Question

Name the first European country to come to India and last to leave.

• A. France
• B. Denmark
• C. Portugal
• D. England

Hint:

Compare the arrival year of Vasco da Gama with the year Goa was taken back by India.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

This question traces the timeline of European colonial powers in India, from their arrival to their final withdrawal. Let's go through each country.

1. France: French traders set up their first Indian settlement much later, at Surat in 1668, and the French finally handed over Puducherry and their other pockets to India in 1954. France was neither first to arrive nor last to leave.
2. Denmark: Danish traders established posts at places like Tranquebar and Serampore in the early 1600s, but Denmark sold its Indian settlements to the British in 1845, leaving well before most other European powers.
3. Portugal: Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498, opening the first direct sea route from Europe to India and marking the start of Portuguese presence there. Portugal went on to hold Goa, Daman and Diu for over four and a half centuries, only losing them in 1961 when Indian forces took the territories in Operation Vijay, well after the British left in 1947 and the French left in 1954. This makes Portugal both the first to arrive and the last to leave.
4. England: The English East India Company arrived in the early 1600s and English rule in India ended with independence in 1947, earlier than Portugal's exit in 1961.

Comparing the arrival and departure dates of all four powers, only Portugal fits both parts of the question.

Let's summarize:

• Portugal arrived first in 1498 through Vasco da Gama's voyage to Calicut.
• Portugal left last in 1961, holding on to Goa, Daman and Diu long after Britain and France had exited.

So the correct answer is option (c), Portugal.