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1292
Marco Polo
Marco Polo is an Italian merchant, explorer, and writer who arrived on the Coromandel Coast of Inidia in 1292 returning home from China. He was not the first European explorer to reach China but he was the first one to leave detailed descriptions of his experience. This inspired many explorers including Christopher Columbus. Also, this also influenced and became a motif for Europan literature -
1453
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading Ottoman army on 29 May 1453. -
1498
Arrival of Vasco da Gama
Portuguese captain Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498. He departed in 1497 with a crew of 170 men. He made stops at Mozambique, Mombasa, and Malindi, and arrived at Calicut. -
Period: 1526 to
Mughal Dynasty
The Mughal dynasty was one of Turkic-Mongol origin that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid-18th century. It was notable for its more than two centuries of effective rule over much of India and for the ability of its rulers, who maintained a record of unusual talent through seven generations. The dynasty was founded by a Turkic prince named Babur, who descended from the Turkic conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) and Chagatai, second son of the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. -
Arrival of British
The British soon followed the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British into India. They were eager for a share of the rich Indian trade. -
East India Company
England set up the East India Company with Robert Clive as an administrator. From the Mughal rulers, the East India Company won rights to build trading posts and forts at Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. The English traded gold and silver for Indian goods such as cotton, silk, and tea. They forced Indian rulers to sign treaties granting it greater power, gaining enormous wealth from India. -
Death of Aurangzeb
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died on March 3, 1707, in Bhingar, Ahmednagar, India. His death marked the end of the Mughal Empire. -
Period: to
7 Years War (French & Indian War )
The French and Indian war was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris. -
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, under the leadership of Robert Clive. -
Regulating Act of 1773
The Regulating Act 1773 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to overhaul the management of the East India Company's rule in India. It was introduced by Frederick North, Lord North on 18 May 1773. -
Pitt's India Act
The East India Company Act 1784, also known as Pitt's India Act, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to address the shortcomings of the Regulating Act of 1773 by bringing the East India Company's rule in India under the control of the British Government. This gave the British government effective control of the private company for the first time. -
Sepoy Rebellion / Indian Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began in Meerut by Indian troops (sepoys). It was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company. Also called the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Indians referred to this uprising as India's first war of independence while the British called it the Sepoy Mutiny. -
India Taken Over
The British government took over India as a colony. They sent the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, into exile. -
Period: to
British Raj
The "Raj" means "to rule" or "kingdom" in Hindi. In 1858, British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. The life and death struggle that preceded this formalization of British control lasted nearly two years; it is referred to as the "Great Rebellion," the "Indian Mutiny," or the "First War of Indian Independence." The consequences of this bloody incident involved numerous casualties. -
Period: to
Indian Civil Service (British India)
The Indian Civil Service (ICS), for part of the 19th century officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the elite higher civil service of the British Empire in British India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947 -
Queen Victoria
In 1877, Queen Victoria of Britain was crowned the Empress of India by Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Prime Minister. India was already after crown control after 1858, but this title was a gesture to link the monarchy with the empire further and bind India more closely to Britain. The crowning faced opposition from liberals who feared that the title was synonymous with absolutism. -
Gandhi's 1st Non-Violent Protest
When Transvaal government tried to employ additional restrictions on the rights of Indians, Gandhi organized his first campaign of satyagraha meaning “truth or soul force”, or mass civil disobedience. He greatly valued non-violence in protests. After seven years of protest, he finally made a compromise with the South African government. -
The Muslim League Forms
The Muslim League, a Muslim political party, was found by Nawab Khwaja Salimullah in 1906. The goals upon its formation were to protect the interest, liberties, and rights of Muslims and to increase an understanding between the Muslim community and others without violence. Its strong support for the establishment of a separate nation, with a majority of Muslims, Pakistan, led to the partition of British India in 1947 by the British Empire. -
Period: to
World War I
World War I was a global war originating in Europe that lasted four years. To maintain the war effort, Britain needed huge supplies of commodities and manpower. Being the biggest and the most populous colony, India got drawn into the conflict as a major source of men and material. Britain promises India self-rule if they help fight in the war and thus got support even from Gandhi. When the war ended, Britain made a few reforms and refused to grant India self-government. -
Amritsar Massacre of 1919
Amritsar Massacre is also known as Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of Indians, who had assembled in Jallianwala Bagh for a festival known as Baisakhi. Official British Indian sources identified 379 individuals dead and approximately 1,100 wounded. As a result, the goals of the Indian National Congress and Muslim League changed their direction from self-rule to independence. -
The Salt March
The Salt March was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mohandas Gandhi. His plan was to produce salt in the ocean against British law, which claimed that the British had sole right to produce and sell salt in India. -
Kashmir Conflict
The Muslim majority in the Kashmir region was Hindu Maharaja. The conflict started immediately after the Maharaja was forced to flee. In October, 1947, India went to war with Pakistan over control of Kashmir. The UN negotiated a line of control and cease fire, but no peace was reached. As a result, both countries claimed all of Kashmir. -
Gandhi Dies
Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by Nathuram Godse who was mad at Gandhi for preaching peace with Pakistan. He blamed Gandhi for continuing to appease Muslims in such a manner "that my blood boiled and I could tolerate him no longer." He was sentenced to death in 1949 -
Assassination of Indira Gandhi
Religious and political conflict remained a problem in India in the 1980s. The Sikhs demanded an independent state of Punjah and assassinated prime minister, Indira Gandhi (Nehru's daughter).
