English Colonialism in India

bySuhani Malhotra

Starting from the late 15th century till the early 17th century, European traders began coming to India. At the beginning of the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I gave an English (and later British) company, called the East India Company (EIC), the complete individual right to trade in India by signing a charter.

The EIC arrived in Surat in 1608. However, by that time, a few other European countries had reached India and set up trading bases, like the Portuguese who arrived in 1458 and the Dutch who arrived in 1595. The main motive of the English was for them to be the only traders in India. For the first ce