Consider the following statements with reference to the Portuguese rule in India:

1. Portugese was the first European power who started slave trade in India.

2. Mughal emperor Akbar ordered the Bengal governor to take action against portuguese.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Solution

● Statement 1 is correct: The Portuguese had settled down on a river bank near Satgaon in Bengal to carry on their trading activities on the basis of an imperial farman issued in 1579. They monopolized the manufacture of salt and built a custom house of their own. They also started enforcing the levy of duty on tobacco, which had become an important article of trade since its introduction at the beginning of the 17th century. The Portuguese not only made money as traders but also started a cruel slave trade by purchasing or seizing Hindu and Muslim children, whom they brought up as Christians. In the course of their nefarious activities, they seized two slave girls of Mumtaz Mahal. · Statement 2 is incorrect: Shah Jahan ordered the Bengal governor Qasim Khan to take action against the Portuguese. The siege of Hooghly finally led to the Portuguese fleeing.