History Write short note

The Dutch established their first colony at Machilipatnam. This port city came into existence in the 3rd century B.C.E. It is also mentioned in ‘Periplus’ of the Erythrean Sea as ‘Mosalia’.

The British established factories in India. For this, they used to acquire large plots of land. These plots were used to build warehouses, residential quarters, and offices. The main building of the factory carried the ‘Union Jack’. The staff of these factories was called ‘Factors’. The meals provided to the staff included bread, meat, rice, Khichadi of pulses and rice, pickles, etc. The company had created beautiful gardens for the benefit of the staff at Surat, Karwar, Machilipatnam, Petapuli, Chennai, and Mumbai.

The king of Calicut wrote to the King of Portugal in a letter sent with Vasco da Gama “Our state is rich in spices like cloves, ginger, black pepper, and precious stones. We expect you to pay us in gold, silver, corals in exchange for our spices and precious stones”. Vasco da Gama sold the commodities in Portugal, which he carried from India. He could earn a huge amount of money in that trade which was sixty times more than the money he spent for his return journey to Portugal.

The Cartaz was a license issued by the Portuguese to the Indian rulers for sailing on the Indian Ocean when they established firm control on the Indian Ocean. It usually carried details like the name of the vessel (ship), the name of the captain of the ship, port of departure and arrival, the list of weaponry on the ship loaded for the purpose of self-defense, etc.