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1498
First sea trade
The first sea trade from Europe to Asia was established when Vasco da Gama of Portugal reached the port of Calicut on the southwestern coast of India. -
Period: to
First factory
Queen Anne 1 has established a royal charter to London merchants to have sole ownership of trade with the East Indies. After that, the British East India made its first factory post. -
Expanding
EIC (East India Company) wanted to compete with Dutch, French, and Portuguese merchants. They have a plan to expand faster and more efficiently, leading to the company getting the freedom to act as a free entity. However, the British had good taste in spices and jewelry, leading to some establishments for the region. -
India declares war
The EIC was able to fight the Europeans to be the largest and most powerful of all groups. EIC was allowed to wage a war on the states in the Indian region during the Battle of Plassey. -
EIC expands
EIC fought the Mughal emperor and the Nawab of Oudh to gain control of all of Bihar and Oudh. For the rest of the 18th century, EIC expanded south taking control over the Madras and Carnatic regions via alliances with rulers and military campaigns. While doing this, the company started to hire Indian soldiers into their army of 250,000. -
Fat pigs and cow
EIC was supplying their Indian ranks with gunpowder containers that were closed with corks covered in grease which was made up of cow or pig fat, which was against the Indian soldier’s religion so they replied with a mutiny -
Gaining authority
The Government of India Act transferred full governing authority from the EIC to the British government. -
A new ruler
Queen Victoria of the British Empire was named empress of India. -
No longer in peak
A nonviolent show of civil disobedience led by Gandhi. They were protesting the British salt monopoly. By the end of World War II, the British were ready to give up rule in India which led to Indian independence and the partition of the ruled area into two separate nations- Pakistan and India. When the British walked away, India/Pakistan was no longer one of the wealthiest regions in the world, they were among the bottom in wealth.