Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Dutch East India Company (VOC) in India
Colonial power
Level 2
1605 – 1825
Dutch trading posts on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts and in Bengal.
- Capital
- Pulicat, later Nagapattinam
- Region
- Coastal
- Duration
- 220 years
- Main period
- European Maritime Powers
Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).
Constituent & related polities
Dutch Coromandel (Pulicat)
1610 – 1825
Dutch Chinsurah
1656 – 1825
Dutch Ceylon
1658 – 1796
Dutch Malabar (Cochin)
1663 – 1795
Key events
| Year | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1602 | Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded | |
| 1656 | Dutch take Colombo from the Portuguese Portuguese rule in Sri Lanka ended by 1658. |
Colombo |
Sites & monuments
Galle Fort
Capital / fort · 1663
📚 Recommended reading on the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in India
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Reference
The Marathas 1600–1818
How the Maratha state rose from Shivaji's swarajya to a subcontinental power.
Reference
A History of Assam
The classic history of Assam and the Ahom kingdom.
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Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in India for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Sultanate of the Maldives ★
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Overlap: 220 years
Malla Dynasty of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1201 – 1769
Overlap: 164 years
Ahom Kingdom ★
Northeast · 1228 – 1826
Overlap: 220 years
Mewar (Sisodia) ★
West · 1326 – 1949
Overlap: 220 years
Vijayanagara Empire ★
South · 1336 – 1646
Overlap: 41 years
Kingdom of Mysore ★
South · 1399 – 1950
Overlap: 220 years
Kingdom of Kandy ★
Sri Lanka · c. 1469 – 1815
Overlap: 210 years
Portuguese Estado da Índia ★
Coastal · 1505 – 1961
Overlap: 220 years
Mughal Empire ★
North · 1526 – 1857
Overlap: 220 years
British East India Company ★
Pan-Indian · 1600 – 1858
Overlap: 220 years
Maratha Empire ★
Deccan · 1674 – 1818
Overlap: 144 years
Nawabs of Bengal ★
East · 1717 – 1765
Overlap: 48 years
Hyderabad State (Nizams) ★
Deccan · 1724 – 1948
Overlap: 101 years
Sikh Empire ★
North · 1799 – 1849
Overlap: 26 years
Zamorins of Calicut
South · c. 1124 – 1766
Overlap: 161 years
Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur)
West · c. 1128 – 1949
Overlap: 220 years
Marwar (Rathore)
West · c. 1226 – 1949
Overlap: 220 years
Ahmadnagar Sultanate (Nizam Shahi)
Deccan · 1490 – 1636
Overlap: 31 years
Bijapur Sultanate (Adil Shahi)
Deccan · 1490 – 1686
Overlap: 81 years
Portuguese Cochin
Coastal · 1503 – 1663
Overlap: 58 years
Koch Kingdom (Kamata / Cooch Behar)
Northeast · 1515 – 1949
Overlap: 220 years
Golconda Sultanate (Qutb Shahi)
Deccan · 1518 – 1687
Overlap: 82 years
Madurai Nayaks
South · 1529 – 1736
Overlap: 131 years
Portuguese Bassein & Bombay
Coastal · 1534 – 1739
Overlap: 134 years
Portuguese Diu
Coastal · 1535 – 1961
Overlap: 220 years
Portuguese Daman
Coastal · 1559 – 1961
Overlap: 220 years
Gorkha Kingdom
Himalaya · 1559 – 1768
Overlap: 163 years
Portuguese Hooghly
Coastal · 1579 – 1632
Overlap: 27 years
Portuguese Ceylon
Sri Lanka · 1597 – 1658
Overlap: 53 years
Bhutan under the Zhabdrung (Druk Desi)
Himalaya · 1616 – 1907
Overlap: 209 years
Danish India
Coastal · 1620 – 1869
Overlap: 205 years
Danish Tranquebar
Coastal · 1620 – 1845
Overlap: 205 years
Fort St George, Madras
Coastal · 1639 – 1858
Overlap: 186 years
French India
Coastal · 1668 – 1954
Overlap: 157 years
Bombay (English East India Company)
Coastal · 1668 – 1858
Overlap: 157 years
Chandernagore
Coastal · 1673 – 1950
Overlap: 152 years
Pondichéry
Coastal · 1674 – 1954
Overlap: 151 years
Carnatic (Nawabs of Arcot)
South · 1692 – 1855
Overlap: 133 years
Hotak Dynasty
Northwest · 1709 – 1738
Overlap: 29 years
Gaekwad State (Baroda)
West · 1721 – 1949
Overlap: 104 years