INTRODUCTION #
The rise of the spirit of science and of the animal instinct in business / economics among the European leading nations, their awareness of the spice trade of the East and the discovery of a new sea route marked the new era of maritime trade between var- ious European nations and the east. It further led to their consolidation of their economic interests through military might and after numerous conflicts led to the foundation of colonialism and imperialism on the ruins of the erstwhile native kingdoms.
Due to the availability of the pepper and various kinds of spices, the ports of Malabar coasts were the heavens for the merchants from all over the world, in the ancient as well as medieval times. In this region Cochin and Calicut had occupied the most important position in the international Trade. Calicut was usually flocked by the Muslim and Arab mer- chants from Aden, Turkey, Persia, Ethiopia, Egypt etc. Even Chinese maintained a factory in Calicut which was called Chinakotta. Among the Indians the Gujarati merchants were prominent. Similarly, the trading centers of the South East Asia were flooded with the merchants from all over the world. The ancient trade routes were in the hands of the Arab Muslim merchants and the used to ship their goods by the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea and so overland to Syria and Egyptian Ports.
Vasco da Gama #
The fleet of Vasco Da Gama had arrived in India on 20 May 1498 at Kappad near Calicut. The local King of Calicut-styled Zamorin with traditional Indian hospitality received him. This welcome had Zamorin’s own reasons that the Europeans must
have brought some gifts for him. The gifts such as hats, cloths, honey, oil etc. were not up to the expectation of the Zamorin.
The result was – Vasco had to return without any concrete result. Further, the Arabs instigated the Zamorin that he was not a Royal ambassador but only a small time pirate. Thus, the first mission of Vasco Da Gamma was an utter failure to the extent that it could not produce any tangible results for the Portuguese. But it was a great leap of the Portuguese, as a new route was found which was safe from the rival Arabs.
Pedro Álvares Cabral #
Two years later in September 1500, Pedro Álva- res Cabral sailed to India, who had done a wonder by discovering Brazil on the way. Pedro established the first Portuguese factory at Calicut. He was able to make some advantageous treaties with the rul- ers of Cochin and Cannanore , but at Calicut, his venture precipitated matters with the Arabs. Matters worsened when Cabral notoriously captured several vessels at the port and massacred the crew; the locals and Arabs retaliated by burning down the factory and butchering several Portuguese.
This is known as Battle of Calicut in which Cabral was defeated by the Arabs and locals. Cabral started on the return voyage on 16 January 1501. He arrived in Portugal with only 4 of 13 ships on 23 June 1501, defeated and humiliated.
Return of Vasco #
In 1502, Vasco returned India but this time the rulers of Kannur, Cochin and Quilon were sympa- thetic to him for various reasons. Therefore, Vasco
Da Gamma decided to lodge among them. Vasco placed a demand that all the Muslims should be expelled from the area, but this demand was turned down.
This started some serious naval fights in the region. Vasco Da Gama was known for his severe cruelty upon the competing traders and inhabitants. He, in India behaved worse by intercepting a ship of Muslim pilgrims at Madayi, which was on its journey to the Arabia and looted the 400 pilgrims and burnt them to death. This Portuguese pioneer died of Malaria in 1524 in Cochin, when he was in India for a short term under the pompous title of Viceroy.
Francisco de Almeida #
In 1503 Francisco de Almeida was appointed the First Governor and Viceroy of the Portuguese India. He was able to erect some fortresses at Cochin, Cannanore, Kilwa and Anjadiva.
The fierce competition for dominance in trade culminated in a battle of the Portuguese with the confederacy of the Egypt, Turkey and Gujarat at the Harbour of Chaul in India in 1508. He was able to defeat the trio a year later, but before could do any more wonders here, died in 1510
Afonso de Albuquerque #
Afonso de Albuquerque was the second gover- nor of the Portuguese India and is known as founder of Portuguese colonial empire in India. Goa was the first part of India that was colonized by the Europe- ans but was eventually the last part of India to be liberated from the Europeans.
Afonso de Albuquerque attacked Goa in 1510. The ruler of Goa was the Sultan of Bijapur Ismail Adil Shah. Adil Shah was initially able to repeal him but three months later, Afonso de Albuquerque returned and there was a fierce battle in the streets of Goa, claiming the lives of the thousands of Mus- lim defenders. Thus, Albuquerque was able to take possession of Goa in December 1510. The battle was known as Battle of Goa (1510)
Afonso de Albuquerque is to be noted for the following:
Starting first Portuguese Mint in the east: He was able to issue the Gold, Silver and bronze coins
which were based upon the local designs but were engraved with the badge of the Portuguese kings. After Goa, more mints were established at Malacca (Today a city of Malaysia).
Suppression of the Arab merchandise in Malay- sia by winning Malacca in 1511.
Portuguese Cultural Ambassador: The Portu- guese, when established themselves in Goa, started marrying the local ladies and thus from the times of Albuquerque, mixed marriages started in Goa, combining the culture of the east with west.
Abolishing the Practice of Sati in Goa: Albu- querque is also known to have abolished the practice of Sati in Goa.
Soares de Albergaria #
Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, who superseded Governor Albu- querque in 1515. He continued the Portuguese war against the Arabs and Africans in India and was able to capture Ceylon.
Nuno da Cunha & Treaty of Bassein #
The next important Portuguese governor was Nuno da Cunha. Nuno da Cunha was able to bring Mombasa and Mozambique under the Portuguese circle. During his time, the ruler of Gujarat was Bahadur Shah. In 1529, Nuno was able to sack Daman and Diu (Damao), which were territories of Bahadur Shah. Later in 1534, he was able to compel Bahadur Shah to sign the treaty of Bassein. On the basis of treaty of Bassein, Bahadur shah gave Bassein (modern Vasai and Nallasopara in Mumbai Suburbs) to the Portuguese. But a year later, the Mughals captured Gujarat and Bahadur Shah, in order to purchase the support of the Portuguese, gave them Mumbai and surrounding areas. Thus by 1534, modern Mumbai, Vasai, Virar, Daman & Diu, Surat and entire Goa had gone in the hands of the Portuguese. The defeated Bahadur Shah was killed by his Portuguese friends on a ship. In 1538, there was another fierce battle with the men of Ottoman Empire and this is known as Seige of Diu. Portugal was victorious in this battle.
End of the Portuguese #
The Portuguese arrived in India first. The impor- tant areas under the Portuguese in India were Goa,
Mumbai, Vasai, Virar, Surat, Hugli, Daman and Diu etc.
- In 1612, they lost Surat to British, thanks to the efforts of William Hawkins and sir Thomas Roe.
- In 1631, Hugli was lost Mughals.
- Bombay was given by the Portuguese to Prince Charles II of England in Dowry in 1661.
- Bassein was captured by the Marathas in 1739.
- Finally, Portuguese were confined in the Goa, Daman and Diu only. They retained it till 1961, when the armies of Independent India forced them out.
The age of the heroes for the Portuguese India had passed away with the end of Albuquerque who had the same spirit as Dupleix or Lord Clive. But his policy was not continued and the Portuguese empire on Indian soil was abandoned in favor of the other Europeans. The Spanish gave them a death blow in 1580 and the corruption of the nobles led the Portuguese bury themselves in Old Goa. In 1597, the Dutch arrived in India.
East India Companies: The first East India Company was the British East India Company that was founded in 1600. The term East India Company refers to the following entities.
- British East India Company, founded in 1600•
Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602.
- Danish East India Company, founded in 1616, Portuguese East India Company, founded in 1628.
- French East India Company, founded in 1664.
- Swedish East India Company, founded in 1731.
The voyages at that time involved higher invest- ments, huge risks of piracy and shipwreck and there was a large fluctuation in not only the supply (of spices) but also demand (due to competition). There- fore, in Europe, even a single voyage was preceded by formation of a company, which was liquidated when the voyage was over and the shareholders shared the profits or losses as the case was. For the
first time, British East India Company was formed by bundling all the forces into monopoly enterprises. The Netherlands government took was a step ahead of their British Counterparts and gave all the powers to the company which were required to rule a colony just like a sovereign country.
DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY #
Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-In- dische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch) is considered to be the First Multinational Corporation of the World. It was also the first company to issue stock. It was the first company which was given power to engage itself in colonial activities including waging a war and execute the convicts, mint the coins and establish the colonies This company did wonders in India and Indonesia for 2 centuries but later the pompous acronym of VOC became Vergaan Onder Corruptie meaning “marred by the Corruption”.
The Dutch East India Company was created in 1602 as “United East India Company” and its first permanent trading post was in Indonesia. In India, they established the first factory in Masulipattanam in 1605, followed by Pulicat in 1610, Surat in 1616, Bimilipatam in 1641 and Chinsura in 1653. In Bengal they established a factory in Pipli, but it was abandoned.
The main objective of the Dutch remained aggressive in eliminating the Portuguese and Brit- ish merchandise powers from India and South East Asia, and they were successful in abandoning the Portuguese as most dominant power in the European Trade. When they established a factory in Pulicat, in 1610, it became their main center of activities. It was later known as Fort Geldria. While the Por- tuguese suffered because of the bad successors of Albuquerque and their severity and intolerance, the Dutch failed due to the rising English and French powers and their corruption. The Government of Netherlands also interfered a lot which ultimately caused the Dutch to get extinct from India. From 1638-1658, the Dutch were able to expel the Portu- guese from the Ceylon.
In 1641, they occupied Malacca. In 1652, they were able to capture the Cape of Good Hope.
The climax of the Dutch East India Company was in 1669, when it was the richest private com-
pany of the world with 150 merchant ships, 40 warships and 50 thousand employees and an army of 10 thousand soldiers. In India, the most important event was the Battle of Colachel in 1741, which was fought between the Dutch East India Company and State of Travancore army. This was a major defeat of a European power in India and marked beginning of the end of the Dutch Influence. Following the corruption and bankruptcy, the Dutch East India Company was formally dissolved in 1800. The Dutch influence from India had finished long ago but they were dominant in Indonesia.The government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies as a nationalized colony later which was more or less the within the boundaries of the modern Indonesia.
BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY #
The Initial British Ambassadors #
John Mildenhall #
In 1599, the first British John Mildenhall came to India via land route and styled himself as the ambassador of the East India Company. But he was actually sent by the company to sell its goods in the eastern Mediterranean. He deceived his hirers and fled to Persia; and from there he came to India where he was later arrested with the help of the Ajmer Governors, handed over to company people but later released. He again came to India later, reached the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar, and had discussions with him.
However, since John Mildenhall was not spon- sored by the east India Company, his achievement is considered low profile. William Hawkins later came in the court of Jahangir and declared all his dealings null and void.
John Mildenhall is the first Englishman whose burial is recorded in India at Agra. John Mildenhall was able to interview with the Mughal emperor Akbar.
John Company #
British East India Company is the oldest among all the similarly formed European East India Compa- nies. It was granted an English Royal Charter, under the name “Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies” by Queen
Elizabeth-I on 31 December 1600.
The original company had only 125 shareholders, and a capital of 68,373 Sterling, which was raised to 429,000 sterling when voyages were undertaken on the first joint-stock account. Thomas Smith was the first governor of the newly founded East India Company.
James Lancaster was the commander of the first Voyage of the East India Company which sailed from Torbay towards the end of April 1601. The name of the Ship was Red Dragon. The early voy- ages of the Company from 1600 to 1612 were the “separate voyages,” twelve in number. In these voy- ages the subscribers individually bore the expenses of each voyage, and reaped the whole profits. After 1612, the voyages were conducted on the joint-stock account.
It was a joint stock company and was known as John Company. The name “Company Bahadur” in India echoed its authority. When the company was founded the cradle of commercial activities had already been removed from Mediterranean to Atlantic by Vasco Da Gama. In 1603, Elizabeth I died and James I succeeded this last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland. During his time, William Hawkins was sent to the Court of Great Mughal Jahangir.
Thus, William Hawkins became the first Eng- lishman ever received by the Emperor of India as the official representative of the King of England. William Hawkins obtained first distinct acknowl- edgement of the rights of British Commerce in India.
William Hawkins #
In 1607, William Hawkins commanded the ship “Hector” for East India Company on a voyage to Surat and Aden loaded with letters & presents from King of England James I. He arrived in Surat in August 1608. As soon as Hector sailed in, it was captured by the Portuguese. William Hawkins was told that all the ports belong to the “King of Portugal” and none ought to come here without his license. However, he was later let leave and receive a pass for his journey to Agra. The Viceroy of the Burhanpur midway helped him and after much labor, toil and many dangers, he was able to reach Agra on April 16, 1609.
Akbar who was contemporary of queen Eliz- abeth-I was little known in England, but when Hawkins arrived, there was a different personality sitting on the throne who was not at all known in England. This new emperor Jahangir with all Indian hospitality and warmth received Captain Hawkins. His letter was read in the court with the help of a Portuguese Jesuit.
Hawkins was well versed in Turkish. Therefore, the discussions took place in Turkish. Hawkins was able to acquire a footing in the court of Jahangir and in due course of time. He was able to persuade the emperor to grant a commission for an English factory at Surat but under the Pressure of the Portuguese Viceroy, the grant was withdrawn. Hawkins lived in the court of Mughal emperor till 1611, tried to reverse the orders, but the Portuguese influence over the King was impregnable. He returned in disgust on November 2, 1611. He died a couple of years later.
Captain Middleton and the First English Factory at Surat (1611) #
When Henry Middleton entered India, there was an opposition from the Portuguese, but the British defeated the Portuguese in the Battle of Bombay in 1611. But he was able to get a permission from the local Mughal governors to open a factory in India, so in 1611 the first English Factory was established in Surat.
Sir Thomas Roe #
In January 1615, Sir Thomas Roe presented his credentials to the emperor Jahangir as the Ambas- sador of theKing of England.
This experienced, firm, courageous, combined with management skills and clever person, who lived as a resident of Agra till 1619, was able to swipe out the Portuguese Influence from the Mughals despite of some opposition from Prince Khurram and Nur Jahan.
Roe tried in vain to obtain a general “treaty” enshrining the articles from the King, but it was not appropriate time as the great Mughals were too ignorant for any such comparisons between Hindu- stan and any of the country of rest of the world. There could not be any terms of equality, but what he could go for the “Firmans” or Royal orders to
the local authorities sanctioning the English Trade at Surat at reasonable terms.
The English factory at Surat was set on a perma- nent basis with the Firman, officially recognized by the Emperor as well as the Prince-Governor Khur- ram. Now, the factory was set forth with a higher degree of reputation. Some subordinate factories were started. This was the beginning of the British stronghold in India.
We know about the Mughal Empire as seen by Sir Thomas Roe, from his work- titled as “Journal of the mission to the Mogul Empire”. It is a valuable contribution to the history of India in the early 17th century.
THE DUTCH, PORTUGUESE AND BRITISH RIVALARY IN 17TH CEN- TURY #
The Netherlands is considered the first European nation, which broke through the Portuguese monop- oly in the east. The Dutch got independence on 26 July 1581 through the Eighty Years’ War from the Spanish Empire. This Dutch war for independence closed the ports of Spain to the Dutch, and forced them into the direct trade with East Indies.
The war with Spain and the closing of Lisbon and Antwerp ports also compelled the English to enter directly into the Indian trade. During the entire 16th century, the ports of Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam became successively the great empori- ums where Indian produce, imported by the Portu- guese, was sold to Germany and even to England. In the beginning both Dutch and English, attempted to find their way to India by sailing around the northern coast of Europe and Asia.
Jan Huyghen van Linschoten was a Dutch mer- chant and traveller. He dwelt at Goa from 1583 to 1589 in the train of the Portuguese archbishop and copied the top secret Portuguese nautical maps and published them in 1595-1596. This narrative enabled the passage of the elusive East Indies to be opened to the English and the Dutch. This valuable guide was translated into English in 1598 and later in other languages. Jan Huyghen van Linschoten is credited for enabling the British East India Company as well as the Dutch East India company to break the 16th
century monopoly of the Portuguese in trade with the East Indies.
Cornelis de Houtman #
Cornelis de Houtman was the first Dutchman to travel the Cape of Good Hope and discover a new sea route from Europe to Indonesia. He reached Sumatra and Bantam in 1596.
In 1602 the private companies for trade with the East were all amalgamated by the Dutch Government into the Dutch East India Company. Within half century, the Dutch were able to establish factories on the continent, in Ceylon, in Sumatra, in the Persian Gulf, and in the Red Sea.
The first Dutch settlement in India was at Masulipattanam in 1605, followed by Pulicat, in 1610 about 20 miles north of Madras. The Dutch settled at Surat in 1616. In 1619, they laid the foun- dation of the city of Batavia, in Java, as the seat of the supreme government of the Dutch possessions in the East Indies, which had previously been at Amboyna in the Malaccas.
At about the same time the Dutch discovered the coast of Australia (1606-1644), while in North America they founded the city of New Amsterdam in 1613-1626, which later became New York.
Amboyna Tragedy #
In February, 1605 Steven van der Hagen, admiral of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), conquered the Portuguese fortress of Victoria at Amboyna, (present-day Maluku, Indonesia). The Dutch started taking over all the foreign trading interests at Victoria. They tried to obtain a local monopoly in the spice trade and tried to keep the other European factors out by use of force. This was strife for the British East India Company. The bitterness of the trading companies was turned into the bitterness between the James I of England and the Dutch States-General.
The two governments had signed a Treaty of Defense in London in 1619 which enshrined the cooperation between the two companies in East Indies. Accordingly, the market of spices was divided between the two in fixed proportions. Despite this treaty, the relations between the two companies remained tense. In 1623 one of the soldiers of Brit-
ish (who was Japanese) was caught spying which led to arrest of the British, their torture and a massacre by the officials of the Dutch East India Company. Out of the 20 men killed 10 were the servants of the British East India Company.
The result of this massacre was that British were forced to retire from the eastern archipelago and focus on continent of India.
This massacre changed the fate of India as well Indonesia. In Indonesia, Dutch remained a power for long but in India, the event indirectly led to the foun- dation of British Empire. In Indonesia, the Dutch ruled without a rival, and expelled the Portuguese from almost all their territorial possessions. Only relics of the Portuguese empire were left in Island of Timor.
Elimination of Portuguese #
In the 17th century, the Dutch also expelled the Portuguese from most parts of India. By 1647, they started trading on the Coromandel Coast. In 1652 they founded a colony at the Cape of Good Hope and in the same year built a factory at Palakollu. In 1658 they captured Jaffnapatam, which was the last stronghold of the Portuguese in Ceylon. Between 1661 and 1664 the Dutch wrested from the Portu- guese all their earlier settlements south of Goa on the pepper-bearing coast of Malabar. In 1669 they expelled the Portuguese from St. Thome in Madras.
Downfall of Dutch #
Despite of the outstanding progress in the Indies, the Dutch colonial empire fell shortly because of the shortsighted commercial policy which was deliberately based upon a monopoly of the trade in spices. The Dutch were given a death blow by Robert Clive when in 1759 he attacked the Dutch both by land and water at Chinsura on the Hugli River, near Kolkata.
INITIAL VENTURES OF EAST INDIA COMPANY #
After the first factory at Surat in 1612, they established its branch factory in Masulipattanam. The Amboyna Tragedy had driven them out of the eastern archipelago and now British were almost cut off from the lucrative spice trade of the Indonesia.
In 1625-1626 they established a factory at Armagaon near Madras on the Coromandal coast, subordinate to Masulipattanam. In 1628 Masulipat- tanam was, in consequence of the oppressions of the native governors, for a while abandoned in favour of Armagaon.
In 1632 under a grant, the “golden firman,” from the king of Golconda, the British obtained rights to trade in Golconda. In 1633, they establish a branch factory at Hariharpur, near Balasore in Orissa.
In 1634, by a firman dated February 2, the Company obtained from the Great Mogul, they got liberty to trade in Bengal, but their ships were to resort only to Pipli in Orissa. Around the same time, the Portuguese were expelled for a time from Bengal.
In 1638 the British abandoned the Armagaon as unsuited for commerce and next year i.e. in 1639 they founded Fort Saint George, or Madraspatnam or Chennapatam. The fort was completed on April 23, coinciding with St. George’s Day, celebrated in honour of St. George, the patron saint of England. The inhabitated area around it was called St. George Town.
Meanwhile in 1633-34, they had been able to create new establishment in Bantam in Java. The Saint Fort George was made subordinate to the Bantam establishment until 1653, when it was raised to the rank of a presidency. This site was purchased from the raja of Chandragiri, a descendant of the Vijayanagar dynasty and is known as first territorial possession of the English in India. Thus, Madras became the first presidency of East India Company.
The English factory at Hugli in Bengal was established in 1650. Due to the services provided by one Gabriel Boughton, surgeon of the Hopewell to the Mughal Governor, the company got some better terms to trade such as payment of fixed terms. In 1655, the east India Company established a factory at Kasimbazar adjacent to Murshidabad. The estab- lishments in Bengal were made subordinate to Fort Saint George or Madras.
In 1661, Bombay was given to the British crown as part of the dowry of Catharine Braganza to Prince Charles II of England. However it was not delivered till 1665. In 1664 when Surat was raided by the
Maratha swarms under Shivaji, George Oxenden defended the English factory. The Mughals granted them exemption from the customs for 1 year for this “brave act”. In 1665, Bombay was transferred to East India Company for an annual payment of 10 Pounds to the government.
In 1667 Mughal Emperor gave them a Firman to carry out trade in Bengal. In the same year 1687, the headquarters of the British East India Company was replaced from Surat to Bombay.
Till 1681, the Company’s commercial interests in Bengal were managed from Fort St George in Madras, more than 800 miles down the coast. For a number of reasons, this arrangement was proving inadequate. Business in Bengal was expanding steadily, but at the same time the Company’s interests were increasingly under threat from native rulers and rival companies. There were rumblings against the management in Madras and accusations of dishonesty against the Company’s own officials.
In 1681, Sir William Hedges came to Hugli as agent and governor of the Company’s affairs in the Bay of Bengal,” and of the factories subordinate to it, at Kasimbazar, Patna, Balasore, Maldah, and Dhaka. He separated the Company’s affairs in Ben- gal from Madras. But in 1684, the tenure of Hedges ended and Bengal reverted to the control of Madras until 1700, when it finally became an independent presidency. In 1686, the factory at Kasim Bazar and some other factories were confiscated by the Nawab Shaista Khan who presumed upon his relationships with the Mughals to act as a sovereign.
The agent of the company was forced to quit Hugli and retire to Sutnati, which was the site of Kolkata. The company had to abandon the factories in Bengal. The officers sailed down to Balasore on Orissa coast. 4 years later the company made terms with the Mughals and secured an imperial firman renewing all their rights of trade. However, this time, instead of Hugli, they established Com- pany’s “Capital” at Sutnati, where he had tarried in 1686, and on August 24, 1690, Job Charnock, an administrator with the Company founded the City of Calcutta as new capital of the English in Bengal. Job Charnock, after a labor and toil of two more years died but his work of foundation of India’s largest Metro was done. Job Charnock placed the English
interests upon a secure foundation and prospered continuously from that time onwards.
Now the foundation of Calcutta as a fortified factory of the Company gave the British an oppor- tunity to closely study the political, social and eco- nomic condition of the country. They could make out from the wars of the Aurangzeb in Deccan and frequent raids of Marathas that the disintegration of the Mughal Empire is close. To guard against the “Political Risks” of the business, the East India Company had to take measures to consolidate its interests in places, which could be fortified to advan- tage, and which should be fully accessible to the Company’s ships at all times. The first right decision was the determination of location of Calcutta and second was already done, the foundation of Madras.
However, the growing powers of Marathas became a headache for the company. Surat was open to constant raids by the Marathas and was beyond the protection of the guns of the Company’s ships, and the other factories were no better placed, while Bombay was not safe from Mogul and Maratha fleets.
Sir George Oxenden, who had been president at Surat since 1662 and defended the factory from the Maratha raids became the First Governor of Bombay on its acquisition by the Company in 1668 with power to nominate a deputy-governor to reside on the island, but he was placed under the control of the president and council of Surat.
English officers and privates were invited to enter the company’s service, and thus the first mil- itary establishment of the East India Company at Bombay was created. On 14 July 1669 Oxenden died at Surat and he was succeeded by Gerald Aungier, the second Governor of Bombay. Gerald Aungier laid the foundations of Bombay’s importance. He took possession of Colaba and Old Woman’s Island from the Portuguese and thus completing the transfer of power to the British.
In his time, the first mint was started at Bombay and also first printing press was set up in Bombay which was imported. He died in 1677 and was followed by John Child, who assumed the duties of governor and general in October 1681. However,
John Child never had the official title of gover- nor-general.
THE FRENCH EAST INDIA COMPANY #
Among the Dutch, Danish, Portuguese and French, the French East India Company was the last to be formed. Jean- Baptiste Colbert founded the French East India Company in 1664. The ini- tial attempts of the company to found a successful colony on Madagascar, got failed. In 1667, under Francis Caron, the company established first fac- tory at Surat and second factory was established at Masulipattanam a year later. In 1674, the François Martin of French East India Company established a trading center at Pondicherry, which eventually became the chief French settlement in India. The Dutch captured Pondicherry in 1693 but returned it to France later. The French acquired Mahe in the 1720s, Yanam in 1731, and Karaikal in 1738. They also established a factory at Chandranagar in Bengal. A new factory in 1688 was established at Chinsura but want of support from France brought the Company’s affairs in India to low ebb and the French East India Company felt obliged to cede its right of monopoly to some enterprising merchants of Saint-Malo.
In February, 1701, Pondicherry was made the capital of the French settlements in India, and François Martin was appointed president of the supe- rior council and director general of French affairs in India. Martin died December 30, 1706 and this followed a series of the successors. Till 1720, the factories at Surat, Masulipattanam and Bantam had to be abandoned because of the adverse conditions back at home. In 1741, Joseph François Dupleix began to cherish the ambition of a French Empire in India but could not sell the idea to his superiors. The series of skirmishes began in India when the conflict of the British and French started. In 1744 Robert Clive arrived in India. This British Officer ruined the hopes of Dupleix to create a French Colonial India. In 1761, Pondicherry was captured by the British and since then the French colonies in India have been unimportant.
