Europeans in India

Europeans in the Indian Subcontinent

• Vasco da Gama discovered the new sea route from Europe to India via the Cape of Good Hope, reaching Calicut on May 17, 1498.
• Cochin was the first capital of Portuguese India before Goa replaced it.
• Afonso de Albuquerque became the Portuguese governor in India in 1503 and captured Goa in 1510 from Bijapur.
• Nino da Cunha (governor between 1529-1538) moved the Portuguese capital from Cochin to Goa in 1530 and acquired Diu and Bassein from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1534.
• Jesuit saint Francisco Xavier arrived in India with Martin Alfonso de Souza (1542-1545).
• Portuguese influence declined, retaining only Goa, Daman, and Diu until 1961.

Dutch Involvement

• Dutch presence in India spanned from 1605 to 1825.
• Dutch East India Company merchants settled in Dutch Coromandel, especially Pulicat, for textiles to trade for spices in the East Indies.
• The Dutch seized Portuguese forts on the Malabar coast after conquering Ceylon in 1656, and further secured the region from Portuguese invasion five years later.

English Presence

• The English East India Company, granted exclusive trading rights in the East by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, operated until 1858.
• The East India Company aimed to establish a trading post in Surat in 1608.
• Captain Hawkins visited Jahangir's court in 1609 seeking permission for trade, and in 1613, and Jahangir issued a farman allowing a Surat factory.
• Sir Thomas Roe, as ambassador of James I, arrived in India in 1615 to gain trade permissions from Jahangir and build factories across the empire.

French Involvement

• Colbert formed the French East India Company in 1664.
• The inaugural French factory was established in Surat by Francois Caron in 1664, followed by Masulipatam in 1669.
• Dupleix became French governor in India in 1742, marking the beginning of Anglo-French conflicts (Carnatic Wars), which resulted in French defeat in India.

First Battle of Tarain

• Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed Ghori fought in 1191 at Taraori, Haryana.
• Prithviraj Chauhan won.

Second Battle of Tarain

• Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed Ghori fought in 1192 at Taraori, Haryana.
• Ghori triumphed.

Battle of Diu

• The Portuguese fought a coalition that included the Sultan of Gujarat, the Zamorin of Calicut, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt with support from the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire on February 3, 1509.
• This battle occurred in the Arabian Sea, at the port of Diu.
• The Portuguese were victorious.

First Battle of Panipat

• Babar and Ibrahim Lodi engaged in battle on April 21, 1526, in Panipat, Haryana.
• Babar won.

Battle of Khanwa

• Babur and Rana Sanga fought on March 16, 1527, in Khanwa, Rajasthan.
• The Mughals won

Battle of Ghaghara

• Babur fought Mahmud Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate and Nusrat Shah of the Bengal Sultanate on May 6, 1529.
• This battle occurred on the Ghaghara River, Bihar.
• The Mughals were victorious.

Battle of Chausa

• Sher Shah and Humayun engaged in battle on June 26, 1539, in Chausa, Buxar, Bihar.
• The Mughals suffered a loss.

Second Battle of Panipat

• Akbar and Hemu engaged in battle on November 5, 1556, in Panipat, Haryana.
• The Mughals were victorious.

Battle of Talikota

• The Vijayanagara Empire, under Aliya Rama Raya, fought the Deccan Sultanate alliance, including Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Bidar, and Golconda on January 23, 1565, in Talikota, Karnataka.
• Vijayanagara lost.

Battle of Haldighati

• Maharana Pratap of Mewar and Akbar's forces, led by Man Singh I, fought on June 18, 1576.
• This battle occurred in Haldighati, Rajsamand District, Rajasthan.
• The Mughals won.

Battle of Samugarh

• Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb fought for the Mughal throne on May 29, 1658, near Agra.
• Aurangzeb triumphed.

Battle of Karnal

• Nader Shah of the Persian Empire and Muhammad Shah of the Mughal Empire fought on February 24, 1739, in Karnal, Haryana.
• The Persians were victorious.

Battle of Colachel

• The Kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India Company fought on August 10, 1741, in Colachel, Travancore Kingdom, present-day Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu.
• Travancore won.

First Carnatic War

• English and French forces fought between 1746 and 1748.
• This battle occurred in the Carnatic region, South India.
• It was inconclusive.

Second Carnatic War

• Rival claimants to the posts of Nizam of Hyderabad and Nawab of the Carnatic, supported by the British and the French between 1749 and 1754.
• Muzaffar Jung became Nizam of Hyderabad; Muhammad Ali became Nawab of the Carnatic.
• This battle occurred in the Carnatic region, Southern India.

Battle of Plassey

• The British East India Company and Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, fought on June 23, 1757.
• This battle occurred in Palashi, near Calcutta, on the banks of the Bhagirathi River.
• The British won, and Mir Jafar became the new Nawab of Bengal.
• Lord Clive's British East India Company defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah after the Black Hole tragedy and a conspiracy, after which Siraj-ud-Daulah was captured and executed by Mir Jafar's son.

Third Carnatic War

• English and French forces fought between 1757 and 1763 in the Carnatic, South India
• The English were victorious

Battle of Wandiwash

• English and French forces fought in Vandavasi, Tamil Nadu on January 22, 1760.
• The British were victorious.
• This battle was part of the Third Carnatic War.

Third Battle of Panipat

• The Maratha Empire and the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan fought on January 14, 1761, in Panipat, Haryana.
• The Afghans won.

Battle of Buxar

• The British faced a coalition of Mir Qasim, ruler of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Oudh, and Shah Alam II, the Mughal emperor.
• British emerged victorious in Buxar, Bihar in October 1764.

First Anglo-Mysore War

• The British East India Company and Hyder Ali of Mysore fought between 1767 and 1769 in South India.
• Mysore emerged victorious.
• The British, the Nizam, and the Marathas formed a tripartite alliance against Hyder Ali.
• The war ended with a British defeat, and the Madras government signed the Treaty of Madras in 1769.
• Hyder Ali and his allies, including the British East India Company, the Raja of Tanjore, and the Malabar ruler, signed the Treaty of Madras in 1769.

Second Anglo-Mysore War

• The British East India Company fought Hyder Ali of Mysore between 1780 and 1784.
• The Treaty of Mangalore restored the status quo ante bellum in South India.
• Hyder Ali, who died in 1782 and was succeeded by Tipu Sultan, formed a joint front with the Nizam and the Marathas against the British.
• Both sides, tired of war, concluded the Treaty of Mangalore.

Third Anglo-Mysore War

• The British East India Company fought Tipu Sultan of Mysore between 1790 and 1792.
• The British were victorious, resulting in the Treaty of Seringapatam in South India.
• Tipu Sultan ceded half his territories to the British and their allies and released all prisoners of war, with two of his sons taken as British hostages as a guarantee.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

• The British East India Company fought Tipu Sultan of Mysore in 1799.
• The British won, and Mysore entered into a subsidiary alliance in what is now South India.
• Tipu Sultan aimed to reclaim territories after his Third Anglo-Mysore War defeat with French and Zaman Shah of Kabul support.
• Lord Wellesley, after a Subsidiary Alliance with the Nizam, asked Tipu Sultan to accept the same, but he refused.
• Mysore was attacked from two sides by General Harris, supported by the Nizam's subsidiary force under Arthur Wellesley, and by another army from Bombay.
• Tipu Sultan was initially defeated by the Bombay army and later by General Harris at Mallavalli, where he died fighting.

First Anglo-Maratha War

• The British fought the Marathas between 1775 and 1782
• The Marathas were victorious in Pune.
• The East India Company retained Salsette and Broach; the Marathas retook their possessions in the Deccan from Hyder Ali of Mysore and promised not to grant any more territories to the French.
• Raghunathrao was promised an annual pension of Rs. 3 lakhs; the British would cede all territories taken after the Treaty of Purandhar back to the Marathas.
• The English accepted Madhavrao II, son of Narayanrao, as the Peshwa.
• The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Salbai in 1782.

Second Anglo-Maratha War

• The British fought the Marathas between 1803 and 1805 in India
• The British were victorious
• After they captured Mysore in 1799, the Marathas were the remaining major Indian power outside British control.
• The Maratha Confederacy consisted of five chiefs: the Peshwas at Pune, the Gaekwads at Baroda, the Holkars at Indore, the Scindias at Gwalior, and the Bhonsles at Nagpur.
• Yashwantrao Holkar of Indore defeated the Peshwas and the Scindias in the Battle of Poona in 1802.
• Baji Rao II sought British protection and signed the Treaty of Bassein, which the Marathas saw as a loss of national honor.
• The Scindias and the Bhonsles did not accept the treaty, leading to the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1803.
• The Holkars later joined the battle against the British.

Third Anglo-Maratha War

• The British fought the Marathas between 1817 and 1818
• The British were victorious in Maharashtra and neighboring regions.
• After the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the Marathas tried to regain its prestige from the British
• Maratha chiefs Peshwa Bajirao II, Malharrao Holkar, and Mudhoji II Bhonsle joined forces against the British.
• Daulat Rao Shinde was diplomatically pressured to stay out of the conflict, and the British achieved a swift victory.

First Anglo-Sikh War

• The British East India Company fought the Sikh Empire between 1845 and 1846
• The region was Mudki, Punjab
• It was a British victory

Battle of Sobraon

• The British and the Sikh Empire fought on February 10, 1846, in Sobraon, Punjab.
• The British were victorious and this was part of the First Anglo-Sikh War.

Second Anglo-Sikh War

• The British East India Company fought the Sikh Empire between 1848 and 1849 in Punjab.
• The British were victorious.

Battle of Imphal

• The British fought Imperial Japan, Provisional Govt. of Free India (Azad Hind) in 1944 in Imphal, Manipur.
• The British were victorious.

The Revolt of 1857

• British historians called it the Sepoy Mutiny.
• Indian historians called it the First War of Independence.
• It is considered an important landmark in Indian history.
• The trigger was the introduction of Enfield greased rifles with cartridges rumored to be greased with beef and pork fat, offending both Hindu and Muslim soldiers.
• On March 29, 1857, Mangal Pandey, an Indian sepoy, killed two British officers (Hugeson and Baugh) at Barrackpore.
• On May 10, 1857, the mutiny started in Meerut by the 3rd Native Infantry.
• On May 11, 1857, the revolt spread to Delhi, and local soldiers seized the city and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as Emperor of India.
• The British Queen took over India from the East India Company after 100 years of rule.
• There were many consequences including:
  • The Government of India Act, 1858, also known as the Act of Good Government of India.
  • The proclamation of direct governance by the British Crown
  • The Governor General of India became the Viceroy, representing the Crown.
  • The Secretary of State for India became responsible to the British Parliament.

Formation of Indian National Congress

• A.O. Hume is credited with the formation of it in 1885
• The First Session was held on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (originally planned for Pune, but shifted due to cholera outbreak)
• The President was W.C. Banerjee.
• There were approximately 72 attendees

Prominent Congress Session

• In 1887, Badruddin Tyabji became the first Muslim President in Madras.
• In 1888, George Yule became the first English President in Allahabad.
• In 1917, Annie Beasant became the first woman President in Calcutta.
• In 1925, Sarojini Naidu became the first Indian woman President in Kanpur.

Partition of Bengal

• Lord Curzon implemented it in 1905
• It was put in motion on October 16, 1905
• East Bengal and Assam were created, hence reducing the size of Bengal.
• The objective was to create a communal divide between Hindus & Muslims

Swadeshi Movement

• Benares Session was initiated in 1905.
• Calcutta Session (INC): August 7, 1905, formalized the movement.
• Encouraged Indians to reject British products and encouraged the use of Indian-made goods.
• Lal, Bal, Pal strongly advocated for the Swadeshi and Boycott movements.
• It was launched in response to the British decision to partition Bengal.
• Lala Lajpat Rai also advocated for Swadeshi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal

Muslim League

• Formed in December 1906 in Dacca
• Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah of Dacca, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk were key leaders.
• Its objectives included:
  • Supported the partition of Bengal.
  • Opposed the Swadeshi movement.
  • Demanding special safeguards for Muslims.
  • Calling for a separate electorate for Muslims.

Congress Split

• There was division between Moderates (1885–1905) and Extremists (1905–1917)
  • The Moderates: Moderate demands, confidence in British justice and generosity, leaders: Dadabhai Naoroji, A.O. Hume, M.G. Ranade, Madan Mohan Malviya, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Badruddin Tyabji
  • The Extremists: Exploitative view of British rule, spurred by the Partition of Bengal (1905), leaders - Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
• INC split into Moderates and Extremists on the banks of the Tapi River in 1907 during the Split at Surat.

Calcutta Session of INC (1906)

• December 1906 in Calcutta
• Dadabhai Naoroji was President
• Swaraj was adopted as the goal of the Indian people, aimed for self-government similar to that of the United Kingdom.
• Marked a shift towards more assertive nationalist goals within the INC.

Morley-Minto Reforms

• Passed in 1909 by Lord Minto, Viceroy of India, and John Morley, the Secretary of State for India
• Introduced to appease Indian demands for greater participation in governance, it institutionalized communalism through separate electorates for Muslims, hence allowing Muslims to vote only for Muslim candidates
• It reinforced deep religious divisions.

Home Rule Movement

• Tilak released from Mandalay jail in 1914 and rejoined INC in 1915.
• Tilak founded the Indian Home Rule League on April 28, 1916, in Pune.
• Inspired by the Irish rebellion Annie Besant started the Home Rule Movement in India in September 1916.
• Besant launched Young India and Commonwealth newspapers advocating for passive resistance, civil disobedience, and self-governance or Home Rule for India.

Lucknow Pact

• In 1916, anti-British sentiment among Muslims increased because of Turkey
• Both Congress and the Muslim League held sessions in Lucknow
• Key Agreements:
  • The Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims and jointly demanded dominion status for India, giving it more political demand for self-governance
  • Significant step towards Hindu-Muslim unity

Champaran Satyagraha

• Occurred in the Champaran district, Bihar, India in 1917
• It was a result of grievances of indigo cultivators against planters hence, led by Mahatma Gandhi
• Considered the first Civil Disobedience Movement led by Gandhi in India, addressing labor exploitation through nonviolent means
• Beginning of Gandhi's prominent role in India's freedom struggle + demonstrated non violent efficacy

Kheda Satyagraha

• Was in place in Kheda district, Gujarat, India in 1918
• Plague + Cholera led to widespread deaths as a result
• The immediate trigger was high tax collection by the British
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the key leader, mobilized different castes & creeds to oppose tax collection policies
• Nature of Revolt
  • Opposed the collection of taxes under severe local conditions & a threat came from Government
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel emerged as a leader in India's freedom movement which showcased national unity

Rowlatt Act

• Enacted on March 18, 1919 and unauthorized government power to arrest anyone
• Gave permission for arrest + imprisonment without trial for up to 2 years.
• Sparked civil disobedience across India + led to agitation + protest in the face of British presence

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

• Massacre occurred on April 13, 1919 & on the festival of Baisakhi
• Originated as a result of political discourse by Dr. Kitchlu and Dr. Satyapal & eventually led to massive outrage
• Brigadier-General Dyer ordered troops to open fire on peaceful men, women, and children near Jallianwala
• Led to a series of protests & outrage & as a result Rabindranath Tagore returned his Knighthood
• Led to Hunter Commission & Sardar Udham Singh's assasination of O'Dwyer later on

Khilafat Movement

• Muslim agitation over mistreatment of Turkey by post World War I treaties
• Was initiated by brothers Mohd. Ali and Shaukat Ali
• Showcased Ottoman Caliphate + Opposition of British involvement which saw the joining of Indian Congress. under Ghandi
• This showcased Hindu-Muslim unity + increased National movement

Non-cooperation Movement

• 1920-1922 + led by Gandhi
• Indians had no option but to surrender their titles + Boycott schools, laws, + textiles
• Led the way for the British to leave as a result of violence

Chauri Chaura Incident

• On February 5, 1922, violence broke out at a Non-Cooperation/Khilafat
• 22 policemen were killed as a result.
• Mahatma Gandhi therefore called off the Non-Cooperation Movement, thus shifting in Strategy

Swaraj Party

• In 1922, Chittaranjan (C.R.) Das & Motilal Nehru formed a political strategy
• The new strategy was proposed during the Gaya session.
• Vallabhhbhai Patel & Rajendra Prasada opposed political entry

Simon Commission

• Year: 1927 & led by John Simon to review India's political situation and reforms
• Protests occurred in Lahore & Lala Rajpath died there in 1928
• Demonstrates political unity because India did not include any native Indians

Nehru Report

• Motilal Nehru provided the the Objective by providing a constitutional reform by India
• Strived for fundamental rights for all citizens + Universal Adult Suffrage
• Report to achieve the Dominion Status within the British but it was ignored

Jinnah's 14 points

• Outlined a rejection for all Nehru reports & a federal constituency with protected rights

Lahore Session

• The Indian Congress declare their Independence but was never passed

Civil Disobedience

• Also known as Salt Satyagraha led by Gandhi to obtain full independence + push British control
• Gandhi launched 11 demands + Dandi March, which led to massive protests and arrests

Round Table Conference

• The talks were held by British which led to significant Indian leaders being jailed
• There became a separation between separate electorates as a result of the divide