Conducted by European states during the XV – XIX centuries. the active conquest of the small scattered kingdoms that were on the Hindustan peninsula, and created the conditions for the subsequent colonization of India, was accompanied by a fierce competition between the main contenders for economic and political domination. Among them were England, Portugal, Holland and France. Later, Denmark, Prussia, Sweden and Austria joined them. The armed confrontation of these countries took place against the background of ongoing rebellions and uprisings of the local population, who sought to defend their national independence.
Far and fabulous country
The European colonization of India began in the 15th century, when the goods produced in it, thanks to the expansion of maritime trade, began to actively conquer the world market. Exotic products as well as spices were highly valued in Europe, and this created the prerequisites for creating a number of trading companies, rushing to the peninsula in the hope of quick enrichment.
The pioneers of the colonization of India were the Portuguese, who opened the sea route to this "fabulous", according to the views of Europeans, country. At the turn of the XV and XVI centuries. they were based on the coast of the peninsula a large number of settlements, which were located near the trading posts and warehouses. They did not disdain direct intervention in the political struggle of local rulers.
The next stage in the European colonization of India was the appearance of the Dutch on its territory. However, not wanting to waste their strength in competing with the Portuguese, they very soon moved to the islands of Indonesia, which have since been called Dutch India. There they concentrated their efforts on the export of spices and received huge profits from this.
Monopoly of London Merchants
And finally, at the very beginning of the XVII century, England and France joined the former wealth seekers, for whom the colonization of India became not only a profitable commercial enterprise, but also a matter of national prestige. The beginning was laid by a group of London merchants who received a charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 that vested them with a monopoly on trade with the eastern countries. For almost a century, they and their descendants freely exported goods from India that had huge demand in Europe.
Establishment of an East India Company and Competition
However, at the beginning of the next century, they had to make room, losing some of their income to other equally entrepreneurial British merchants who also managed to gain the right to trade in India. In order to avoid the losses associated with the inevitable trade war in such cases, the prudent British chose to unite and create a joint East India Company, which, having traveled a long way, turned from a trading company into such an influential political organization that it established full control over most of the peninsula. Its main offices were located in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. It is this process, completed by the beginning of the 19th century, commonly called the English colonization of India.
It would be a mistake to believe that such a success went to the British at an easy price. On the contrary, during the entire initial period of the colonization of India, they had to wage a trade, and sometimes an armed struggle with the competitors mentioned above. However, by the middle of the 18th century, almost all of them were pushed back, and only the French posed a serious danger to the British.
But their positions were greatly shaken after the end of the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763), in which all European powers took part. According to the peace treaty signed by the leaders of the victorious countries, France, which was among the outsiders, lost all the lands previously conquered in India. And although later part of the cities was returned to her, there was no need to talk about the former influence.
The End of the Mughal Empire
So, ending on the battlefields with the last real enemy, England firmly established its influence on the peninsula, which continued to remain in the eyes of Europeans a kind of earthly paradise, from where the most rare and outlandish goods never ceased to come to them. Describing the events of that time, researchers note that the final stage of the colonization of India by Great Britain coincided with the period of bright, but short-term prosperity of this ancient country, which at that time was called the Mughal Empire.
The relative political stability that was established in the second half of the 18th century and made it possible to significantly improve the life of the population was soon disrupted by new socio-economic upheavals that arose from the internecine struggle of feudal and ethnic tribes, as well as by Afghan intervention. Many armed groups appeared in the country, trying to take advantage of the current situation and seize power.
Victory gained by strangers
Separatism extremely weakened the empire and allowed the East India Company to begin the next stage of their conquests. K. Marx, describing this period of Indian history in one of his works, remarked that while the “everyone was fighting against everyone” in the country, the British managed to emerge as sole winners from their endless bloodshed.
The collapse of the once-powerful Great Mogul provoked a new series of armed clashes between factions that claimed the political and economic legacy of the former rulers. The balance of power between them was constantly changing, but under all circumstances, the British knew how to capitalize on it.
Three times they managed to send against their main opponent - the head of state Mansur Haidar Ali - armed formations, fully manned from local residents dissatisfied with his policy and thereby gaining victory on the battlefield with the wrong hands. As a result, he was forced to ask for a truce and accept all the conditions advanced by the British, which allowed them to establish themselves in South India and Bengal at the beginning of the 19th century.
Toward Political and Economic Dominance
However, for the final subjugation of the entire population of Hindustan to themselves, it was necessary to break the resistance of several feudal Maratha principalities, located in the center of the peninsula in the territory of the modern state of Maharashtra. All of them were in a state of severe crisis by the beginning of the 19th century.
Previously united into a common confederation, which had centralized administration in the person of Peshwa, an official of equal importance to the modern prime minister, the tribes represented an impressive military and political force. In the indicated period, their union actually broke up, and local feudal lords waged an unceasing struggle for leadership. Their internecine wars ravaged the peasants, and constantly rising taxes only exacerbated the poverty of the situation.
Bonded contract
The current situation helped the British to intervene in the intra-tribal conflict and establish their own dictatorship. To this end, in 1803 they began active hostilities against the Pajva of Badji Rao II and the princes who remained under his command.
The Maraths were not able to show serious resistance to the invaders and were forced to sign an agreement imposed on them, according to which they not only undertook to continue to comply with the instructions of the British administration, but also to bear all the costs of maintaining their army.
Colonization Complete
British colonization of India led to a series of aggressive wars with sovereign states located on the territory of Hindustan. So, in 1825, the capture of Burma laid the foundation for the control of the East India Company over the previously independent state of Assam, located in the eastern part of the peninsula. After that, already in the 40s of the XIX century, they seized the state of Punjab.
It is generally accepted that the process of the conquest of India by the British colonialists ended in 1849, when the victory in the second Punjabi war (the British had to give up their forces to suppress their national liberation movements twice) gave them the opportunity to annex the entire territory of the state. Since then, the British crown has firmly established itself on the peninsula, which for several centuries attracted the eyes of many rulers of Europe.
Conclusion
Summing up the above, it should be noted that since the beginning of the colonization of India by the British, a policy has been pursued aimed not only at involving the country in the sphere of their commercial interests (which they have repeatedly declared), but also at establishing political influence in it. Taking advantage of the fall of the Mughal empire in the 18th century, the British captured most of the legacy left after it, ousting all other competitors.
Later, becoming active participants in all tribal and interethnic feuds, the British bribed local politicians and, assisting their rise to power, then forced, under various pretexts, to pay huge amounts from the state budget to the East India Company.
The main rivals of the British - the Portuguese, and then the French - failed to provide proper resistance and were forced to be content only with what the hands of the true masters of the situation "did not reach." The French also extremely weakened their influence by their own internecine strife, which arose in the XVIII century when they tried to establish control over the territory of the western coast of the peninsula. According to historians, at that time there were even cases of armed clashes between French military leaders.