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On May 20, 1498, Vasco da Gama, with a fleet of 4 ships and 170 men, landed in the port city of Calicut, on the west coast of India. Da Gama was the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa and reach India.
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After defeating the Portuguese in the Battle of Swally, the East India Company sought and was granted permission by King James I to negotiate the establishment of a permanent trading post within India, with the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir.
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In a series of 5 royal charter around 1670, English King Charles II grants the East India Company the rights to autonomous government of its territorial acquisitions, mint money, command fortresses, form alliances, and exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction over its possessions, essentially establishing the first English colonies.
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Over the next century, British power increased dramatically. By 1857, the East India Company had complete control of most of the Indian subcontinent and Myanmar.
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The East India Company, led by Robert Clive, defeats the Nawab of Bengal and French allies. As a result, the East India Company was able to take control over the provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
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In 1857, Indian soldiers with the East India Company, known as sepoys, mutinied against the Company. Reasons for the mutiny included resentment toward British social reforms, discrimination against Indian soldiers, and issues of caste divisions within the army. The major goals of the mutiny was reducing the level of British power within India and preventing them from stripping Indians of their ethnic and religious identities. The mutiny was suppressed leading to the deaths of 800,000 Indians.
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The British Parliament liquidates the East India Company and transfers all its assets to the British Crown. As a result the Crown begins a period of direct rule over the Indian subcontinent.
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The Indian National Congress was originally created as an Indian nationalist, anti-colonialist independence movement. It emerged as the leader of the growing Indian independence movement in the early 20th century. They advocated initially for Indian home rule and then later for full independence.
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British soldiers fired on an a crowd of unarmed civilians leading to 379 deaths and thousands of injuries. The massacre shocked both Britain and India and increased pushes for Indian Independence
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In response to British abuses and a growing push towards independence, Ghandi and the Indian National Congress launch a nationwide boycott against Britain. They sought to damage Britain's economy by preventing Indian labor for contributing to them and by avoiding any institutions in India that contributed to British Power
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Mahatma Ghandi leads a march to the coast in protest of the British salt monopoly and tax. Ghandi's production of salt without taxation led to his imprisonment but also led to increased adoption of his policy of Satyagraha, or non-violent civil disobedience.
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The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, called for the establishment of a separate Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent. They believed this was the destiny of Muslims that lived on the subcontinent. This would later become Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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As a part of conditions for US involvement, President Roosevelt insisted on the inclusion of a clause allowing for self-determination for all British colonies within the Atlantic Charter.
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The end of World War II resulted in a dramatic decrease in British power as it sought to rebuild its destroyed and debt-ridden economy. These factors spurred decolonization movements around the world and especially in India.
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This act officially divided British India into 2 separate dominions, India and Pakistan.
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India officially becomes an independent country free from British rule but remained within the British Commonwealth of Nations.
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India adopts its Constitution and officially became a republic completely free from British control.
