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Question 36 of 73 · Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule
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In the naval Battle of Swally (Suvali), near Surat, in 1612, the English fleet under Captain Thomas Best defeated the fleet of the:

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Answer: Option C — Portuguese

Detailed Solution

In the Battle of Swally (Suvali), fought in late November 1612 off the coast of Swally, near Surat in Gujarat, the English fleet under Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese fleet.

Background:

  • The Portuguese had dominated the Indian Ocean trade for about a century, since the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498.
  • They controlled important ports, such as Goa, Daman and Diu, and issued passes (cartaz) to ships.
  • The English East India Company wanted to trade at Surat, the main Mughal port on the western coast.
  • The Portuguese tried to prevent the English from trading there, and had influence with the Mughal officials.

The battle:

  • The English had two ships, the "Red Dragon" and the "Hosiander".
  • The Portuguese had a larger fleet of galleons and smaller boats.
  • Over several days of fighting, the English ships, with better guns and seamanship, defeated the Portuguese.
  • The battle was watched by the people of Surat and Mughal officials from the shore.

Results:

  • The victory impressed the Mughal authorities, who saw that the English could stand up to the Portuguese at sea.
  • The Mughal emperor soon granted the English permission to set up a factory at Surat (1613).
  • It marked the beginning of the decline of Portuguese naval supremacy in Indian waters.
  • A second naval victory of the English over the Portuguese at Swally in 1615, under Nicholas Downton, strengthened the English position.

The European rivalry in India:

  • Portuguese: arrived first (1498); main centre Goa.
  • Dutch: arrived in 1595-96; main centres Pulicat and later Nagapattinam on the Coromandel coast, and they dominated the spice trade of the East Indies.
  • English: arrived in the early 17th century; main centres Surat, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.
  • French: arrived later; main centre Pondicherry.
  • Danes: settled at Tranquebar and Serampore.

About Swally:

Swally (Suvali) was the anchorage for ships near Surat.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The Dutch, French and Mughals were not the opponents of the English at Swally in 1612.

Quick tip

Remember: Battle of Swally (1612) = English (Thomas Best) defeated the Portuguese near Surat; English factory at Surat followed (1613); second Swally victory (1615, Nicholas Downton).

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Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danes and French in India, the growth of the East India Company, and the battles, wars and treaties through which British power expanded, including the Battles of Plassey and Buxar, the Anglo-Mysore, Anglo-Maratha and Anglo-Sikh wars, and policies such as subsidiary alliance and the doctrine of lapse. Typical questions ask which battle was fought in which year and between whom, which treaty ended which war, and which Governor-General introduced a policy. For example, the Battle of Plassey (1757) was fought between Robert Clive and Siraj-ud-Daulah, and the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave the Company the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Practise the arrival of Europeans and expansion of British rule questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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