who came to india first dutch or british
Colonial India Colonial India is the part of the Indian subcontinent which was under the jurisdiction of European colonial powers, through trade and conquest. One of the main catalysts of the Age of Discovery was trade, especially in spices.[1][2] The search for the wealth and prosperity of India led to the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Only a few years later, near the end of the 15th century, Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama became the first European to re-establish direct trade links with India since Roman times by being the first to arrive by circumnavigating Africa (c. 1497â€“1499). Having arrived in Calicut, which by then was one of the major trading ports of the eastern world,[3] he obtained permission to trade in the city from Saamoothiri Rajah.