THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS
Europeans reached the Indian shores in search of wealth and power. In 1498, Portuguese traders became the first to discover the sea route to India when a Portuguese voyager arrived at Calicut (modern Kozhikode, Kerala) on the western coast of India. The Dutch followed them in 1595, the English in 1600, and at last, the French in 1664. All these Europeans came to India for free trade.
The Europeans nations established various commercial companies, such as the East India Company in England founded in 1600 and Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie – the United East India Company in the Netherlands – founded in 1602. These companies were formed to capture the spice trade by breaking the monopoly of Portuguese in Asia.
