1.
Tharangambadi
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Tharangambadi, formerly Tranquebar, is a town in the Nagapattinam district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies 15 kilometres north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River, Tharangambadi is the headquarters of Tharangambadi taluk while its name means place of the singing waves. It was a Danish colony from 1620 to 1845, and in Danish it is known as Trankebar. The place dates back to 14th century, masilamani nathar temple was built in 1306, in a land given by Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I. As of now, this temple is the oldest monument, until 1620, when the Danes came, the place was under Thanjavur Nayak kingdom. Danish admiral Ove Gjedde felt the place would be a trading centre, made a deal with Raghunatha Nayak and built a fort. Nevertheless, a jesuit Catholic church was already in place before that, the Catholic church was probably demolished to build the fort. This fort was the residence and headquarters of the governor and other officials for about 150 years and it is now a museum hosting a collection of artefacts from the colonial era. Ziegenbalg translated the Old and New Testaments into Tamil, imported a printing press, the local people were forced to learn the broken Portuguese that was the lingua franca between Indians and Europeans at the time, and later on translated the Bible into the local Tamil language. They also established a press, which within a hundred years of its establishment in 1712 had printed 300 books in Tamil. At first they made little progress in their religious efforts. The seat of the Bishop, the Cathedral and its Church House is in Tiruchirappalli, the Zion church was consecrated in 1701, which is the oldest Protestant church in India. In 1718, The New Jerusalem Church was constructed, moravian Brethren missionaries from Herrnhut, Saxony established the Brethrens Garden at Porayar near Tranquebar and operated it as a missionary centre for a number of years. Tranquebar was occupied by the British in February 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars but was restored to Denmark following the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, along with the Danish settlement of Serampore in Bengal, it was sold to the British in 1845. Tranquebar was then still a port, but it later lost its importance after a railway was opened to Nagapattinam. The Subrahmanya Temple, Perambur, located in the outskirts of the town is one of the most prominent Murugan temples in the region, the antiquities connected with the colonial period and Danish settlement at Tharangampadi are exhibited. There is also part of a skeleton, a giant sawfish rostrum. The New Jerusalem Church was built in 1718 by the Royal Danish missionary Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in the town of Tranquebar
2.
Christian IV of Denmark
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Christian IV, sometimes colloquially referred to as Christian Firtal in Denmark and Christian Kvart or Quart in Norway, was king of Denmark-Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 to 1648. His 59-year reign is the longest of Danish monarchs, and of Scandinavian monarchies, a member of the house of Oldenburg, Christian began his personal rule of Denmark in 1596 at the age of 19. He is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious, Christian IV obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. He engaged Denmark in numerous wars, most notably the Thirty Years War, which devastated much of Germany, undermined the Danish economy and he renamed the Norwegian capital Oslo as Christiania after himself, a name used until 1925. Christian was born at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark on 12 April 1577 as the child and eldest son of King Frederick II of Denmark–Norway. He was descended, through his mothers side, from king John of Denmark, at the time, Denmark was still an elective monarchy, so in spite of being the eldest son Christian was not automatically heir to the throne. However, in 1580, at the age of 3, his father had him elected Prince-Elect, at the death of his father on 4 April 1588, Christian was 11 years old. He succeeded to the throne, but as he was still under-age a regency council was set up to serve as the trustees of the power while Christian was still growing up. It was led by chancellor Niels Kaas and consisted of the Rigsraadet council members Peder Munk, Jørgen Ottesen Rosenkrantz and his mother Queen Dowager Sophie,30 years old, had wished to play a role in the government, but was denied by the Council. At the death of Niels Kaas in 1594, Jørgen Rosenkrantz took over leadership of the regency council, Christian continued his studies at Sorø Academy and received a good education with a reputation as a headstrong and talented student. In 1595, the Council of the Realm decided that Christian would soon be old enough to assume control of the reins of government. On 17 August 1596, at the age of 19, Christian signed his haandfæstning, twelve days later, on 29 August 1596, Christian IV was crowned at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen by the Bishop of Zealand, Peder Jensen Vinstrup. He was crowned with a new Danish Crown Regalia which had made for him by Dirich Fyring. On 30 November 1597, he married Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, Christian took an interest in many and varied matters, including a series of domestic reforms and improving Danish national armaments. New fortresses were constructed under the direction of Dutch engineers, the Danish navy, which in 1596 had consisted of but twenty-two vessels, in 1610 rose to sixty, some of them built after Christians own designs. The formation of a national army proved more difficult, up until the early 1620s, Denmarks economy profited from general boom conditions in Europe. This inspired Christian to initiate a policy of expanding Denmarks overseas trade and he founded a number of merchant cities, and supported the building of factories. He also built a number of buildings in Dutch Renaissance style
3.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
4.
Portuguese India
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The first viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, established his headquarters in Cochin. Subsequent Portuguese governors were not always of viceroy rank, after 1510, the capital of the Portuguese viceroyalty was transferred to Goa. Until the 18th century, the Portuguese governor in Goa had authority over all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to southeast Asia. Portugal lost effective control of the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1954, and finally the rest of the territory in December 1961. In spite of this, Portugal only recognised Indian control in 1975, after the Carnation Revolution, the first Portuguese encounter with the subcontinent was on 20 May 1498 when Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on Malabar Coast. Anchored off the coast of Calicut, the Portuguese invited native fishermen on board, one Portuguese accompanied the fishermen to the port and met with a Tunisian Muslim. On the advice of this man, Gama sent a couple of his men to Ponnani to meet with ruler of Calicut, over the objections of Arab merchants, Gama managed to secure a letter of concession for trading rights from the Zamorin, Calicuts Hindu ruler. But, the Portuguese were unable to pay the customs duties. Later Calicut officials temporarily detained Gamas Portuguese agents as security for payment and this, however, annoyed Gama, who carried a few natives and sixteen fishermen with him by force. Nevertheless, Gamas expedition was successful beyond all expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition. Matters worsened when the Portuguese factory at Calicut was attacked by surprise by the locals, Cabral also ordered his ships to bombard Calicut for an entire day in retaliation for the violation of the agreement. In Cochin and Cannanore Cabral succeeded in making advantageous treaties with the local rulers, Cabral started the return voyage on 16 January 1501 and arrived in Portugal with only 4 of 13 ships on 23 June 1501. The Portuguese built the Pulicat fort in 1502, with the help of the Vijayanagar ruler, Vasco da Gama sailed to India for a second time with 15 ships and 800 men, arriving at Calicut on 30 October 1502, where the ruler was willing to sign a treaty. Gama this time made a call to expel all Muslims from Calicut which was turned down. He bombarded the city and captured several rice vessels and he returned to Portugal in September 1503. Francisco de Almeida left Portugal with a fleet of 22 vessels with 1,500 men, on 13 September, Francisco de Almeida reached Anjadip Island, where he immediately started the construction of Fort Anjediva. On 23 October, with the permission of the ruler of Cannanore, he started building St. Angelo Fort at Cannanore, leaving Lourenço de Brito in charge with 150 men. Francisco de Almeida then reached Cochin on 31 October 1505 with only 8 vessels left, there he learned that the Portuguese traders at Quilon had been killed
5.
Kingdom of Kandy
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Kingdom of Kandy was an independent monarchy of the island of Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century, the kingdom was absorbed into the British Empire as a protectorate following the Kandyan Convention of 1815, and definitively lost its autonomy following the Uva Rebellion of 1817. Over the years, the Kingdom of Kandy has been known by many names, routes to the city were kept secret, and spreading information concerning them could often result in death. Many routes into the country became impassable during the annual monsoon. Though the kingdom had intermittent access to the port of Batticaloa it had no forces and could not prevent the Portuguese. The city of Senkadagalapura may have been founded as early as the century during the reign of Vikramabahu III of Gampola. Following the Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521, the kingdom of Kotte split into three competing states – Sitawaka, Raigama, and Bhuvanekabahu VIIs kingdom of Kotte, of these Sitawaka, under the dynamic leadership of Mayadunne, posed the greatest threat to the autonomy of the other states. In 1522, the Kandyans secured Portuguese protection against Sitawaka, but any potential for alliance ended in 1546 when Portuguese, Kandy subsequently lent aid to the Jaffna Kingdom against the Portuguese in 1560. Kandy territory was invaded twice in the 1570s and 1580s, first in 1574, both eventually fell under Portuguese warship, converted to Christianity, and adopted the names Dona Catherina and Don Phillip respectively. In the meanwhile the Portuguese also laid claim to the Kandyan realm, Wirasundara Mudiyanse, Rajasinhas viceroy in the area, rebelled soon after the initial conquest, though his uprising was crushed another occurred in 1588. Resistance eventually coalesced around Konnappu Bandara, son of Wirasundara, who had fled to Portuguese lands following his fathers murder by agents of Rajasinha, between 1591 and 1594, he returned to the area, seized the Kandyan throne under the name Vimaladharmasuriya I and married Dona Catherina. Victories over the Sitawakans and the Portuguese secured his position, the strategic situation in Sri Lanka changed dramatically during Vimaladharmasuryas rise to power. To the north, the Portuguese deposed the king Puviraja Pandaram of the Jaffna Kingdom in 1591, in 1594, Rajasinha I died and the kingdom of Sitawaka disintegrated. Kandy remained the sole native polity outside of European dominance, hostilities between the Portuguese and the Kandyans continued throughout the rest of Vimaladharmasuryas reign. The Kandyans lent aid to a rebellion led by Domingos Correa and later Simao Correa, Sinhala subjects of Dharmapala, a Portuguese incursion in 1604 saw them capture Balane, but dissent amongst their Lascarin troops forced a withdrawal back to the coast. Relations between the Dutch Republic and the Kandyans were initiated on the 2 June 1602 when Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen arrived at Santhamuruthu on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Later that year the Dutch East India Company despatched Sebald de Weert to Kandy in an attempt to negotiate a treaty. The visit ended in disaster when the visitors offended their Kandyan hosts with their behaviour and in the ensuing fracas de Weert and a several of his entourage were killed
6.
Trincomalee
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Trincomalee also known as Gokanna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, people from Trincomalee are known as Trincomalians and the local authority is Trincomalee Urban Council. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway station and an ancient ferry service to Jaffna, the recorded history of Trincomalee spans more than two and a half thousand years, beginning with civilian settlement associated with the Koneswaram temple in the pre-modern era. One of the oldest cities in Asia, it has served as a major seaport in the international trading history of the island with South East Asia. The citys architecture shows some of the best examples of interaction between native and European styles and it is home to major naval and air force bases at the Trincomalee Garrison. The city also has the largest Dutch fort on the island and its sacred status to the Hindus has led to the city being declared Dakshina-Then Kailasam or Mount Kailash of the South and the Rome of the Pagans of the Orient. The harbour is renowned for its size and security, unlike any other in the Indian Ocean. Popular tourist destinations include its beaches at Uppuveli, Salli and Nilaveli, used for visits, surfing, scuba diving, fishing and whale watching. Trincomalee is served by a campus of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka and has been the inspiration of both domestic and international poetry, films, music and literature for many centuries, the city has developed from a village settlement on the promontory dedicated to the Hindu shrine. Kona has other meanings in Old Tamil such as peak, while another origin for the term Koneswaram could come from the Tamil term Kuna, therefore, other translators suggest definitions of Trincomalee such as sacred angular/peaked hill, sacred eastern hill or three peaked hill. The temple was constructed atop Swami Rock, also called Swami Malai or Kona-ma-malai, the Trincomalee Harbour, a circular natural harbour which the temple crowns towards the north, is referred to as Ko-Kannam or Lords Cheek, alluding to the cheek shape of Shivas bull Nandi. The Sanskrit equivalent of the towns harbour bay is Go-Karna, meaning Cows Ear or Gokarna Pattana. Pathmanathan offers the etymological link Thiru-Gokarna-Malai or Thiru-Gona-Malai based on this connection, the bay is also referred to as Gokaranna according to a Sanskrit inscription in Grantha script excavated on a doorjamb at the Hindu temple dated to Tamil New Years Day 1223 CE. Gokarna is also a name in Karnataka, India, Kalinga, Tamil Nadu. The associated Bhadrakali Amman Temple of Trincomalee, significantly expanded by Rajendra Chola I, both men were ardent disciples of Nandi. Trincomalee which is a natural harbour has attracted seafarers, trader and pilgrims from Europe, Middle East, Africa, China. Trinco, as it is called, has been a seaport. The earliest epigraphical inscriptions found in Trincomalee city are in the Tamil language, the Tamil settlement at the port of Trincomalee was one of the oldest settlements on the island
7.
Thanjavur Nayak kingdom
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Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu between the 16th to the 17th century. The Nayaks were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagar Emperor in the 14th century, in the mid 16th century they became an independent kingdom, although continued their alliance with the Vijayanagagr Empire. Thanjavur Nayaks were notable for their patronage of literature and the arts, the Mannaru of the Mannargudi temple was their kula daivam. With the demise of the Chola dynasty in 1279, Thanjavur was ruled by a branch of Chola dynasty, the Vijayanagar rulers installed viceroys to rule over various parts of the empire. Sevappa Nayak, was the first Thanjavur Nayak king and he was the son of Timmappa Nayak, a Vijayanagara viceroy in the Arcot region from his wife Bayyambika. The work Raghunathabhyudayam written by Vijayaraghava Nayaka gives some details of Timmappa. Timmappa or Timmabhupati was the ruler of North Arcot with his capital at Nedungunram, the epigraphs of all of the Tanjore Nayaks show that they belonged to Nedungunram. One of Krishnadevarayas epigraphs mentions that Timmappa also had the privilege of serving him as a door keeper and was the emperors dalavay who took part in the Raichur campaign. According to historian V. Vriddhagirisan, Timmappa Nayak was the brother of Nagama Nayak, Nagama Nayak was the father of Visvanatha Nayak. Hence Viswanatha Nayak and Chevvappa Nayak were cousins, the work Raghunathabhyudayam mentions that Timmappa and Bayambika had 4 sons, Pedda Seva, Chinna Seva, Pedda Malla and Chinna Malla. However, not much is known of the other 3 sons, of the 4 sons, Chinna Seva alias Sevappa Nayak seems to have distinguished himself. Before assuming power of the Tanjore kingdom, Sevvappa had distinguished himself under Krishnadavaraya as an administrator, sevappas wife Murtimamba was the sister-in-law of Achyuta Deva Raya and the sister of the Vijayanagara Queen, Thirumalamba. Some sources suggest that Sevappa acquired the Thanjavur Kingdom as stridhana from Achyutadeva Raya, Sevappa was also a ceremonial betel bearer to Achyuta Deva Raya, the brother of Krishnadevaraya. According to the book Arunachala, A short history of hill and temple in Tiruvannamalai, and Sevappa being a powerful and influential man of the locality was appointed the first nayak. The position of a betel bearer was not given to an outsider. Therefore, the position was given to a trusted member within the family. Sevappas son, Achuthappa Nayak, was named in memory of Achyuta Deva Raya and he led a peaceful reign of 54 years. Up until 1580 Achuthappa Nayak co- ruled with his father under the Yuvaraja title while immediately after that he was joined by his heir-son Raghunatha Nayak and he was said to be deeply religious and was well considered a master in the art of warfare
8.
Shivaji
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Shivaji Bhonsle, also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire, in 1674, he was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati of his realm at Raigad. Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a disciplined military and he revived ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions and promoted the usage of Marathi and Sanskrit, rather than Persian, in court and administration. Particularly in Maharashtra, debates over his history and role have engendered great passion and sometimes even violence as disparate groups have sought to characterise him and his legacy. Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri, near the city of Junnar in Pune district on 6 April 1627 or 19 February 1630, per legend, his mother named him Shivaji in honour of the goddess Shivai, to whom she had prayed for a healthy child. Shivaji was named after this local deity, Shivajis father Shahaji Bhonsle was a Maratha general who served the Deccan Sultanates. His mother was Jijabai, the daughter of Lakhujirao Jadhav of Sindkhed, at the time of Shivajis birth, the power in Deccan was shared by three Islamic sultanates, Bijapur, Ahmednagar, and Golconda. Shahaji often changed his loyalty between the Nizamshahi of Ahmadnagar, the Adilshah of Bijapur and the Mughals, but always kept his jagir at Pune, Shivaji was extremely devoted to his mother Jijabai, who was deeply religious. This religious environment had a impact on Shivaji, and he carefully studied the two great Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, these were to influence his lifelong defence of Hindu values. Throughout his life he was interested in religious teachings, and regularly sought the company of Hindu. Shahaji, meanwhile had married a wife, Tuka Bai from the Mohite family. He left Shivaji and Jijabai in Pune in the care of his jagir administrator, Dadoji has been credited with overseeing education and training of young Shivaji. Shivaji as a boy was an outdoorsman and, though he received little formal education and most likely could neither read nor write. Shivaji drew his earliest trusted comrades and a number of his soldiers from the Maval region, including Yesaji Kank, Suryaji Kakade, Baji Pasalkar, Baji Prabhu Deshpande. However, Shivajis association with the Maval comrades and his independent spirit did not sit well with Dadoji who complained to Shahaji to no avail in making him compliant. At the age of 12, Shivaji was taken to Bangalore where he, his elder brother Sambhaji and he married Saibai from the prominent Nimbalkar family in 1640. Around 1645–46, the teenage Shivaji first expressed his concept for Hindavi Swarajya, in 1645, the 15-year-old Shivaji bribed or persuaded the Bijapuri commander of the Torna Fort, Inayat Khan, to hand over the possession of the fort to him. Firangoji Narsala, who held the Chakan fort professed his loyalty to Shivaji, on 25 July 1648, Shahaji was imprisoned by Baji Ghorpade under the orders of Mohammed Adil Shah, in a bid to contain Shivaji
9.
Swedish East India Company
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The Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the Far East. Sweden was the last of the more prominent seafaring European nations to engage in the East India Trade, the royal privileges for the Swedish East India Company were granted almost a century after the other European trading companies were established. With the advent of the East India trade in the 1600s, Chinese, drinking tea and having Chinese objects became the height of fashion in the Swedish socialite and the middle class. Chinese culture, philosophy, art, agriculture and architecture were studied and copied. The most prominent example of this is the Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm, China was considered a model community, a template for how a country should be governed. The first attempt of organizing a Swedish East India trading company was made by a Flemish merchant, during the 1600s, the Dutch merchants dominated the newly founded Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. On 14 June 1626, Usselincx received royal privileges for a company for twelve years. The privileges included clauses about the ethics of trading with foreign, the first priority was to establish friendly, long-term relations that would be mutually beneficiary for both parties. The venture was supported by a number of prominent Swedes, including the King himself, political difficulties and Swedens participation in the Thirty Years War where King Gustav II was killed, put an end to the plans. The resources were used for a smaller company, trading within Europe. The aim was to bypass the Spanish and Portuguese blockades, the plan did not gain any support as the ice barriers proved even more difficult. Borg stated that if there was a war between Sweden and Denmark, he could deliver the Danish fort in Tharangambadi, India, to the Swedes, residual resources were used to send two ships, the Solen and the Trumslagaren, to Lisbon for salt. A later attempt to establish the Swedish trade on the East Indies, was made by pirates sailing out from Madagascar, after having attacked other trading ships, they had become wealthy and were looking for a place to settle down and invest their money in legitimate enterprise. The pirates numbered about 1,500 and commanded a considerable and they started by offering the Swedish King Charles XII half a million pounds sterling and 25 armed ships for his protection, but the matter was not resolved. In 1718, representatives for the pirates met again with the King at his camp during the campaign against Norway. The new offer was for 60 ships, armed and stocked with goods, if the pirates were allowed to settle down in Gothenburg, when the King was shot and died on 30 November 1718, the venture folded. Sweden was impoverished after the Great Northern War, and trade was seen as an option for rebuilding the country, opinions about whether trade with the East Indies would be profitable enough diverged. The greatest concern was that Sweden would not have resources to defend the companys ships
10.
East India Company
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The company also ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India. The company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, wealthy merchants and aristocrats owned the Companys shares. Initially the government owned no shares and had only indirect control, during its first century of operation the focus of the Company was trade, not the building of an empire in India. The company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own armies, exercising military power. Despite frequent government intervention, the company had recurring problems with its finances, the official government machinery of British India had assumed its governmental functions and absorbed its armies. Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean, one of them, Edward Bonventure, then sailed around Cape Comorin to the Malay Peninsula and returned to England in 1594. In 1596, three ships sailed east, however, these were all lost at sea. Two days later, on 24 September, the Adventurers reconvened and resolved to apply to the Queen for support of the project, the Adventurers convened again a year later. For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Anybody who traded in breach of the charter without a licence from the Company was liable to forfeiture of their ships and cargo, the governance of the company was in the hands of one governor and 24 directors or committees, who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors, ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. According to tradition, business was transacted at the Nags Head Inn, opposite St Botolphs church in Bishopsgate. Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601, in March 1604 Sir Henry Middleton commanded the second voyage. Early in 1608 Alexander Sharpeigh was appointed captain of the Companys Ascension, thereafter two ships, Ascension and Union sailed from Woolwich on 14 March 1607–8. Initially, the company struggled in the trade because of the competition from the already well-established Dutch East India Company. The company opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage, the factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time belonging to the company arriving in India docked at Surat. In the next two years, the company established its first factory in south India in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal
11.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
12.
Surat
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Surat, is a port city previously known as Suryapur. It is the capital and former princely state in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India, Surat is the 3rd cleanest city of India, and 4th fastest growing city of the world. Surat is famous for its food, textile, and diamonds, Surat polishes over 90 percent of the worlds rough diamond. It is the capital of the Surat district. The city is located 284 kilometres south of the capital, Gandhinagar,265 kilometres south of Ahmedabad. The city centre is located 22 km south of the Tapti River, a moat divides the older parts of the city, with their narrow streets and historical houses, from the newer suburbs. Surat had a population of 4.5 million at the 2011 census, making it the second largest city in the state of Gujarat and it is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration of India. Surat is the 34th-largest city by area and 4th-fastest developing cities in a study conducted by the City Mayors Foundation, the city registered an annualised GDP growth rate of 11.5 per cent over the seven fiscal years between 2001 and 2008. Surat was awarded best city by the Annual Survey of Indias City-Systems in 2013, Surat is selected as the first smart IT city in India which is being constituted by the Microsoft CityNext Initiative tied up with IT services majors Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. The city has 2.97 million internet users which is about 65% of total population, Surat was selected in 2015 for an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant. Surat has been selected as one of twenty Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. Surat is mentioned in Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata, when Lord Krishna stopped there on his way from Mathura to Dwarka, the Parsis began to settle there in the 8th century. Local Hindu traditions state that the city was founded in the last years of the fifteenth century A. C. E. by a Brahman named Gopi, in 1512 and again in 1530 Surat was ravaged by the Portuguese Empire. In 1513, the Portuguese traveller Duarte Barbosa described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by ships from Malabar. By 1520, the name of the city was Surat, when the harbour in Cambay began to silt up toward the end of fifteenth century, Surat eclipsed Cambay as the major port of western India. At the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese were undisputed masters of the Surat sea trade, on the banks of the Tapti River, there is still a picturesque fortress that was built in 1540. In 1608, ships from the English East India Company started docking in Surat, using it as a trade, the city was made the seat of a presidency of the East India Company after the success of the embassy God of Wealth
