Dutch East India Company¶

The Dutch East India Company came to India in 1602. It was not a royal monopoly but a chartered joint-stock company.

The company made its first attempt to establish settlements on the Coromandel Coast in 1605. The Dutch also issued gold coins depicting the image of Lord Venkateshwara at Pulicat.

Factories (Trading Centers)¶

• Masulipatnam
• Pulicat
• Chinsura
• Kasimbazar (Bengal)
• Nagapattinam (Cochin region)

Decline¶

• The Dutch were defeated by the British in the Battle of Bedara (1759) in Bengal.
• After this defeat, the Dutch sold most of their settlements to the British.
• Eventually, they were completely out of Indian trade by 1825.

Items of Trade¶

• Textiles
• Saltpetre
• Spices
• Rice
• Opium (Afeem)