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PORTUGUESE IN INDIA

Q1. Who were the first Europeans to arrive and settle in India?
Portuguese.
Q2. Who was the first Portuguese to come to India and when? What happened to him?
Vasco Da Gama - was the first to arrive in India on 20.5.1498 at Calicut in Kerala, then ruled by the Zamorins. He was forced to leave, but while leaving he left behind a few Portuguese who established trading posts along the western coast.
Q3. Who was appointed as the first Portuguese Viceroy of India and when did he arrive?
Francisco De Almeida - was appointed as the first Viceroy of India by the then Portugal King, in 1503. He arrived in India by late 1505 or early 1506 after establishing some settlements in the coastal areas of Mumbasa, Zanzibar etc., in the African Coast. He arrived at Cochin.
Q4. Who was appointed to supersede Almeida and what happened to him?
Afonso De Albequerque was appointed to supersede Francisco De Almeida. He arrived in 1508 secretly. But, Almeida refused to accept the credentials and imprisoned Albequerque and left on to battle against the Arabs, Egyptians and Indian rulers in the "Battle of Diu" in February 1509, which he won and captured Diu. Almeida then released Albequerque and left for Portugal via cape of Good Hope.
Q5. What happened to Almeida while on his return to Portugal?
Almeida, while in cape of Good Hope, where he was killed by the Khoi Khoi tribes, in 1510, and was buried near cape of Good Hope.
Q6. What attempts did Albequerque make to establish himself in India?
He failed to capture Calicut. Therefore, he moved further west and captured Goa in 1510, with the help of a local chief Timmayya of the Bijapur kingdom and made it his capital.
Q7. What were the regions captured and held by the Portuguese until their departure?
GOA - Captured in May 1510 by Albequerque. Although India attained independence in 1947, the Portuguese were reluctant/refused to hand over the territories under their control to Indian Dominion. Therefore, India had to capture and annexe this region through military operations called "Operation Vijay" on 12th December 1961.
DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI - This region was captured by the Portuguese in 1779 from the Sultan of Gujarat or believed to have been given as the compensation for the sinking one of their ships by the Marathas. The details are not very authentic. The region was liberated from the Portuguese in 1954 and was administered by a Council, as the region was yet to be recognized by the International Court of Justice as part of India. However, after the 1961 take over process of Goa, Daman and Diu, this region came under Indian Dominion.
The uniqueness in the region being taken over by India is worth mentioning here. Mr.Badlani an IAS officer was administering this region in 1961. For the purpose of completing the formalities of annexation through an agreement, Mr. Badlani was made Prime Minister of this region for one day to sign the agreement with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India.  An unique opportunity ofcourse for Mr. Badlani.
BOMBAY - Concerned with the growing power of the Mughal empire, the Sultan of Gujarat then entered into a treaty with the Portuguese in 1534 for protection and offered this region along with the surrounding islands and Bassein, to the Portuguese. Thus the region came to Portuguese as early as 1534 itself. Later, some of these regions were gifted to Charles II of England, when he was married to Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza, in May 1661 and some of the regions remained with the Portuguese only to be leased later to the British.
DAMAN & DIU - Captured by the Portuguese in 1531 and remained with the Portuguese until it was liberated by the military operation along with Goa in 1961. Annexation of these territories by India, was recognized only in 1974 by the Portuguese.