Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
T
1492.
he prehistory of the Americas (North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean) begins with
people migrating to these areas from Asia during the height of an Ice Age. These groups are
generally believed to have been isolated from peoples of the "Old World" until the coming of
Europeans in the 10th century from Norway and with the Voyages of Christopher Columbus in
The ancestors of today's American Indigenous peoples were the Paleo-Indians; they were huntergatherers who migrated into North America. The most popular theory asserts that migrants came to the
Americas via the Bering Land Bridge, Beringia, the land mass now covered by the cold ocean waters in
the Bering Strait. Small lithic stage peoples followed megafauna like bison, mammoth (now extinct), and
caribou, thus gaining the modern nickname "big-game hunters." Groups of people may also have traveled
into North America on shelf or sheet ice along the northern Pacific coast.
Cultural traits brought by the first immigrants later evolved and spawned such cultures as Iroquois
on North America and Pirah of South America. These cultures later developed into civilizations. In many
cases, these cultures expanded at a later date than their Old World counterparts. Cultures that may be
considered advanced or civilized include: Norte Chico, Cahokia, Zapotec, Toltec, Olmec, Maya, Aztec,
Purepecha, Chimor, Mixtec, Moche, Mississippian, Puebloan, Totonac, Teotihuacan, Huastec people,
Purpecha, Izapa, Mazatec, Muisca, and the Inca.
After the voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Spanish, Portuguese and later English,
French and Dutch colonial expeditions arrived in the New World, conquering and settling the discovered
lands, which led to a transformation of the cultural and physical landscape in the Americas. Spain
colonized most of the American continent from present-day Southwestern United States, Florida and the
Caribbean to the southern tip of South America. Portugal settled in what is mostly present-day Brazil while
England established colonies in the Eastern coast of the United States, as well as the North Pacific coast
and most of Canada. France settled in Quebec and other parts of Eastern Canada and claimed an area in
what is today Central United States. The Netherlands settled some Caribbean islands and parts of
Northern South America.
European colonization of the Americas led to the rise of new cultures, civilizations and eventually
states, which resulted from the fusion of Native American and European traditions, peoples and
institutions. The transformation of American cultures through colonization is evident in architecture,
religion, gastronomy, the arts and particularly languages, the most widespread being Spanish (376 million
speakers), English (348 million) and Portuguese (201 million). The colonial period lasted approximately
three centuries, from the early 16th to the early 19th centuries, when Brazil and the larger Hispanic
American nations declared independence. The United States obtained independence from England much
earlier, in 1776, while Canada formed a federal dominion in 1867. Others remained attached to their
European parent state until the end of the 19th century, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico which were linked
to Spain until 1898. Smaller territories such as Guyana obtained independence in the mid-20th century,
while certain Caribbean islands remain part of a European power to this day.
[11]
Pre-colonization
Migration into the continents
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates
and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that
these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska
around 40,000 17,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary
glaciation. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along
ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route
proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific Northwest coast to
South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of a hundred
meters following the last ice age.
Archaeologists contend that the Paleo-Indian migration out of Beringia (eastern Alaska), ranges
from 40,000 to around 16,500 years ago. This time range is a hot source of debate. The few agreements
achieved to date are the origin from Central Asia, with widespread habitation of the Americas during the
end of the last glacial period, or more specifically what is known as the late glacial maximum, around
16,000 13,000 years before present.
The American Journal of Human Genetics released an article in 2007 stating "Here we show, by
using 86 complete mitochondrial genomes, that all Indigenous American haplogroups, including
Haplogroup X (mtDNA), were part of a single founding population." Amerindian groups in the Bering Strait
region exhibit perhaps the strongest DNA or mitochondrial DNA relations to Siberian peoples. The genetic
diversity of Amerindian indigenous groups increase with distance from the assumed entry point into the
Americas. Certain genetic diversity patterns from West to East suggest, particularly in South America, that
migration proceeded first down the west coast, and then proceeded eastward. Geneticists have variously
estimated that peoples of Asia and the Americas were part of the same population from 42,000 to 21,000
years ago.
New studies shed light on the founding population of indigenous Americans, suggesting that their
ancestry traced to both east Asian and western Eurasians who migrated to North America directly from
Siberia. A 2013 study in the journal Nature reported that DNA found in the 24,000-year-old remains of a
young Boy in Malta Siberia suggest that up to one-third of the indigenous Americans may have ancestry
that can be traced back to western Eurasians, who may have "had a more north-easterly distribution
24,000 years ago than commonly thought" Professor Kelly Graf said that "Our findings are significant at
two levels. First, it shows that Upper Paleolithic Siberians came from a cosmopolitan population of early
modern humans that spread out of Africa to Europe and Central and South Asia. Second, Paleoindian
skeletons with phenotypic traits atypical of modern-day Native Americans can be explained as having a
direct historical connection to Upper Paleolithic Siberia." A route through Beringia is seen as more likely
than the Solutrean hypothesis.
On October 3, 2014, the Oregon cave, where the oldest DNA evidence of human habitation in
North America was found, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The DNA, radiocarbon
dated to 14,300 years ago, was found in fossilized human coprolites uncovered in the Paisley Five Mile
Point Caves in south-central Oregon.
Mesoamerica, the Woodland Period, and Mississippian Culture (2000 BCE 500
CE)
After the decline of the Norte Chico civilization, several large, centralized civilizations developed
in the Western Hemisphere: Chavin, Nazca, Moche, Huari, Quitus, Caaris, Chimu, Pachacamac,
Tiahuanaco, Aymara and Inca in the Central Andes (Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia); Muisca in Colombia ;
Tanos in Dominican Republic (Hispaniola, Espaola) and part of Caribbean; and the Olmecs, Maya,
Toltecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Aztecs and Purepecha in southern North America (Mexico, Guatemala).
The Olmec civilization was the first Mesoamerican civilization, beginning around 1600-1400 BC
and ending around 400 BC. Mesoamerica is considered one of the six sites around the globe in which
civilization developed independently and indigenously. This civilization is considered the mother culture of
the Mesoamerican civilizations. The Mesoamerican calendar, numeral system, writing, and much of the
Mesoamerican pantheon seem to have begun with the Olmec.
Some elements of agriculture seem to have been practiced in Mesoamerica quite early. The
domestication of maize is thought to have begun around 7,500 to 12,000 years ago. The earliest record of
lowland maize cultivation dates to around 5100 BC. Agriculture continued to be mixed with a huntinggathering-fishing lifestyle until quite late compared to other regions, but by 2700 BC, Mesoamericans were
relying on maize, and living mostly in villages. Temple mounds and classes started to appear. By 1300/
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Mexica (Aztecs) generically applied to a wide range of seminomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico, and carried the same sense as the
European term "barbarian". The name was adopted with a pejorative tone by the Spaniards when referring
especially to the semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples of northern Mexico.
Zapotec
The Zapotec emerged around 1500 years BCE. Their writing system influenced the later Olmec.
They left behind the great city Monte Alban.
Olmec
The Olmec civilization emerged around 1200 BCE in Mesoamerica and ended around 400 BCE.
Olmec art and concepts influenced surrounding cultures after their downfall. This civilization was thought
to be the first in America to develop a writing system. After the Olmecs abandoned their cities for unknown
reasons, the Maya, Zapotec and Teotihuacan arose.
Purepecha
The Purepecha civilization emerged around 1000 CE in Mesoamerica . They flourished from 1100
Maya
Maya history spans 3,000 years. The Classic Maya may have collapsed due to changing climate
in the end of the 10th century.
Toltec
The Toltec were a nomadic people, dating from the 10th - 12th century, whose language was also
spoken by the Aztecs.
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (4th century BCE - 7/8th century CE) was both a city, and an empire of the same
name, which, at its zenith between 150 and the 5th century, covered most of Mesoamerica.
Aztec
The Aztec having started to build their empire around 14th century found their civilization abruptly
ended by the Spanish conquistadors. They lived in Mesoamerica, and surrounding lands. Their capital city
Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities of all time.
South America
Norte Chico
The oldest known civilization of the Americas was established in the Norte Chico region of
modern Peru. Complex society emerged in the group of coastal valleys, between 3000 and 1800 BCE.
The Quipu, a distinctive recording device among Andean civilizations, apparently dates from the era of
Norte Chico's prominence.
Chavn
The Chavn established a trade network and developed agriculture by as early as (or late
compared to the Old World) 900 BCE according to some estimates and archaeological finds. Artifacts were
found at a site called Chavn in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters. Chavn civilization spanned
from 900 BCE to 300 BCE.
Inca
Holding their capital at the great city of Cusco, the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region
from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tahuantinsuyu, or "the land of the four regions", in Quechua, the Inca
culture was highly distinct and developed. Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework,
constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming was a useful form of agriculture. There
is evidence of excellent metalwork and even successful trepanation of the skull in Inca civilization.
European colonization
Amerigo Vespucci awakens "America" in a Stradanus's engraving (circa 1638)
Non-Native American nations' claims over North America, 17502008.
Political evolution of Central America and the Caribbean since 1700.
European nations control over South America, 1700 to present
Around 1000, the Vikings established a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland, now known as
Colonial period
15th to 19th century colonies in the New World:
Spanish Main
New Netherland
New France
Decolonization
The formation of sovereign states in the New World begins with the United States Declaration of
Independence of 1776. The American Revolutionary War lasted until 1783.
The Spanish colonies won their independence in the first quarter of the 19th century, in the
Spanish American wars of independence. Simn Bolvar and Jos de San Martn, among others, led their
independence struggle. Although Bolivar attempted to keep the Spanish-speaking parts of the continent
politically allied, they rapidly became independent of one another as well, and several further wars were
fought, such as the Paraguayan War and the War of the Pacific. (See Latin American integration.) In the
Portuguese colony Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese king Dom Joo VI,
proclaimed the country's independence in 1822 and became Brazil's first Emperor. This was peacefully
accepted by the crown in Portugal, upon compensation.
Effects of slavery
Further information: Slavery in the Spanish New World colonies, Slavery in the British and French
Caribbean, History of slavery in Brazil, Slavery in Canada, and History of slavery in the United States
Slavery has had a significant role in the economic development the New World after the
colonization of the Americas by the Europeans. The cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane harvested by slaves
became important exports for the United States and the Caribbean countries.
When the British staked their claim to the east coast of the modern United States, they could not
have dreamed of the complexity of the peoples they were soon to encounter.
There are between 140 and 160 differentAMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES. There is no single Native
American language. It would be as difficult for the Mohawk Indians of the East to converse with Zuni
Indians of the West as it would be for Germans to converse with Turks.
Before Europeans arrived in North America, Native peoples inhabited every region. This map
shows Native American tribes, culture areas, and linguistic stocks.
Twenty-seven states derive names from Indian languages. Native Americans turned wild plants
such as corn, potatoes, pumpkin, yams, and lima beans into farm crops for human consumption. More
than half of modern American farm products were grown by Native Americans before British colonization.
Medicine was not an unknown science in the Western Hemisphere. Most natural herbs used for
medicinal purposes in the modern world had also been used by Native Americans before European
contact. Archaeologists have learned that North American Indians made salt by evaporation and mined a
great many minerals including copper, lead, and coal.
Despite myths to the contrary, not all Native Americans were peaceful. Like Europe, the
American continent faced tribal warfare that sometimes led to human and cultural destruction.
In short, there is no simple way to tell the tale of a continent that had been peopled by diverse
communities for thousands of years. Their tales are as complex as any others, their cultures as rich, their
knowledge as deep. British contact did not mark the replacement of established cultures by a better way
of life, but rather the beginning of a new civilization based on a blend of diverse folkways.
An examination of three groups Anasazi, Iroquois, and Algonkian serves as a beginning
to learning about the American world that once was.
[17]
Since 1492, European explorers and settlers have tended to ignore the vast diversity of the
people who had previously lived here. It soon became common to lump all such groups under the term
Indian. In the modern American world, we still do. There are certain experiences common to the
survivors of these tribes. They all have had their lands compromised in some way and suffered the
horrors of reservation life.
Language Lessons
Stereotyping Indians in this way denies the vast cultural differences between tribes. First, there
is the issue of language. The Navajo people of the Southwest and the Cherokees of the Southeast have
totally unrelated languages.
There were over 200 North American tribes speaking over 200 different languages. The United
States used the uniqueness of the Navajo language to its advantage in World War II. Rather than
encrypting radio messages, it proved simpler to use Navajos to speak to each other in their everyday
language to convey high-security messages. It worked.
NAVAJO PRONUNCIATION
LITERAL TRANSLATION
ALASKA
BEH-HGA
WITH WINTER
AMERICA
NE-HE-MAH
OUR MOTHER
BOMBER PLANE
JAY-SHO
BUZZARD
BOMB
A-YE-SH
EGGS
BOOBY TRAP
DINEH-BA-WHOA-BLEHI
MAN TRAP
GERMANY
BESH-BE-CHA-HE
IRON HAT
PLATOON
HAS-CLISH-NIH
MUD
FIGHTER PLANE
DA-HE-TIH-HI
HUMMING BIRD
MINUTE
AH-KHAY-EL-KIT-YAZZIE
LITTLE HOUR
PROBLEM
NA-NISH-TSOH
PYROTECHNIC
COH-NA-CHANH
FANCY FIRE
ROUTE
GAH-BIH-TKEEN
RABBIT TRAIL
SPAIN
DEBA-DE-NIH
SHEEP PAIN
TANK DESTROYER
CHAY-DA-GAHI-NAIL-TSAIDI
TORTOISE KILLER
[18]
excerpted from the Navajo Code Talkers Dictionary (revised as of June 15, 1945), Department of the Navy
It is important that students of history explore tribal nuances. Within every continent, there is
tremendous diversity. The tribal differences that caused the Apache and Navajo peoples to fight each
other are not so different from the reasons Germans fought the French. Recognizing tribal diversity is an
important step in understanding the history of America.
In the centuries that led to the year 1000, Europe was emerging from chaos. Tribes roamed the
countryside evoking fear from luckless peasants. The grandeur that was Rome had long passed. Across
the Atlantic, the North American continent was also inhabited by tribes. The ANASAZI managed to build
glorious cities in the cliffs of the modern Southwest. Their rise and fall mark one of the greatest stories of
pre-Columbian American history.
[19]
Anasazi means ancient outsiders. Like many peoples during the agricultural era, the Anasazi
employed a wide variety of means to grow high-yield crops in areas of low rainfall. Their baskets and
pottery are highly admired by collectors and are still produced by their descendants for trade. It is their
cliff dwellings, however, that captivate the modern archeologist, historian, and tourist.
The famed CLIFF DWELLINGSwere built into the mountainsides with but one exit for the sake
of defense. With the exception of hunting and growing food, all aspects of living could be performed within
the dwelling. Deep pits were periodically dug within the living quarters. These pits, called KIVAS, served
as religious temples for the ancient Anasazi. Sleeping areas were built into the sides of the cliffs. Even
water could be gathered between the porous cracks in the walls all by clever design, of course.
Historians can only theorize why the Anasazi civilization declined. One explanation is attack by
hostile tribes. Others believe the resources of the area were becoming exhausted.
The durability of their structures has proven remarkable. Think of how our contemporary
structures fall into utter disrepair without constant maintenance. The cliff dwellings have endured over
eight hundred years of exposure to the elements and still stand proud. Modern day visitors can marvel at
Anasazi accomplishments at MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK or CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL
PARK, to name a few.
When the British set foot on the North American continent at Jamestown, they encountered the
Powhatan Indians. The Pequots and Narragansetts lived in New England as the Pilgrims and Puritans
established a new home. William Penn encountered the Leni Lenape natives while settling Penn s
Woods.
The Algonkians relied as much on hunting and fishing for food as working the land. These tribes
used canoes to travel the inland waterways. The BOW AND ARROW brought small and large game, and
the SPEAR generated ample supplies of fish for the Algonkian peoples. Corn and SQUASH were a few of
the CROPS that were cultivated all along the eastern seaboard.
Misunderstandings
As the first group to encounter the English, the Algonkians became the first to illustrate the deep
cultural misunderstandings between British settlers and Native Americans. British Americans thought
Algonquian women were oppressed because of their work in the fields. Algonkian men laughed at the
British men who farmed traditionally work reserved for females. Hunting was a sport in England, so
British settlers thought the Algonkian hunters to be unproductive.
The greatest misunderstanding was that of land ownership. In the minds of the Algonkians
selling land was like selling air. Eventually this confusion would lead to armed conflict.
[21]
[22]
Although the tribes began to work together, they surely did not renounce war. They fought and
captured other native tribes as well as wave after wave of European immigrants who presented
themselves. They fought the early French and British settlers. During the French and Indian War they
remained officially neutral, but would join either side to exploit an advantage. Both sides courted Iroquois
support during the Revolution. As a result, there was a split in the CONFEDERACY for the first time in
over 200 years. Iroquois fought Iroquois once more.
Iroquois Society
The LONGHOUSE was the center of Iroquois life. Archaeologists have unearthed longhouse
remains that extend more than the length of a football field.
Agriculture was the main source of food. In Iroquois society, women held a special role. Believed
to be linked to the earth s power to create life, women determined how the food would be distributed a
considerable power in a farming society.
Women were also responsible for selecting the sachems for the Confederacy. Iroquois society
was MATRILINEAL; when a marriage transpired, the family moved into the longhouse of the mother, and
FAMILY LINEAGE was traced from her.
The Iroquois society proved to be the most persistent military threat the European settlers would
face. Although conquest and treaty forced them to cede much of their land, their legacy lingers. Some
historians even attribute some aspects of the structure of our own Constitution to Iroquois ideas. In fact,
one of America s greatest admirers of the Iroquois was none other than Benjamin Franklin.
US History/Pre-Columbian
Human civilization in the Americas probably began in the last ice age, when prehistoric hunters
crossed a land bridge between the Asian and North American continents. Civilizations in North America,
Central America, and South America had different levels of complexity, technology, and cohesiveness.
Some of the most powerful and organized societies occurred in South and Central America.
These cultures developed writing, allowing them to spread and dominate. They created some of the
largest cities in the Ancient world.
North American cultures were more fragmented and less unified. The tribe was often the major
social unit, with exchanges between tribes creating similar societies over vast distances. Tribal dwellings
as large as European towns flourished in the rugged desert of southwestern North America.
European-descended historians have difficulty referring to these cultures as a whole, as the
native people did not have a unified name for themselves. At first, Europeans called natives Indians.
This term came from the belief by Christopher Columbus that he had discovered a new passage to India.
Despite Amerigo Vespucci ascertaining that the Americas were not actually India, Indian continued to be
used as the de facto name for native inhabitants until around 1960. Starting in the 1960s, the term
Native American was used. Yet this term may be too vague: isn t anyone born in America a Native
American? There is also American Indian. This is too general a term for a group having little in common
other than skin tone and non-European language. In Canada, the term First People is used. All these
terms for the native people of America show just how diverse Pre-Columbian America was and the
disagreement continues between scholars today about this period.
Contents
1 Early Inhabitants of the Americas
The Clovis people are one of North America s earliest civilizations. It is not clear if the finds
represent one unified tribe, or many tribes with a common technology and belief. Their trek across 2000
rugged miles is one of the great feats of pre-history. Their culture disappears dramatically from the
archaeological record 12,900 years ago, with widespread speculation about what caused their
disappearance. Theories range from the extinction of the mammoth, to sudden environmental changes
caused by a comet hitting the earth, to flooding caused by the break of a massive freshwater lake, Lake
Agassiz.
There is controversy about Pre-Clovis settlement of North and South America. Comparisons of
culture and linguistics offer evidence of the influence of early America by several different contemporary
cultures. Some genetic and time-dating studies point to the possibility that ancient Americans came from
other places and arrived earlier than at the Clovis sites in North America. Perhaps some ancient settlers
to the hemisphere traveled by boat along the seashore, or arrived by boats from the Polynesian islands.
As time went on, many of these first settlers settled down into agricultural societies, complete
with domesticated animals. Groups of people formed stable tribes and developed distinct languages of
their own, to the point that more distant relatives could no longer understand them. Comparative
linguistics -- the study of languages of different tribes -- shows fascinating diversity, with similarities
between tribes hundreds of miles apart, yet startling differences with neighboring groups.
At times, tribes would gain regional importance and dominate large areas of America. Empires
rose across the Americas that rivaled the greatest ones in Europe. For their time, some of these empires
were highly advanced.
[25]
[27]
[29]
Advent of Europeans
(15th & 16th Cent.)
Introduction:
In modern times India was invaded by the Europeans. The Portuguese, The Dutch, The English
and The French. The Portuguese are the 1st to come to India. Finally, it was the British who remained in
India.
There were several factors which made the Europeans come to India. The capturing of
Constantinople by the Ottoman Trucks in 1453, the demand for spices of the east in Europe and the
monopoly of the Arabs over trade & commerce in the East.
Portuguese:
When Vasco-da-Gama landed at Calicut on 21st may 1498, the sea route to India was discovered.
Thus came the Portuguese to India. Vasco-da-Gama was well-received by the Zamorin of Calicut Mana
Vikramma. When Vasco-da-Gama went back he carried with him products of the East. He returned to India
two more times.
The Government of Portugal established the Portuguese Trading Company to regulate trade and
commerce. The company was to function under a Viceroy. Francisco De Almeida became the 1 st
Portuguese Viceroy in India. He initiated the Blue Water Policy, which aimed at the Portuguese Mastery of
the Sea. And confined Portuguese relationship with India only for the purpose of trade & commerce.
Alfonzo-De-Albuquerque (1509-1550):
Alfonzo-De-Albuquerque the greatest Portuguese Viceroy in India. The Portuguese trading
centres which were confined to Calicut & Cochin, were now extended to other places under Albuquerque.
He conquered Goa in 1510 from the Sultan of Bijapur. West Asia in the Persian Gulf and Malaysia in the
East were also conquered Diu & Daman also became Portuguese trading centres. In Bengal, Hooghly &
Balasore became the Portuguese trading centres. Goa became the Headquarters of the Portuguese in
India. Albuquerque thus made the Portuguese strong in India. He was an efficient administer, he integrated
the locals into the administration. He encouraged the propagation of Christianity & inter-marriage with the
natives. The Viceroys who came after Albuquerque were weak & inefficient. As a result the Portuguese
began to decline in India. They finally left India in the mid 17 th Century A.D. But three of their settlement,
namely Goa, Diu & Daman remained in their hands till 1961.
After Albuquerque the Portuguese administration in India became inefficient because his
successor were weak & inefficient.
The Portuguese officials were neglected by the home government. Their salaries were low. Thus
they indulged in corruption and malpractice.
The Portuguese adopted forced inter-marriage & conversion to the Christian faith which made the
natives hostile.
In 1580 Portugal was merged with Spain which neglected the Portuguese interest in India.
The Portuguese has to face the stiff competition of the Dutch in India.
Portuguese discovered Brazil which diverted their attention from India.
The Portuguese began to spread Christianity in the Malabar & the Konkan coast. Missionaries
like St. Francis Xavier, Father Rudolf & Father Monserette played a leading role in propagating
the Christian faith.
The Missionaries started schools & colleges along the west coast, where education was imparted
in the native language.
The missionaries undertook research on Indian history and culture. Fa Heras has made a deep
study on the Indus Valley Civilization.
The Portuguese brought the printing press to India. The Bible came to be printed in the Kannada
& Malayalam language.
5.
The Dutch
The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch. The East India Company of Netherlands was formed
in 1592 to trade with East Indies. Cornelius Houtman is the first Dutch to come to India. The Dutch
established trading centres at Nagapatnam in Tamil Nadu, Machalipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Chinsora in
Bengal & at Mahe on the Malabar Coast. The headquarters of the Dutch in India was Nagapatnam. The
Dutch could not withstand the stiff competition of the Portuguese and the English and thus left India. The
complete monopoly of the Dutch over trade and commerce of Indonesia another reason as to why they left
India.
The English
The Portuguese and the Dutch were followed by the English. The charter of Queen Elizabeth
issued in 1600 authorised the London company to carry on trade & commerce with the east and other
countries. Later King James of England extended the charter for an indefinite period. The first Englishman
to come to India for the purpose of trade & commerce is Captain Williams Hawkins. He visited the court of
Moghul Emperor Jehangir & received permission to trade at Surat. Later Captain best who came to India
received permission to start a factory at Surat Capt. Best defeated the Portuguese in the Battle of Swalley
near Surat. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe visited the court of Jehangir and obtained trade concessions.
The English in the course of time established trading centres at different places in India. Madras
became their trading centre whish was fortified by constructing Fort St. George Machalipatnam in A.P.,
Hariharpur & Balasora in Orissa & Kasim Bazar & Hooghly in Bengal and Patna in Bihar became the
trading centres of the English.
The company obtained Bombay from the English King Charles II who received it as a part of
dowry, when he married the Potuguese Princess Catherine. Ahmedabad Broach in Gujarat & Agra in Uttar
Pradesh also became their trading centres. The English acquired three villages in Bengal which later
developed to become Calcutta. The later Moghul Emperor Farookh Siyar granted the English the firman
which permitted them to carry on duty free trade in Bengal. The Headquarters of the English Company in
India was Madras.
Thus the English permanently settled in India till 1947. In 1707 the different trading companies
came together to form the United Company of the Merchants of England trading to East Indies. It was
this Company which carried on trade & commerce with India till 1857.
The French
The last Europeans to come to India is the French. Colbert the minister of Louie XIV, the Bourban
king of France established the French East India Company in 1664 which was authorized to carry on
commerce & colonise the East Indies.
In 1667 came Caron, the first French to India. The French first traded at Surat. The well-known
French Viceroy in India is Franco Martin. He extended the French commercial activities in India by
establishing French settlements at Balasore, Chinsora & Machalipatnam. Pondicherry the most important
French trading centre in India was also established by him Pondicherry became the Headquarters of
French in India.
The interference of French in the affairs of the Carnatic under Duplex brought the French into
conflict with the English.
Thus was fought the Carnatic wars in which the French were defeated & consequently left India in
the 1760s competition from the English & the discovery of Indo-China are the causes which made the
French leave India.
Carnatic Wars
First Carnatic War (1746-1748):
The cause of the first Carnatic war is the question of succession to the Austrian throne. The
differences between the English & the French regarding this event had its effect felt upon India. When the
war began to Europe in 1746, the English in India expected military from the home Government to fight
[32]
[33]