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Question 6 of 73 · Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule
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SSC

The Portuguese built their first fort in India (Fort Manuel at Cochin) in the year:

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Answer: Option C — 1503

Detailed Solution

The Portuguese built their first fort in India, Fort Manuel (Fort Manuel of Cochin), at Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala, in 1503. It was also the first European fort in India.

About Fort Manuel:

  • It was built with the permission of the Raja of Cochin, who was an ally of the Portuguese against the Zamorin of Calicut.
  • It was named after King Manuel I of Portugal.
  • It was built by Afonso de Albuquerque (with his cousin Francisco), during his first visit to India.
  • The fort was later destroyed (mostly by the Dutch and the British), and very little of it remains today.
  • It gave its name to the area known as Fort Kochi (Fort Cochin).

The Portuguese in India - key events:

  • Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498, discovering the sea route from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope; he was received by the Zamorin.
  • Pedro Alvares Cabral came in 1500 and set up a trading post (factory) at Calicut.
  • Francisco de Almeida (1505-1509): the first Portuguese viceroy; he followed the "Blue Water Policy" of controlling the seas.
  • Afonso de Albuquerque (1509-1515): the real founder of the Portuguese empire in India; he captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510.
  • Goa later became the capital of the Portuguese possessions in Asia.
  • The Portuguese introduced the "cartaz" system (a pass for ships).
  • They introduced crops such as tobacco, potato, chilli, pineapple and cashew into India.
  • The first printing press in India was set up by the Portuguese in Goa in 1556.

End of Portuguese rule:

  • The Portuguese were the first Europeans to come to India and the last to leave.
  • Goa, Daman and Diu were liberated in 1961 through "Operation Vijay".

Other European forts in India:

Fort St. George (Madras): British, 1644.

Fort William (Calcutta): British, built from 1696.

Fort Geldria (Pulicat): Dutch.

Fort Dansborg (Tranquebar): Danish.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗1498 was the year of Vasco da Gama's arrival.
  • ✗1510 was the year Goa was captured.
  • ✗1530 is not linked to the first fort.

Quick tip

Remember: first European fort in India = Fort Manuel, Cochin (Portuguese, 1503); Vasco da Gama = 1498 (Calicut); Goa captured = 1510 (Albuquerque); liberated = 1961.

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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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