Everything began with the East India Company, which was established by the British in 1600 to challenge the Dutch-Portuguese monopoly of the spice trade. Queen Elizabeth granted the company monopoly rights to bring goods from India. With the approval of local Indian rulers, the East India Company established trading posts in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. The company was now trading in cottons, silks, indigo, saltpeter and tea, and had a monopoly of this trade until 1694 when the House of Commons passed an act that enabled all British firms to trade with India. The East India Company retained its dominant position and continued to make large profits from India and by 1720, 15% of Britain's imports came from India.

In the beginning of 17th century, Europeans, particularly British, started trading in the subcontinent. Merchants of the East India Company never imagined that British presence in the subcontinent could mean anything more than peaceful trading. The French arrived in the middle of the 17t

Although the British had officially let go of its rule over India, lasting effects of the European powers held a significant influence on India’s language and culture, making it an extremely diverse country. There are fifteen languages recognized by the Indian government and they are spoken in over 1600 dialects. India's official language is Hindi, but English continues to be the official working language. Other languages include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Oriya, Telugu and Urdu.

Resentment to British rule came to a head in 1857 when Indian troops stationed near Delhi staged a mutiny. However, the rebellion failed, and as a result both the East India Company and the existence Mughal Empire ended. Furthermore, the mutiny forced the British government to assume direct control over the Indian subcontinent. India officially became a British colony in 1877, and was considered the ‘brightest jewel in the crown of the British Empire.’

Britain’s initial aim had been to politically and socially unify India. This, in the end was a major reason for the British rule coming to an end. The breakdown of British rule in India was partially due to its remarkable success. Britain had profited enormously from Indi

Some topics in this essay:
India Company, Mahatma Gandhi, British India, Jainism Sikhism, Empire Furthermore, Urdu India, Resentment British, Bombay Calcutta, Congress INC, Queen Elizabeth, east india, india company, east india company, british rule, india east india, reason british, company established, rule india, 17th century, india east, population muslims, india company established, official language,