in Gujarat and the first contacts between the Portuguese and the Mughal emperor established. In Philip II, King of Spain, defeated Portugal and annexed it. In India the Dutch defeated the Portuguese in Ceylon and later seized the Portuguese fort on Malabar Coast. Thereafter rather than protecting their settlements in India, Portuguese began to evince greater interest in Brazil.
The Impact of Portuguese Presence For the first time in the political history of India the Europeans conquered and seized territories from the Indian rulers. Indian rulers remained divided and Europeans took advantage of it. The Europeans adopted new methods in the warfare. Gun powder and superior artillery played a significant role.
The Portuguese could contain the monopolistic trade of the Arabs. But it did not really help them. Instead, it benefited the British who removed pirates on the sea routes and made the sea voyage safe. The marriages between Europeans and Indians, encouraged by the Portuguese in the territories occupied by them, created a new Eurasian racial group.
They were the ones who were later taken to other Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia. The presence of Portuguese is very much evident in Chennai’s San Thome. Mylapore was the Portuguese ‘Black Town’. (Black Town of the British period was George Town) Following the establishment of Portuguese settlements, Jesuit missionaries visited India.
Notable among them are: . Roberto de Nobili, whose linguistic ability enabled him to write extensively in Tamil and Sanskrit. He is considered the father of Tamil prose . .
Henriques introduced printing in Tamil and is called the father of printing press . by the Sultan of Egypt. He befriended the ruler of Cochin and built fortresses at Cochin, Kannur and other places on the Malabar coast. Albuquerque ( - ), the successor of Almeida, was the real founder of the Portuguese empire in India.
He defeated Yusuf Adil Khan, the ruler of Bijapur in and captured Goa. He developed Goa into a centre of commerce by making all the ships sail on that route. He encouraged people of all faiths to settle in Goa. He was