French, Portuguese, Dutch Colonies in India

 French

The French first came to India in 1668

established their control over Pondicherry by 1674.

These five French colonies are

Pondicherry, Karaikal in Tamil Nadu

Yanaon in Andhra Pradesh on the Coromandel Coast,

Mahe in Kerala on the Malabar Coast and

Chandernagore in West Bengal. 

 

Portuguese

Portuguese India, Portuguese Estado da Índia, name once used for those parts of India which were under Portuguese rule from 1505 to December 1961.

Portuguese India consisted of several isolated tracts:

(1) the territory of Goa with the capital, a considerable area in the middle of the west coast of India;

(2) Damão, or Daman, with the separated territories of Dadrá and Nagar Haveli, north of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and

lying between the Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat; (3) Diu with Pani Kota Island on the southern coast of the Kathiawar Peninsula in Gujarat state.

 

Dutch

Dutch presence on the Indian subcontinent lasted from 1605 to 1825. Merchants of the Dutch East India Company first established themselves in Dutch Coromandel, notably Pulicat, as they were looking for textiles to exchange with the spices they traded in the East Indies.[1] Dutch Suratte and Dutch Bengal were established in 1616 and 1627 respectively.[2][3] After the Dutch conquered Ceylon from the Portuguese in 1656, they took the Portuguese forts on the Malabar coast five years later as well, to secure Ceylon from Portuguese invasion.

 

Holland

Holland is a geographical region[2] and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands.[2] The name Holland is also frequently used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands.[2] This usage is commonly accepted in other countries and is also commonly employed by the Dutch themselves.[3] However, some in the Netherlands, particularly those from regions outside Holland, may find it undesirable, misrepresentative, or even offensive to use the term for the whole country.[4]