Say What Now?!

Before the East India Company even thought about setting up shop in India, an Englishman named John Mildenhall showed up in 1599. He wasn’t with a big company or an army; he was just a merchant adventurer, the kind of guy who probably thought, “Why not walk across the world and see what happens?” He arrived by land route and started chatting with Indian merchants, paving the way for what was to come. Then in 1600, a group of merchants back in England got together and said, “Let’s make this official.” They formed the East India Company, also called the English East India Company, and Queen Elizabeth I herself gave them the rights to trade in the East. Basically, they got an exclusive membership card to one of the biggest markets in the world. By 1608, Captain Hawkins turned up at Jahangir’s court in India, trying to sweet-talk the emperor into letting them build a factory. Jahangir, however, wasn’t too impressed and brushed it off. But the English didn’t give up. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe...

Back in 1498, Vasco da Gama got bored of the usual European routes and decided to test out a new shortcut. With nothing but the stars and a lot of courage, he discovered the Cape route, a sea passage from Europe to India. On May 17, 1498, he sailed right into the port of Calicut, where the Hindu ruler, the Zamorin, welcomed him. Vasco probably just smiled and said, “I’m here for spices,” because let’s be honest, that was the ultimate treasure of the time. Pretty soon, the Portuguese were busy setting up trading stations at Calicut, Cochin, and Cannanore. Cochin became their first capital in India, like a cozy startup office. But, as usual, bigger dreams took over, and later Goa became the main headquarters. Then came Alfonso de Albuquerque in 1503, a man who arrived with big ambitions. By 1509, he became the governor of the Portuguese in India, following Francisco de Almeida, who had been governor from 1503 to 1509. Albuquerque wasn’t one to sit quietly; in 1510, he captured Goa from t...