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British in India
The dramatic rise in European trading with India in the 16th century aimed to break the eastern trade monopoly held by the Levantine and Venice. The Portuguese, Dutch, Danes, French and finally the English came. By 1647 the East India Company, founded in 1600, had 23 trading posts including Madras (Chennai). They acquired Bombay (Mumbai) in 1661 and founded Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1690. Gradually, the British in India transformed trading initiatives into political power.
As the British presence increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, so did their public buildings such as churches, universities, clubs, law courts, museums, post offices, railway stations. Today, these often magnificent buildings that blend European ideas with Indian traditions and craftsmanship can be found in the big port cities the British built up and elsewhere – Bangalore, the hill stations and New Delhi, the city they completed just before India won independence in 1947 and that is now India's capital.
One important thing: although India has many languages, English is the lingua franca for all aspects of tourism.
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