THE DUTCH (NETHERLAND/HOLLAND) - HISTORY

THE DUTCH: (NETHERLAND/HOLLAND) 

As the Portuguese power wavered in the aftermath of the Spanish union, the Dutch took over from them. 

• The Dutch came to India for trade. 
• They were innovative people in business as well as in shipping techniques.
• They had designed the fluitship (the Fluyt) which was much lighter and required a smaller crew, thus reducing its operating costs.
• These ships proved to be superior to the bulkier and slower Portuguese ships eventually.

The Dutch (Netherland/ Holland):

(A.) Cornelius de Houtman (1596):

• He was the first Dutch traveler to reach India. 

(B.) Dutch East India Company (1602):

• 1606: First Dutch factory was established at Muslipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
• The second factory was set up at Pettopoli (Nizampatam)

• 1610: The Dutch signed a treaty with the kings of Chandragiri & established their headquarters at Pulicat. Here they minted their gold coins called - 'pagoda'.

• 1623: Amboyna massacre took place in Indonesia where the Dutch killed 10 Englishmen & 9 Japanese.

• 1690: The Dutch headquarters were transferred from Pulicat to Nagapattinam.

• 1759: 'Battle of Bedara (Bengal)'- The Dutch were defeated by the English & ending the Dutch power in India.

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THE PORTUGUESE - HISTORY

THE PORTUGUESE 

 The Portuguese were the first ones to arrive on the Indian scene. The reason for the arrival of the Portuguese in India were both economic as well as religious.

They had to come to seek spices especially pepper as well as to destroy the monopoly of the Arabs & Italians over the trade of the East.

They also wished to spread Christianity in Asia & Africa and restrict the increasing influence of Arabs & Turks.

Prior to the Portuguese, trade-in the Indian Ocean was a monopoly of Arab merchants. But within 15 years of their arrival, the Portuguese completely destroyed Arab trade & established their control over Eastern trade which lasted nearly a century.

The Portuguese:

  

(1.) Prince Henry the Navigator:

• He was a key figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire & in the 15th century European maritime discoveries & expansion.
• He is remembered more like a great patron & sponsor of voyages than as a sailor.

(2.) Bartholomew Diaz (1487)

• He reached the southernmost tip of Africa (which he named Cape of Storms) and became the first known European to reach the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic.
• The Portuguese later renamed the cape as - 'Cape of Good Hope'.

(3.) Vasco da Gama (1498)

• He headed the First Portuguese India Armada.
• He sailed from the Cape of Good Hope & continued to India, reaching Calicut (Kozhikode).
• He thus discovered a new sea route from Europe to India & became the first European to reach India by sea.
• He was piloted by a Gujarati named Abdul Majid.
• He led two Portuguese India Armadas, the first & the fourth.
• He was sent under the patronage of King Manuel I of Portugal.
• He returned with a cargo that sold for 60 times the cost of his voyage.

(4.) Pedro Alvarez Cabral (1500)

• Cabral ran into a conflict with the local Arab Merchants.

(5.) Vasco da Gama (1502)

• 1503: First Portuguese factory was set up at Cochin (Kochi).
• 1505: The second factory was set up at Cannanore (or Kannur).

Portuguese State of India (1503 - 04)

(6.) Francisco De Almeida (1505 - 09)

• First Portuguese Viceroy of India.
• He adopted the 'Bluewater Policy' aimed at establishing naval supremacy of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean.
• He is credited with the construction of Fort Anjediva.
• 1508:Battle of Diu- Almeida defeated the joint Muslim naval force (Gujarat Sultanate & Mameluk Egyptian fleet).

(7.) Alfonzo-De-Albuquerque (1509 - 15)

• Known as 'real founder of Portuguese power' in India.
• he set up his headquarter at Cochin.
• 1509: Conquered Cochin.
• 1510: Conquered Diu.
• 1510: Conquered Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur.
• he encouraged his countrymen to marry Indian women & propagate Christianity.
• He abolished Sati in the region under his control.

(8.) Nino de Cunha (1529 - 38)

• 1530: He transferred the government head office from Cochin to Goa.

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THE MARATHAS - HISTORY

THE MARATHAS 

The Marathas Kingdom was constituted in the 17th century in western Deccan.

In the 18th century, it became the nucleus of the much wider Maratha swarajya (sovereign state). The Marathas were the most significant of all the regional powers. The first part of the 18th century saw the decline of the Mughals, last part saw the rise of British & the middle part saw the swaying political fortunes of the Marathas, the lone Indian power strong enough to offer an alternative to the Mughal Rule.

After the Mughals retreated from the Deccan, the Marathas grew as a confederacy of military leaders called - Maratha Sardar.

• Originally, the Marathas Sardars only held temporary assignments of land revenue.
• But, in practice, the landed to become hereditary once they established themselves.
• But, the Marathas Sardars lacked unity & vision for founding an all India Empire. However, the successfully waged continuous struggle against the Mughals until they were destroyed.

The glance of Marathas Kingdom:

 

(A.) Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath (1713 - 20):

• Known as "the second founder of the Maratha State".
• He supported Shahu against Tara Bai in the Maratha Civil war; in return, Shahu appointed him as his Peshwa (Prime Minister).
• He launched the period of Peshwa domination during which the Maratha State transformed into an Empire.
• 1719: Balaji helped the Sayyid brothers remove Farrukhsiyar.
• As a reward, he secured the Mughal Sanad of 1719, known as the "Magna Carta of the Maratha dominion". The Maratha king became the Sardeshmukh of the entire Deccan & Karanataka.
• He laid the foundation of the Maratha Confederacy.

(B.) Peshwa Baji Rao II (1720 - 40):

• Known as 'Fighting Peshwa'.
• He sermonized the idea of "Hindu padpadshahi".
• 1773: defeated the Sidis of Janjira Island.

(C.) Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao II (1740 - 61):

• Know as "Nana Sahib".
• It was his reign that Raja Ram executed the Sangola Agreement (also known as Constitutional revolution of 1750) which transferred the supreme power from the Chhatrapati --> Peshwa.
• Maratha power reached its terrestrial zenith.
• 1761: Third Battle of Panipat- defeated by Abdali.
• The Marathas fought under the nominal command of his son Vishwas Rao, but the actual command was in hands of Peshwa's cousin Sadashiv Rao Bhau.
• Maratha army had a contingent of European style infantry & artillery commanded by Ibrahim Khan Gardi.

(D.) Peshwa Madhav Rao (1761 - 72):

• He restored the lost fortunes of the Maratha Empire, a phenomenon known as - Maratha Resurrection, with the help of his able minister, Nana Phadnavis.
• 1771: the Maratha re-installed Emperor Shah Alam to Delhi.

(E.) Narayan Rao (1772 - 73):

• He succumbed to the intrigues of his uncle, Raghu Nath Rao.

(F.) Raghu Nath Rao (1773 - 74):

• He was deposed by Nana Phadnis & 11 other administrations (Baarbhai) in what is known as - 'the Baarbhai Conspiracy'.
• Baarbhai included influential Sardars Mahadji Shinde & Tukojirao Holkar.

(G.) Sawai Madhav (1774 - 95):

• His succession frustrated Raghunath Rao who now went over to British & tried to capture with their help, resulting in the First Anglo-Marath War.
• Taking advantage of the weakening of central authority, the big Maratha Sardars carved out semi-independent States: Holkar (Indore), Scindia (Gwalior), Gaekwad (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur).
• 1795: Sawai Madhav Rao committed suicide.

(H.) Peshwa Baji Rao II (1796 - 1818):

• 1803 - 05: Second Anglo-Maratha War- Maratha defeated.
• 1817 - 18: Third Anglo-Maratha War- Maratha defeated.
• The seat of Peshwa was extinguished.
• 1818: Peshwa was dethroned by East India Company (EIC) & pensioned off and ordered to spend his last days in Bithoor near Kanpur.

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RISE OF AUTONOMOUS STATE - HISTORY

RISE OF AUTONOMOUS STATE 

HYDERABAD, CARNATIC, BENGAL, AWADH.

After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the second major theme of the 18th-century Indian polity was the rise of an autonomous state. It signified a decentralization of power and not a power vacuum or political chaos.

From the debris of the Mughal Empire arose a large number of autonomous & semi-autonomous States which the British had to overcome before emerging supreme in India.

• Broadly three kinds of States arose:

Glimpse Capsule:- 

Successor States: Hyderabad, Carnatic, Bengal, Awadh.

Regional Powers	Nawabs	Important Events
Hyderabad (1724)	Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah (1724 - 48)	1713: Chin Qilich Khan was made Viceroy of the Deccan by Emperor Farrukhsiyar & given the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk. 1720: He assisted Mohammed Shah in killing the Sayyid brothers. 1722: He appointed wazir in the court of  Mohammad Shah. 1724: He founded the independent state of Hyderabad in the Deccan. He founded the Asaf Jah dynasty. His successor came to be known as Nizams of Hyderabad.
Carnatic (Early 18th century)	Nawab Saadatullah Kha (1724 - 48)	He appointed his nephew Dost Ali as his successor. 1740: Marathas invaded the Carnatic, killed Nawab Dost Ali & took his Son-in-Law Chanda Sahib as a prisoner at Satara.
Bengal (1717)	Murshid Quli Khan (1717 - 27)	1717: He became the first hold of the two offices of Nizam & Diwan of Bengal.  Using this opportunity, he now declared himself = Nawab of Bengal. He shifted the capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad. He replaced the Mughal Jagirdari System with the system of Revenue Farming/Ijara/Malzamini system. His reign saw the rise of the new Elite classes i.e. Zamindari & Bankers. E.g. The House of the Jagat Seth.
	Alivardi Khan (1740 - 56)	He killed Sarfaraz Khan in the battle of Gheria & became Nawab. During his reign, payment of annual tribute to the emperor stopped. He agreed to pay Chauth & ceded Orissa to the Maratha. He faced challenges from the Afgan General, Mustafa Khan.
	Siraj-ud-Daulah (1756 - 57)	He was defeated by the East India Company (EIC) in the Battle of Plassey (1857).
Awadh (1722)	Saadat Khan (1722- 39)	He subdued the rebellions zamindars of Awadh & was given the title Burhan-ul-Mulk by the emperor. He got his nephew and Son-in-law Safdar Jung recognized by the emperor as his deputy governor & made the province a hereditary possession. 1729: He was taken prisoner by Nadir Shah in the Battle of Karnal.
	Safdar Jung (1754- 75)	He and his successors popularly came to known as Nawab Wazirs.
	Shuja-ud-Daula (1754- 75)	1761: He joined Abdali against the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat. 1764: He was defeated by the East India Company (IEC) in the Battle of Buxar.
	Asaf-ud-Daula (1775- 97)	He shifted the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow. He concentrated his energies in cultural pursuits, giving rise to a distinct Lucknow culture. He also built the famous monument- Bara Imambara.

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