Factors behind the Portuguese Voyage to India

After the decline of the Roman Empire and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Arabs established dominance in Egypt and Persia, controlling the trade routes to India. The Europeans lost direct contact with India and the easy accessibility to Indian commodities. 

• Spirit of the voyage: In the 15th century, there was a growing eagerness in Europe for adventurous sea voyages to reach the East, driven by the spirit of the Renaissance and advancements in shipbuilding and navigation.
• Division of non-Christian world: The Treaty of Tordesillas(1494) divided the non-Christian world between Portugal and Spain, granting Portugal the eastern territories and Spain the western territories. This set the stage for Portuguese incursions into the waters around India.

Discovery of a Sea Route to India

• Historians have noted that discovering an ocean route to India had become an obsession for Prince Henry of Portugal, known as the ‘Navigator,’ as well as a method to sidestep the Muslim dominance of the eastern Mediterranean and all the roads connecting India and Europe.
• The kings of Portugal and Spain split the non-Christian world between them in 1497, under the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), by an imaginary line in the Atlantic, about 1,300 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands.
• Portugal could claim and occupy anything to the east of the line, while Spain could claim everything to the west, according to the pact.
• As a result, the scene was set for Portuguese intrusions into the Indian Ocean seas.
• Bartholomew Dias, a Portuguese navigator, crossed the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in 1487 and travelled along the eastern coast, believing that the long-sought maritime path to India had been discovered.
• However, an expedition of Portuguese ships set off for India barely 10 years later (in 1497) and reached India in little less than 11 months, in May 1498.

The Portuguese Governors

• Vasco da Gama: 
  • The arrival of Vasco da Gama in Calicut (now Kozhikode) in 1498 had a significant impact on Indian history. The Hindu ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin, welcomed him as the prosperity of his kingdom relied on trade. 
  • The landing of three ships under Vasco Da Gama to Calicut in May 1498, headed by a Gujarati pilot called Abdul Majid, had a significant impact on Indian history.
  • However, the Arab traders, who had a strong presence on the Malabar coast, were concerned about the Portuguese gaining influence in the region. 
  • The Portuguese aimed to monopolise the profitable eastern trade and exclude their competitors, especially the Arabs.
  • At Cannanore, Vasco da Gama established a trading factory.
  • Calicut, Cannanore, and Cochin gradually became key Portuguese commerce centres.
  • Vasco da Gama returned to India in 1501 but faced resistance from the Zamorin when he sought to exclude Arab merchants in favour of the Portuguese. 

• Francisco de Almeida (1505-1509): 
  • In 1505, Francisco de Almeida was appointed as the Governor of India, with the mission to consolidate Portuguese influence and destroy Muslim trade. 
    • Almeida faced opposition from the Zamorin and a threat from the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. 
  • In 1507, the Portuguese squadron was initially defeated in a naval battle off Diu but avenged the defeat the following year.
  •  Almeida aimed to make the Portuguese the masters of the Indian Ocean through his Blue Water Policy. 
    • Blue Water Policy (Cartaze system): It was a naval trade licence or pass issued by the Portuguese empire in the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth century. Its name derives from the Portuguese term ‘cartas‘, meaning letters.

• Alfonso de Albuquerque (1509-1515)
  • Alfonso de Albuquerque succeeded Almeida and established Portuguese bases strategically overlooking the entrances to the Indian Ocean. 
  • Albuquerque introduced a permit system for other ships and exercised control over major shipbuilding centres. 
  • Goa was acquired from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510, becoming the first Indian territory under European control since Alexander the Great‘s time. 
  • Albuquerque’s rule also saw Portuguese men settling in India, establishing themselves as landlords, artisans, craftsmen, and traders.
  • An interesting feature of his rule was the abolition of sati.

• Nino da Cunha (1529-1538)
  • He moved the headquarters from Cochin to Goa. 
  • The Portuguese secured the island of Bassein and its dependencies from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1534, but their relations soured after Humayun withdrew from Gujarat, leading to a confrontation in which Bahadur Shah was killed by the Portuguese in 1537. 
  • Additionally, da Cunha attempted to increase Portuguese influence in Bengal by settling many Portuguese nationals there with Hooghly as their headquarters.

Decline of the Portuguese

By the 18th century, the Portuguese in India experienced a decline in their commercial influence. 

• The Portuguese lost their local advantages as powerful dynasties emerged in Egypt, Persia, and North India, and the Marathas became their immediate neighbours. 
• The Marathas captured Salsette and Bassein from the Portuguese in 1739. 
• The religious policies of the Portuguese, including the activities of the Jesuits, caused political concerns. 
• Their conversion efforts to Christianity, coupled with antagonism towards Muslims, led to resentment among Hindus. 

Significance of the Portuguese

• The emergence of naval power: The arrival of the Portuguese in India marked the emergence of naval power and initiated what is often referred to as the European era. 
• Own systems: The Portuguese disregarded existing rules and sought to establish their dominance over Indian trade and the Indian Ocean trading system.
• Military innovations: In the sixteenth century Malabar, the Portuguese demonstrated military innovation with their use of body armour, matchlock men, and guns landing from their ships.
• Maritime techniques: The Portuguese excelled in maritime techniques, with their heavily constructed multi-decked ships designed to withstand Atlantic gales, allowing for heavier armament. 
• Organisational skills: Their organisational skills, the establishment of royal arsenals and dockyards, and the maintenance of a regular system of pilots and mapping were notable contributions. 
• Religious Policy: The Portuguese arrived in the East with a zeal to promote Christianity and persecute Muslims. They were initially tolerant towards Hindus but became increasingly intolerant over time, especially after the introduction of the Inquisition in Goa.

Portuguese Administration in India

• The Bahmani Kingdom in the Deccan was dissolving into smaller kingdoms.
• None of the powers possessed a fleet worth mentioning, and they had no plans to improve their maritime capabilities.
• The Chinese emperor’s imperial proclamation limited the nautical reach of Chinese ships in the Far East.
• The Arab merchants and shipowners who had previously controlled the Indian Ocean commerce had nothing on the Portuguese in terms of organisation and cohesiveness.
• The Portuguese also had guns mounted on their ships.
• The viceroy, who ruled for three years, was in charge of the administration, together with his secretary and, subsequently, a council.
• Next insignificance was the Vedor da Fazenda, who was in charge of income, cargoes, and fleet dispatch.

Portuguese, their Policies and Works in India

The Advent of The Dutch

• Under the name Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC), the Dutch East India Company was founded about 1602 CE.
• The Dutch established their first facility at Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. They also created commercial terminals in Gujarat (Surat, Broach, Cambay, and Ahmedabad), Kerala (Cochin), Bengal (Chinsurah), Bihar (Patna), and Uttar Pradesh (Agra).
• Their major base in India was Pulicat (Tamil Nadu), which was subsequently superseded by Nagapattinam.
• They defeated the Portuguese in the 17th century and became the most powerful force in European commerce in the East.
• They expelled the Portuguese out of the Malay straits and the Indonesian islands and thwarted English attempts to settle there in 1623.

The Dutch Commercial enterprise led them to undertake voyages to the East. 

• Trading company: In 1602, the States-General of the Netherlands merged various trading companies to form the East India Company of the Netherlands. 
  • This company was granted the authority to conduct wars, negotiate treaties, acquire territories, and establish fortresses.
• Trading centre: The Dutch established their control over  Masulipatnam in 1605 and they established their settlement at Pulicat in 1610.

Anglo-Dutch Rivalry

• The English were also gaining importance in the Eastern trade at this time, posing a severe threat to the Dutch economic interests.
• The commercial competition quickly devolved into bloodshed.
• After years of fighting, both parties reached an agreement in 1667, in which the British promised to relinquish all claims to Indonesia and the Dutch agreed to leave India to focus on their more successful commerce in Indonesia.
• They had a monopoly on the black pepper and spice trade. Silk, cotton, indigo, rice, and opium were the most significant Indian goods sold by the Dutch.
• Also, the Anglo-Dutch competition lasted around seven years, during which time the Dutch lost one by one their colonies to the British until the Dutch were eventually beaten by the English in the Battle of Bedara in c. 1759.

The Decline of Dutch in India

• The English retaliation ended in the Dutch being defeated in the Battle of Hooghly (November 1759), thereby ending Dutch ambitions in India.
• The Dutch were not interested in establishing an empire in India; their main focus was trade.
• In any event, their major economic interest was in the Indonesian Spice Islands, from which they made a large profit.