Portuguese History in India

In 1498 Vaso-da-Gama discovered the sea route to India. This was a great event of history. For, it opened the gate to India’s contact with Europe in the modern age.

We have already seen that Alfonso d’ Albuquerque was sent to India by the king of Portugal. Albuquerque captured Goa in 1510 and this was a signal for Portuguese domination in the eastern trade.

In the course of time, Diu, Surat, Goa, Daman, Bombay, Calicut, Cochin, Masulipatnam and Colombo came under their sway. There were several famous Portuguese missionaries like Francis Xavier and Stevens.

In the seventeenth century with the coming of the Dutch and the English to India the position gained by the Portuguese was lost.