1. The Passage to India
A visual history of Indian colonization through maps by Matthew Walters

2. Early Contact
Before European entry, India was ruled by the Mughal Empire who controlled most of the Indian subcontinent
They reached their height in 1707, before rapidly declining into the 1800’s due to military defeats, inner turmoil, and European intrusion

3. Early Contact
The first European explorer, Portuguese sailor Vasco Da Gama, reached India in 1498
Were soon followed by Danish, Dutch, French, and English
This map is drawn by a Venetian cartographer in 1566 showing India and Southeast Asia
Antiqueindianmaps.com

4. Early Contact
European holdings were limited to small outposts for trading at various ports
France and Britain start to vie for power in the 1700’s as the Mughals weaken
France is driven out after the battle of Plassey in 1757

5. Company Rule
The East India Company is granted revenue permissions in Bengal in 1765, after defeating the Mughal Emperor at the battle of Buxar, marking the first British colony in India
British continue to expand in India, eventually defeating the Mughal Empire in 1803, making the emperor a puppet.

6. Company Rule
By 1818, the British defeat the Maratha Empire, the newest power in India who rose in opposition to the Mughals
The East India Company now has total control of most of the subcontinent
They would continue to expand into the frontier regions and Burma until 1857

7. Company Rule
This map shows the railways that had been constructed in India by Started in 1853, this was one of many British attempts to modernize India.
In 1857, the Great Indian Mutiny would break out, with the local armies revolting all across Northern India
Caused in part by new rifles which required soldiers to bite cartridges lined with animal fats, upsetting both Hindu and Muslim soldiers
Taking two years to put down, the munity radically changed rule in India, and would live in the consciousness of British India for years to come

8. https://commons. wikimedia
Crown Rule
After the Mutiny, both the East India Company and the Mughal Empire were abolished, and India was now officially put under British rule
The Military and Society were reorganized to bring more contact between the British and the Indians
The results of this new change would create the social and political conditions under which A Passage to India would occur

9. Crown Rule
In 1876 Queen Victoria is declared Empress of India, making India Britain's most important and prestigious colony
Britain continues to expand into the border regions, fully conquering Burma in 1885

10. https://commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Brit_IndianEmpireReligions3
Crown Rule
In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi begins a non-violent campaign for Indian self rule with support from the Indian National Congress
In the early 1920s Edward Morgan Forster also worked in India briefly, and in published A Passage to India
This map shows the majority religions in each region of India, religion always playing a major role in conflict in the country

11. Sources Used Wikipedia
Metcalf, Barbara, and Thomas Metcalf. A Concise History of Modern India 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012.