Introduction to History

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Significance
● History forms a significant part of Both Preliminary &
Mains Examination.

● Also helpful in addressing Essay paper & questions on

Society.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 History
● Ancient India
● Medieval India
● Modern History
● Post Independent India
● Art & Culture
● World History

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Syllabus
● History of India & Indian National Movement.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 PYQ Trend - Prelims
● Every Year 15-21 questions are asked from History.
Year Questions

2016 17

2017 14

2018 21

2019 15

2020 20

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Syllabus
● Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature &
Architecture from ancient to modern times.
● Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century
until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.
● The Freedom Struggle – its various stages & important contributors
/contributions from different parts of the country.
● Post-independence consolidation & reorganization within the country.
● History of the world will include events from 18th century such as
industrial revolution, world wars, Redrawal of national boundaries,
colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism,
capitalism, socialism etc.- their forms and effect on the society.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 PYQ Trend - Mains
● 70- 100 marks in GS 1

GS 1 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Freedom 35 30 20 37.5 65 40 50 25
Movement

Post 45 0 0 0 0 15 0 0
Independence

World 40 30 25 12.5 10 15 15 0

Culture 20 40 25 25 10 35 10 50

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Ancient India
● Early period till 8 AD
● Focus on: Economy, Society, Religion.
● Specific Terms related questions are also being asked so look
for the terms while preparing.
● Important Areas:
○ Indus Valley Civilization
○ Vedic Age- religion, Society, terms, Philosophies
○ Buddhism & Jainism
○ Mauryans and Gupta Period
○ Sangam Period
● Source : R S Sharma

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Medieval India
● 8th Century to the beginning of 18th Century AD
● Limited Questions asked but then UPSC is unpredictable
● Emphasis on Society & Economy, Special Terms
● Important Areas :
○ Religious Movements
○ Delhi Sultanate
○ Mughal Period
○ Vijayanagar Kingdom
● Source: Satish Chandra

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Post Independence Period
● Questions asked from this part for Prelims & Mains
● Syllabus: Post Independent India
● Special Focus:
● Consolidation Of India
● Reorganization Of India
● Sources: R C Guha, Bipin Chandra

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Art & Culture
● Overlaps with Indian History:
● Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature & Architecture
from ancient to modern times
○ Focus on:
○ Classical Dances
○ Music
○ Paintings
○ UNESCO site & cultural practices in contemporary part
Sources
● CCRT,Nitin Singhania

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 World History
● Questions asked from this part for Mains
● Syllabus: Events from 18th century

● Special Focus:
● Revolutions
● World Wars
● Cold War
● Sources: Norman Lowe, Jain & Mathur & Arjun Dev World History

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Modern History
● Major chunk of questions asked from this part for both Prelims as
well as Mains
● Syllabus: British Arrival till independence of India
● Special Focus:
● Events post 1885, Socio-religious reform movements.
● Off late, Personality centric questions are also being asked.
● Try to remember facts for prelims.
● Sources: B.L.Grover, Bipin Chandra, Spectrum

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Answer Writing
● Look at the Key word- Examine, elucidate, analyze etc.
● Identify the theme in the question.
● In the Introduction Part- write the theme.

● Address the demand of the Question in the body part.

○ Ex: Throw light on the significance of the thoughts of

Mahatma Gandhi in the present times. (2018)

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)
Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)
Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)
Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)
 Arrival of Europeans

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

First Europeans

Alexander’s Invasion of India

● Why couldn’t Alexander establish an empire in India?

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Before the Age of Exploration
The world according to Ptolemy
Before the Age of Exploration

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Age of Discovery
● 1492: Columbus in America
● Why did the Europeans explore?

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

“The two greatest and most important events recorded
in the history of mankind." Adam Smith on the
discovery of America & the Cape route to India

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

What was the world like in the 15th c.?
● India: Decline of Tughluk Sultanate - Regional kingdoms
● China: Ming Dynasty
● Central Asia: Mongols, Timurids
● Arab World: Ottomans
● Europe:
○ England-France: Hundred years wars
○ Defeat of Moors: Spain & Portugal
○ Italian city-states
○ Byzantine Empire

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Continued….

● Fall of Constantinople (1453): The capture of

Constantinople by the Ottoman Turkish Sultan
Mehmed II led to the blocking of the erstwhile
trade routes to India & the Orient .

● This led to the desire among the European

countries to find an ‘all Sea Route’ to India &
the East so as to meet their demand for spices
& other products.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Introduction
● Colonial India is a part of the Indian subcontinent which was under
the control of European colonial powers, through trade and
conquest.

● The search for the wealth and prosperity of India led to the
accidental "discovery" of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in
1492.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Continued….

● Vasco da Gama became the 1st European to re-establish direct

trade links with India since Roman times by being the 1st to arrive
by circumnavigating Africa (1497–99).

● Trading rivalries brought other European powers

the Netherlands, England, France, & Denmark to India.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese Expeditions

Henry the Navigator Bartolomeu Dias Pedro Alvares Cabrall

● Dias originally named the Cape of Good Hope the Cape of Storms
(Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed (by King John II of
Portugal) the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança)
because it represented the opening of a route to the east.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese
● The closing of the traditional trade routes in western Asia by
the Ottoman Empire & rivalry with the Italian states
sent Portugal in search of an alternate sea route to India.
● 1st successful voyage to India was by Vasco da Gama in 1498,
when he arrived in Calicut. Having arrived in Calicut he obtained
permission to trade in the city.
● Welcomed by Zamorin
● Permitted trade in Spices & set up a factory on the coast.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese

● The colonial era in India began in 1502, when the Portuguese

Empire established the 1st European trading center at Kollam
(Quilon).
● 1510: Portuguese conquered the city of Goa, which had been
controlled by Muslims ruler (Sultan of Bijapur).
● Portuguese established a chain of outposts along India's west
coast & on the island of Ceylon in the early 16th century.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

● Goa was their prized possession & the seat of Portugal's viceroy.
Portugal's northern province included settlements
at Daman, Diu, Baçaim (Bassein), Salsette, & Mumbai.

● The rest of the northern province, with the exception of Daman &
Diu, was lost to the Maratha Empire in the early 18th century.

● 1612: Battle of Swally (start of end of Portuguese Power)

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

● 1661: Portugal was at war with Spain & needed support
from England. This led to the marriage of Princess Catherine of
Portugal to Charles II of England, who imposed a dowry that
included the insular & less inhabited areas of southern
Bombay while the Portuguese managed to retain all the mainland
territory north of Bandra up to Thana & Bassein.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Francisco de Almeida (1505-09)
● 1st Governor
● Followed ‘Blue water policy’: Completely concentrated on trade
(didn’t interfere in local politics or evangelical activities)
● 1508: Battle of Chaul (Alliance of Sultan Mahmud
Begarah of Gujarat, Egyptian Mamluk fleet) Vs
Lourenco de Almeida ( was killed) ;Victory for alliance.

● 1509: Battle of Diu (Almeida defeats alliance).

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Alfonso de Albuquerque(1509-15)
● 2nd Governor & Real founder of the Portuguese power in the East.
● Introducing a permit system for other ships &
exercising control over the major ship-building
centers in the region.
● 1503: Arrived in India
● 1510: Captured Goa.
● 1511: Concluded a friendly treaty with Krishnadevaraya by which the
Portuguese were to supply Arabian horses only to Vijayanagar & not to
Bijapur.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Continued....

● Friar Luis, his ambassador resided at Vijayanagar.

● Persecuted Muslims
● Abolition of sati in Goa.

● Encouraged his countrymen to take Indian wives. Policy of

marrying Portuguese soldiers & sailors with local Indian girls
started consequence of which was a great miscegenation in Goa
& other Portuguese territories .
● 1515: Died

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Other Governors:
Nino da Cunha(1529-38)
● Founded settlements at Hugli (Bengal) & San Thome (near
Madras)

● 1530: Transferred the capital from Cochin to Goa

● Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, during his conflict with the Mughal

emperor Humayun, secured help from the Portuguese by ceding
to them in 1534 the island of Bassein.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Martin Alfonso de Souza (1542-45)
● Another feature of the Portuguese presence in India was their will
to evangelize & promote Catholicism. In this, the Jesuits played a
fundamental role, & to this day the Jesuit missionary Saint Francis
Xavier is revered among the Catholics of India.

● Francis Xavier arrived in India with him.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Francis Xavier
● Converted 7 lakh untouchables [fisher folk of Goa & Konkan-
‘Marawaras’ of Coromandal] to Christianity;
● Went to China but before leaving expressed his desire to be buried
at Goa.
● Died & buried in China;

● His disciples embalmed his body & reburied it in Goa

● Bom Jesus Basilica at Goa (contains mummy of St. Xavier).

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese India
● Portuguese were the 1st to issue cartazes.
● Their fortified outposts served as customs stations where Asian
merchants had to acquire ‘Cartazes’ i.e., letters of protection which
saved them from being attacked & ransacked by the Portuguese
on the high seas. Thus, indulged in armed control of the sea trade.
● Through cartaze they got huge income.
● Use of Feitorias to consolidate trade.
● Brought to India: Tomato, Tobacco, Potato, Chillies, Cashewnut
etc.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese India
● As a result of this contact, many products of the Latin American world—potato,
corn, pineapple entered Indian rural economy, just as new breeds of fruits had
come in the wake of the Turks.
● Thus, the Indian peasant was not allergic to accepting new products if it meant a
profit for him.
● Under the Portuguese supervision, ship-building, using western techniques, was
started at Cochin.
● However, for reasons which are not yet fully understood, some other technologies
which had made an impact or had far-reaching effects, such as printing, clocks etc.
though introduced in Goa, did not find acceptance on the mainland.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese Conquests
● From the beginning the Portuguese combined the use of force
with trade.
● In this they were helped by the superiority of their armed ships
which enabled them to dominate the seas.

● They didn’t shy away from

piracy & plunder.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Portuguese Administration
● Viceroy :Head

● Secretary then council to help

● Vedor da Fazenda :Responsible for revenues & the cargoes &
dispatch of fleets.

● Captains: Responsible for fortresses from Africa to China

● Factors: Assisted captains & the powers kept on increasing due to
difficulties in communication.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Estado Portugues da India(State
of the Portuguese India

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Why did Portuguese power reduce over
time?
● Portugal was incapable of maintaining for long its trade monopoly
or its dominions in the East
● It’s population was less than a million
● It’s Court was autocratic & decadent

● It’s merchants enjoyed much less power & prestige than its
landed aristocrats

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Why did Portuguese power reduce over
time?
● It lagged behind in the development of shipping.

● Portugal had become a Spanish dependency in 1580.

● Policy of religious intolerance: Portuguese were intolerant &

fanatical in religious matters. They indulged in forcible conversion
'offering people the alternative of Christianity or sword.'

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

 Decline
● In spite of their barbaric behavior their possessions in India
survived for a century because they enjoyed control over the high
seas, their soldiers & administrators maintained strict discipline, &
they did not have to face the might of the Mughal Empire as South
India was outside Mughal influence.

● 1632: They clashed with the Mughal power in Bengal & were
driven out of their settlements at Hugli.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

● Portuguese & the Spanish had left the English & the Dutch far
behind during the 15th century & the 1st half of the 16th century.
● But, in the latter half of the 16th century, England & Holland, &
later France, all growing powers, waged a fierce struggle against
the Spanish & Portuguese monopoly of world trade.
● 1588: The English defeated the Spanish fleet called the Armada &
shattered Spanish naval supremacy for ever.
● This enabled the English & the Dutch merchants to use the Cape
route & so to join in the race for empire in the East.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

The local advantages were lost due to
• Rise of Marathas
• Emergence of Powerful dynasties.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Why did Indian powers permit the domination of the Indian
Ocean by the Portuguese for more than a century?

● The Portuguese domination of the Indian Ocean was ended, not by

Asian powers but by the Dutch & the British.

● Technologically, the Indo-Arab boom & the Chinese junk could match
the Portuguese galleons & caravels in their strength, holding capacity
for goods in view of its tonnage, and capacity to sail even in the face
of the wind with their lateen (triangular) sail. They had sufficient
nautical skills to travel on open seas.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

Why did Indian powers permit the domination of the Indian
Ocean by the Portuguese for more than a century?

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

● Where the Portuguese were superior was the maneuvering
capacity of their ships, the Indo-Arab ships being slow & clumsy
on account of their heavy sails.

● The hulls of the Portuguese ships were stronger to withstand the

shock of firing cannons. But, it has been argued, it was above all
the determination of the Portuguese sailors which decided the
issue.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

● The Indians, more used to fighting pirates, had no stomach for
fighting on sea, unbacked by their own rulers.
● Thus, it was not military & naval technology alone, but a number of
other factors which enabled the Portuguese to establish a naval
domination over the Indian seas for more than a century.
● The Indian powers reconciled themselves to this dominations
because it did not threaten their own political positions on the
mainland.
● Nor did it adversely affect their income from overseas trade.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)

● Hence, the task of
undertaking a naval conflict
with the Portuguese appeared
difficult, uncertain of success,
& likely to yield little financial
returns.

Modern History: Module I - (Introduction to History and Arrival of the Europeans)