The Past, Present, and Future of India

This allowed the Portugese people access to Indian markets and many European spices. His voyage showed his country that wealth could be attained from Indian goods and trading at those markets. Da Gama was able to force his way into the Indian trading system, and established Portugal as a huge supplier of luxury goods. He brought much wealth to Portugal because of this (history.com). Discovering a route to India was an extremely momentous event, and made a big impact in the European trading system.

In Africa, the coast of the continent was heavily influenced by maritime trade. The Indian Ocean trade routes connected many countries together, which caused a diffusion of many cultures (Wood 111). One of the cultures that was impacted heavily by this trade was the African culture (Hinkle). Many times when traders came over from other countries from the trade routes, they would settle in the African trade cities, and intermarry with the natives, which caused a birth... ... middle of paper ... ...such as Asia (Bernstien 37). Spices, such as pepper, that originated in India and other southeast Asian islands (Regeah).

The Indian Ocean arena arguable is one of the largest trading networks that had existed in pre-modern history. The changes that occurred in the region from fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred are ones that considerable shaped and changed how the world. With previously connected trade routes connecting large portions of this area through land it was only a matter of time before the sea would lead to the expansion of trade throughout the Indian Ocean arena. With Europeans wanting spices and textiles, the effectiveness to bring these goods back to Europe was going to have to change. Europeans needed a way to control the Indian Ocean and the port cities that were located on the sea.

Ecological imperialism was probably the main reason why the settlers were so successful. It made the Indians dependent on the Europeans for survival. The Age of Exploration and the colonization of the New World was an ongoing effort for hundreds of years. This period brought many things to light like the discovery and establishment of the new world, technology in sailing and discovery of new routes, and trade between countries. Events that happen in Europe during The Age of Exploration now effected the entire world.

The invasion of the British into India is an important historic event in India's history. In 1498 when Vasco de Gama from Portugal visited the Indian subcontinent, he established trade links and brought goods from India to Europe. Throughout the 16th century, reports of the wealth of India encouraged Britain to compete with Portugal for India's trade. In the 17th century, the British established several trading posts in India. Both countries profited from the exchange of goods.

East India Company entered as an early and old-fashioned venture, and conducted a separate business with their private stockholders. Their approach and their trade lasted for many years until year 1657 (Farrington 5), when they made their base in India and created permanent joint stocks. What actually happened was that Indians lost the monopoly of goods upon the entrance of this company and instead the Portuguese, who now had hold of trading spices and other valuable things, gained this monopoly. It was the competition that these Portuguese faced by the English investors and the other main merchants, which led to their merger in the year 1708 when they united together as England trading with the East Indians. It was the year 1600 when Queen Elizabeth I granted the permission to the British East India Company and gained power and control over the area for more than two centuries and finally lost power over the British Raj in 1858.

Although a "puppet nawab" was left in control of the area, Clive was granted the right to extract land revenue from most of eastern India. Through out this whole period, the company slowly found it's privledges being revoked, until in 1858, the Sepoy Rebellion, or the Indian Revolution, finally brought an end to the rule of the East India Company in India when it ... ... middle of paper ... ...health of Indians, created such a tremendous population explosion that famine resulted in some regions. As well, the creation of British educated professionals and business people created a new upper-class in India changing the rule of class in India forever. All of these changes, while under the guise of helping the natives, only served to help the colonists and leave the Indians feeling inferior, as though Indians are only "hewers of wood, and drawers of water" All of these changes in Indian culture and economy forever changed the destiny of the Land of India. While many changes may have been good in retrospect, they were only meant to help the colonizing British.

The original name of the corporation when it first formed was Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies (Landow). They joined together to generate money importing spices from South Asia. James Lancaster was in charge of the 1st company voyage in 1601 that sailed around the coast of South Africa and across the Indian Ocean, arriving back in London in 1603 with ships filled with pepper. In the 1600s, pepper was the most significant part of the British East India Company’s commerce. The group established its first Asian factory in Bantam and “it was here that the English were able to expand into other parts of Asia” (The [British East India] Company Story).

All great empires start with a seed, a seed that then turns an empty field into an oasis of life. That seed was the East India Company and from that seed, the East India Company transformed England into what it is most famous for today, a vast empire that ruled the majority of Eurasia. The East India Company started out by looking for a means to new trade and connecting to untouched and unknown places. It can be said that the trade routes and posts that were established in India were the true beginning of the empire. After trade had evolved and became more and more popular amongst European superpowers, the competition increased.

British economic interest in India began in the 1600s when Britain set up trading posts in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. By 1707, the Mughal Empire was collapsing. Several small states broke away from the Mughal control. In 1757, Robert Clive led the East India troops in a victory over Indian forces at the Battle of Plassey. From this time until 1858, East India Company was the leading power in India.