Denmark made significant contributions to India. It was in 1620 when the first Danish expedition reached India. Another important Danish settlement in India was Serampore in Bengal. Serampore was their headquarters in India. They failed to strengthen themselves in India and they sold all ...

The French East India Company was a French trading company. The Company was formed in 1664 by Colbert, a Minister under Louis XIV. The first French factory in India was established at Surat by Francis Caron. Later, Maracara set up a factory at Masulipaninam. Francois Martin founded ...

The English East India Company was established in 1600 and the Charter was issued by Queen Elizabeth of England. It regulated its trade with England and importing Indian spices and textiles to England. Captain Hawkins arrived at the royal court of Jahangir in 1609 to seek permission to ...

In the early part of the eighteenth century the Duth East India Company came to have a supremacy over all British trade in India. British power was most vulnerable at sea and the Dutch took advantage of this position and thus gained control over a large portion of English trading posts in ...

The first Portuguese traveler to visit India was Vasco da Gama. The first trading posts were established in the south, but there were soon stations at Calicut, Cannanore and Cochin. Vasco da Gama reached the port of Calicut on 17 May 1498 and he was warmly received by Zamorin, the ruler of ...

When Vasco da Gama reached India, he established an open port policy which brought immense prosperity. There was a stranglehold union of Europe and India established. Even though the Portuguese and Dutch companies were most prominent and had their territorial rights in India, there were many ...

The Peshwa or the prime minister was the foremost minister in the Ashta Pradhan, the council of ministers of Shivaji. The Peshwas gained more powers and became dominant in the eighteenth Century. Balaji Viswanath (1713-1720) Balaji Viswanath was one of the greatest Maratha Peshwa, who ...

Sivaji was born in the hill fort of Shivner near Junnar in 1627. His father was Shahji Bhonsala and mother was Jijabai. In 1632 Shahaji had entered into the service of Bijapur state and left for his new jagir with his second wife. The serious illness of the Sultan of Bijapur in 1646 and the ...

An additional reason for the rise of Marathas had been the wide gap between the ordinary people and the ruling class. The gap had been created by the deteriorating nature of leadership provided by Delhi rulers, who, siphoning wealth from the country, left it underdeveloped and poor. In contrast, ...

Mughal Nobility The nobles of the Mughal period formed a privileged class. Most of them were foreigners such as Turks and Afghan many of them settled down in India and made it their permanent home. The emperor encouraged new elements to join his service, and Iranians came to form an ...

The mighty Mughal empire which had ruled over a large part of the subcontinent was teetering at the verge of collapse. The weakness of the empire was exposed when Nadir Shah imprisoned the Mughal Emperor and looted Delhi in 1739. The weak successors and demoralization of the Mughal army also paved ...

Aurangzeb ascended the throne in 1658 after getting rid of all the competitors for the throne, Dara Shukoh, Shuja and Murad, in a war of succession. He assumed the title Alamgir, World Conqueror. The Jats and Satnamis and also the Sikhs revolted against him. His reign of fifty years falls ...