Question

What attracted European trading companies to India?

Answer 1

Answer: The main reason behind European trading companies getting attracted to India was the trade. Later on it slowly translated into colonisation.

• The East India Company was given the sole right to trade in the East by Queen Elizabeth I. This prevented other English companies from competing with the East India Company when it came to trade with India.
• These European trading companies wanted to buy things at cheap price and sell them at higher prices in Europe.
• Portuguese had already established their base in Western India, when the British arrived in India.
• There were from Dutch and French traders as well.
• All the trading companies wanted to buy the same things.
• There was a big market in Europe for the fine qualities of silk and cotton produced in India.
• There was also great demand for cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper.
• There was a reduction in the profits that could be earned by these European companies, from the goods they purchased in India, as the prices had shot up due to competition.
• Hence eliminating rival competitions among European trading companies was the only way to flourish.
• All these led to fierce battles between European trading companies.
• Through fortification, trading posts were protected.
• Hence they prevented each other’s rival ships from moving with supply of goods by blockading routes, sinking each other’s ships through the 17th and 18th centuries.