of poems. These are just some examples of literary works in regional languages.

Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India.