1478 -Kingdom of Janipur absorbed by Delhi.

1479 -The Vaishnav saint and philosopher Vallabhacharya born.

-Guru Amar Das (the 3rd Sikh Guru) born in the district of Amritsar (d.1574).
1483 -Birth of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babar (the 1st Mughal Emperor) to UmarSheikh Mirza of
Ferghana in Turkmenistan.
1485 -Imad Shahi Dynasty established in Bidar by Fateh Ullah Imad ul Mulk (a Bahmani defector),
which lasted until 1574 (when absorbed by Ahmadnagar).
-Virupaksha III murdered by his own sons, thus ending the Sangama Dynasty of Vijayanagar. A son of
Virupakshaprandha Devaraya ascended the throne but was quickly murdered, then the throne was
usurped by Saluva Narasimha of Chandragiri.
1486 -Birth of the Hindu ascetic Shri Chaitanya Dev (d.1533).
1488 -Bikaner established as capital by Bikaji (son of Jodha Singh of Mewar).
1489 -Buhlul Khan Lodi of Delhi died, and succeeded by his son, Niam Khan Lodi (who took the title
Sikander Shah II Lodi).
1490 -Governor Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur established the Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur, independent
of the Bahmani (until annexed by Aurangzeb in 1686).
-Governor Ahmad Ibn Nizam Shah of Junnar established the Nizam Shahi Dynasty of Ahmadnagar,
independent of the Bahmani.
1492 -Qasim I Barid Shah, minister of Mahmud Shah II Bahmani established the Barid Shahi Dynasty
of Bidar, independent of the Bahmani until 1619.
1493 -Muzaffur Shah Habsi defeated by Alauddin Husain Shah at the Battle of Gaur, who became King
of Bengal. He reigned from 1493 to 1519, and was the most successful Muslim King of Bengal,
renowned for his patronage of the arts.
-Pope Alexander VI assigned India to Portugal.
1494 -Sultan Sikander II Lodi of Delhi laid foundations of Agra (shifting the capital there in 1505).
1495 -Ahmad Ibn Nizam Shah founded the city of Ahmadnagar.
1496 -First meeting of Sant Kabir and Guru Nanak.
1497 -Pratap Rudra Deva became King of Orissa.
1498 -Vasco da Gama laid anchor at Calicut after a year at sea.
1500 -First European factory established in India, at Calicut, by Pedro Alvarez Cabral.
-Sikander II Lodi attacked the Hindu temples of Mathura.
1502 -Vasco da Gama reurned to India, and established factory in Cochin.
1503 -Alphonso de Albuquerque erected the first Portuguese fortress in India (at Cochin).
-Birth of Hita Harivansa, founder of the Radha-Vallabhi sect (d.1553).
-Assassination of Immadi Narasimha of Vijayanagar. He was succeeded by Vira Narasimha as regent
and founder of the Taluva Dynasty.
1504 -Birth of the 2nd Sikh Guru, Guru Angad.
1505 -Dom Francis de Almeida of Portugal arrived at Cochin as Viceroy of India.
-Sikander II Lodi shifted his capital from Delhi to Agra.
1507 -Portuguese traders arrived in Madras.
1508 -Portuguese fleet destroyed at Chaul by allied fleets of Zamorin of Calicut, Sultan Mahmud
Begara of Gujarat and the Sultan of Egypt.
-Emperor Humayun (son of Babar) born.
1509 -Allied Muslim fleet destroyed by the Portuguese at the Battle of Diu, forcing Sultan Mahmud
Begara to allow a Portuguese factory to be built there.
-Rana Sangram Singh I of Mewar succeeded his father Raimal.
-Almeida succeeded as Viceroy of India by Albuquerque.
1510 -Franciscan Friars established the first Europeans-only church in Cochin, the Church of St.
Anthony (but now dedicated to St. Francis).
-Sikander II Lodi of Delhi acknowledged independence of Gujarat.
-Albuquerque seized Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur (the first time a part of India had been taken by a
European since the time of Alexander the Great), and set about murdering the local men and marrying
the women to his troops.
-Nasiruddin Khilji of Malwa died, and succeeded by Mahmud II (the last of the Khilji rulers of
Malwa).
1512 -Quli Qutab ul Mulk declared the independence of Golconda from the Bahmani, taking the title
Quli Qutub Shah (in 1518), and establishing the Qutub Shahi Dynasty of Golconda (which lasted until
1687, when annexed by Aurangzeb).
1515 -Alphonso de Albuqerque died, near Goa.
1517 -Sikander Shah II Lodi of Delhi died, and succeeded by his son Ibrahim II Lodi, although the
dynasty only lasted until the Battle of Panipat in 1526.
1518 -Death of Sant Kabir.
-Franciscan Friars opened a convent in Goa.
-Sikh Guru Nanakmet Vaishnav ascetic Sri Chaitanya Dev at Puri, to discuss untouchability and the
protection of Hindu temples from Muslim aggression.
1519 -The Turko-Mongol descendent of Timur (and Genghis Khan), Babar, entered India for the first
time.
1520 -Babar took Bijaur in the Punjab.
1522 -The Portuguese traveler Domingos Paes visited Vijayanagar.
1524 -Babar overran the Punjab and then returned to Kabul.
-Vasco da Gama visited India, as Portuguese Viceroy to India, where he died the same year in Cochin
(on Christmas Eve).
1525 -Babar entered India for the 5th time, by way of Sind.
1526 -Babar defeated (and killed) Sultan Ibrahim II Lodi of Delhi at the Battle of Panipat. Babar then
entered Agra and made it his residence, thus ending the rule of the Sultans in India. The Mughal
Dynasty (Badshah, ‘Mughal’ being the Persian word for ‘Mongol’, and the popular name for Babar’s
mother Qulik Nigar Khanum) was founded, before Babar entered Delhi
1527 -Rana Sangram Singh I of Mewar lost at the Battle of Khanua (near Agra) to Babar.
1528 -Babar captured Chanderi from Medini Rai, a lieutenant of Rana Sangram Singh I.
-Nunho da Cunha appointed Governor of Portuguese India.
1529 -Sultan Nasrat Shah of Bengal defeated by Babar at the Gogra River. He accepted terms, and
Babar returned to Agra.
-Rise of Hindu influence in Nizam Shah after the appointment of Kanwar Sain (a Maratha Brahmin) as
prime minister by Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadagar.
1530 -Rana Sangram Singh I of Mewar died after his defeat to Babar, and was succeeded by his son
Ratna Singh.
-Babar captured Oudh and South Bihar. Later that year he died, succeeded by his son Humayun.
1531 -Bahadur Shah of Gujarat defeated and executed Mahmud II of Malwa, annexing the territory and
ending the Khilji Dynasty.
-Rudra Pratap founded Orchha as his capital.
-Death of the Vaishnava Saint Vallabhachraya.
1532 -The Hindi poet (of Ramayana fame) Tulsidas born, and orphaned.
-Rana Ratna Singh died in encounter with the Prince of Bundi, succeeded as Rana by his brother
Vikramaditya.
1533 -City of Dinpanah built by Humayun on the site of the Purana Quila (old fort) in Delhi (until it
was destroyed by Sher Shah in 1539).
-Death of Shri Chaityana Dev.
1534 -Birth of Ram Das, the 4th Sikh Guru.
-Rani Karnawati (widow of Sangram Singh I) declared Humayun her son, in a failed attempt to prevent
him destroying Chittorgarh. In the attack, Rani Karnawati (and 13,000 other women) killed themselves
with a mass of piled gunpowder.
-The Portuguese captured Bassein of Maharashtra and Diu of Gujarat from Sultan Bahadur Shah.
-The last work of Khondamir, Humayunama, written.
1535 -Rana Vikramaditya of Mewar died, succeeded eventually by his brother Banhir (until 1537).
-Humayun defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and Mandu.
-Portuguese built the fortress of Diu.
1536 -Portuguese (under Nunho da Cunha) built the fortress at Bassein.
1537 -Balladur Shah of Gujarat and Malwa invited to attend Diu for negotiations with the Portuguese
but they had tricked him, and he was detained. He later died, attempting to escape.
-Uday Singh II (son of Sangram Singh I) ascended throne of Mewar, in succession to the usurper
Banbir.
-Bangalore established by chief Kempa Gowda of Mandgi.
-Goa made an Episcopal, under Dom Francisco de Melo, by Pope Paul III.
1538 -Sher Shah Suri overthrew Sultan Mahmud Shah of Bengal.
-Turkish expedition reached India, and bombarded Diu for 100 days, only to flee when a new
Portuguese fleet arrived.
1539 -Humayun defeated by Sher Shah Suri at Chausa (near Buxar). Becoming the independent ruler
of eastern India, he took the name Abul Muzaffur Sher Shah.
-Death of Guru Nanak at Dera Baba Nanak.
1540 -Sher Shah defeated Humayun again, at Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh (the Battle of Kanauj). Sher Shah
then established the sixth Delhi capital, Shergarh.
-Brindavana Das wrote the Chaityana Bhagavata.
-Hyder Mirza Doghlat (a relative of Humayun) captured Srinagar, and became the independent King of
Kashmir.
-Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar born.
1542 -Akbar (son of Humayun) born at Amarkot in Sind.
-The Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier landed at Goa, and established the first Christian community there.
-‘Rupee’ (Rupiya) first minted in India during the reign of Sher Shah.
-Minister Rama Raya of Sadasivaraya of the Vijayanagar established the Aravidu Dynasty (which
lasted until 1649).
1543 -Raisen fort captured by Sher Shah, slaughtering the Hindu garrison which had surrendered.
1544 -Ajmer, Chittorgarh and Nagore of Rajasthan captured by Sher Shah.
1545 -Afghanistan captured by Humayun.
-Sher Shah fatally wounded when his own magazine blew up at Kalanjara fort. He was succeeded by
his brother Jalal Khan (who took the name Islam Shah).
-Joa de Castro became the first Portuguese Viceroy of the East.
-Surdas completed the compilation of songs Sur-Saravali.
1549 -Rumi Khan constructed the huge 40 ton Bijapur gun.
-D’Parsia de Orta bought Bombay for just 537 Rupees.
1551 -The Indo-Persian writer Abul Fazl born (d.1602). He wrote Ain-e-Akbari and Akbarnama.
1552 -Guru Angad died, succeeded by the 3rd Guru, Amar Das.
-Death of Saint Francis Xavier, near Macao. His body was returned to Goa.
1553 -Hita Harivansa of Radha-Vallabhi sect died.
1555 -Humayun crossed the Indus and captured Lahore, then won the decisive Battle of Sirhind,
ousting Sikander Suri of Delhi.
-Governor Mian Bayazid of Malwa (a.k.a, Baz Bahadur) crowned himself Sultan and declared
independence of Malwa.
1556 -Humayun died two days after falling down some steps in the library of the Old Fort. He was
succeeded by his 13 year old son Akbar.
-The second Battle of Panipat, when General and Prime Minister Hemu of Sikander Suri was defeated
by Akbar’s army under Bairam Khan. Hemu was incapacitated by an arrow through the brain, then
mutilated by Bairam and Akbar.
1557 -Pope Paul V made Goa a Metropolitan see, making Bishop Juan de Albuquerque the first
Archbishop of India. Simultaneously he established the Inquisition in India.
1559 -Foundations of Udaipur laid by Udai Singh.
1560 -Capital of Bengal, Gaur, abandoned after 2,000 years of habitation. The capital was shifted to
Tondah, then Rajmahal.
-Akbar removed the tyrannical Bairam Khan. He revolted, was defeated but pardoned by Akbar.
Bairam left for a pilgrimage to Mecca.
-Almora discovered by Raja Kalyan Chand (captured by the British in 1815).
-Famed Meenakshi temple of Madurai consecrated.
1561 -Bairam Khan assassinated en route to Mecca at Patan. The assassin was the Afghan Mubarak
Khan Lohani (whose father had been killed by Bairam at the Battle of Machiwara).
-Akbar invaded Mewar, capturing Nagore and Malkote. These forts were given to Prince Rai Singh of
Bikaner, who established the independent kingdom of Jodhpur.
-Daman of Maharashtra captured by the Portuguese.
-Akbar captured Malwa from Baz Bahadur.
1562 -Habib Shah of Mirza Dynasty of Kashmir overthrown by Hussain Ghazi Shah of the Chakk
Dynasty.
-Akbar married daughter of Raja Beharimal of Amber, uniting the houses of Ramchandra of Ramayana
and Taimur and Genghis Khan.
-The famed singer Main Tansen joined Akbar’s court (d.1589).
1563 -Birth of the 5th Sikh Guru, Arjun Dev.
1564 -Akbar removed tax on non-Muslim subjects (Jeziya), first put in place by Qutubuddin Aibek of
the Slave Dynasty.
-Kamakshya temple, near Guwahati, destroyed by the Muslim convert Kalapahar of Bengal.
-Death of Purandaradasa (b.1484).
-Queen Rani Durgawati of Gondwana last battle against Akbar’s army under Asaf Jah. She then
committed suicide.
1565 -Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar ended after Battle of Tellikota, when defeated by the allied
Muslim armies of North Deccan-Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur and Golconda. Rama Raya of
Vijayanagar captured and beheaded.
1566 -Akbar’s cousin, Khan Zaman revolted against Akbar, but was captured and executed.
-Great Agra mosque built.
1567 -Jewish community sought refuge in Hindu-held Cochin, after fleeing from the Portuguese.
-Female Saint Mira Bai born.
1568 -Chittorgarh sacked for the 3rd time, when Rana Uday Singh II attacked by Akbar. 9 queens, 5
princesses and 8,000 Rajput women committed suicide, while Akbar ordered the killing of 30,000 other
civilians.
-The Muslim-convert Kalapahar of Bengal attacked and captured Orissa, killing King Mukund Dev.
-Jewish synagogue built in Cochin.
1569 -Chandrasen of Jodhpur forced into submission by Emperor Akbar.
-Akbar shifted capital from Delhi to Agra (until 1585).
-Birth of Prince Sultan Salim Mirza, son of Akbar, at Fetehpur Sikri.
1570 -King Sadasivaray of Vijayanagar deposed by his minister Tirumala.
-Portuguese settlements of Goa attacked by allied forces of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Calicut.
-Mughal suzerainty accepted by Kalyana Singh of Bikaner and Rawal Har Rai of Jaisalmer.
1572 -Rana Pratap Singh ascended throne of Mewar.
-Separation of states of Bundi and Kota.
1573 -Akbar forced the capitulation of Surat, then attacked Gujarat.
1574 -Guru Ram Das succeeded his father-in-law, the Sikh Guru Amar Das.
-Tulsidas began his writing of Ramcharita Manas (based upon the Ramayana).
1576 -Battle of Haldighati (or Gogunda), caused by Rana Pratap taking refuge in a nearby fortress.
Strangely, the Rajput army was led by a Muslim (Hakim Khan Soor), while Akbar’s army was led by a
Hindu (Raja Man Singh).
-Akbar captured Bengal from the Afghan Daud Khan Karrani at the Battle of Rajmahal. Daud Khan
was executed and 238 years of Bengal independence ended.
-Completion of the mosque of Fatehpur-Sikri.
1577 -Amritsar founded by the 4th Sikh Guru Ram Das (a site then known as Ramdaspur).
1578 -Antony Cabral sent as ambassador to Akbar by the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa.
1579 -The first Englishman to reach India, Jesuit Father S.J. Thomas Stephens arrived in Goa (where
he died in 1619).
-The first Jesuit mission set out for Akbar’s court, led by Rudolf Acquavia. It arrived the next year at
Fatehpur-Sikri and was warmly received.
1580 -Akbar announced the policy of Sulh-e-Kul (universal religious toleration).
-Portuguese captain Pedro Teveres founded Bandel (from the Persian term ‘bunder’ (‘port’) in Bengal.
However, in the same year Portugal was absorbed Spanish sovereignty so Portuguese rights in India
passed to Spain.
1581 -Death of the 4th Sikh Guru, Ram Das. The Guruship then became hereditary, passing to Arjun
Dev.
1582 -Akbar laimed that he was not a Muslim, but a follower of the newly-formed religion of ‘Din
Ilahi’ (based upon worship of the sun and fire), which Akbar was the prophet of between 1582 and
1605. Erection of new mosques, and repairs of older ones, was prohibited in this time.
1583 -First large-scale Durga Puja performed by Raja Kangsanarayan of Taherpur in Rajsahi.
-Ralph Fitch with the merchants William Leedes and James Storey reached India (via Aleppo and
Baghdad). They were imprisoned by the Portuguese but they escaped. Leedes vanished, Storey worked
at Akbar’s court, while Fitch returned to London and assisted in setting up the East India Company.
-Akbar constructed Allahabad Fort.
1585 -Akbar reshifted his capital, from Fatehpur-Sikri to Delhi (because of water shortages).
1586 -Raja Birbal, friend of Akbar, killed in battle near Peshawar fighting the Yusufzai.
-Mughal army entered Srinagar.
-Yusuf Shah Chakk of the Chakk Dynasty submitted to Akbar and Kashmir lost its independence.
1587 -Ras Mancha temple of Bishnupur built by Bir Hambira, the great Vaishnava Raja of Mallabhum.
1588 -Harminder Sahib in the Golden Temple of Amritsar built by the 5th Sikh Guru Arjun Dev, which
became the spiritual seat of Sikhism.
1589 -Akbar’s singer Mian Tansen died, along with finance minister Raja Todarmal and general Raja
Bhagwan Das.
1590 -Fifth Quli Qutub Shah of Golconda, Muhammad, established the new city Bhagnagar (later
renamed Hyderabad) (named after his Hindu wife Bhagmati, who then converted to Islam and took the
name Hyder Mahal).
1591 -Ali Rai of Tibet sent presents and his daughter to Salim (Jahangir).
-Famous 54.5m high Char Minar of Hyderabad built by Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah as a symbol of
victory over pestilence.
1592 -Emperor Shahjahan born at Lahore.
-Orissa annexed by Akbar, who then took full control of Bengal after Man Singh’s expedition.
-Raja Man Singh built the Amber Palace in Rajasthan.
-Levant Company (founded in 1581 for trading with Turkey) given charter by Elizabeth I of England to
trade with India via the overland route.
1593 -Akbar conquered Sind.
1594 -Vijayanagar fell to the Adil Shahi ruler of Bijapur.
1595 -Poet laureate of Akbar’s court, Faizi, died.
1596 -6th Sikh Guru Har Govind died (d.1645).
-Princess Chand Bibi of Ahmadnagar ceded Berar to Akbar.
-Ain-e-Akbari written by Abul Fazl.
1597 -Rana Pratep Singh of Mewar died, succeeded by his son, Amar Singh.
1599 -‘The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies’ (later
referred to as the Company, or East India Company) founded in London, and obtained royal assent.
-Portuguese in Bandel constructed a church, and the churches of St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s in Cochin.
1600 -Mughal army seized Ahmadnagar.
-First East India Company ship, the Hector, reached Surat.
-Delhi army defeated the rebel Afghan ruler of Bengal, Isa Khan, at Bhadrak.
1601 -Akbar entered Asirgarh Fort after an 8-month siege.
-Birth of the preacher of universal love, Dindayal.
-Two Dutch ships anchored at Surat.
1602 -United East Indies Company of the Netherlands formed.
-Abul Fazl, minister to Akbar, killed by a mob of Bundelas led by Bir Singh Bundela (at the instigation
of Akbar’s son, Salim, who rebelliously created the state of Allahabad until he surrendered early 1603).
1603 -Dutch formed an alliance with the Zamorin of Calicut, with an eye to ejecting the Portuguese.
-Tobacco introduced by the Portuguese to Akbar’s court.
1605 -Akdar died, and succeeded by Prince Salim (who took the title Jahangir).
-Takmil-e-Akbari compiled by Inayatullah.
1606 -Prince Khusru rebelled against his father Jahangir, and fled from Agra. He was captured, and at
Lahore hundreds of his followers were impaled.
-Followers of Guru Nanak massacred by Jahangir. The 5th Guru Arjun Dev died after 5 days of torture
for supporting Prince Khusru. Har Govind became the 6th Guru, and the first to arm the Sikhs against
the Muslim forces.
1608 -James I of England sent William Hawkins of the Hector to meet Jahangir to acquire rights for
British traders in India. He received the rights in 1609, was welcomed at Jahangir’s court, but was
forced to leave Agra in 1611 because of Portuguese plotting.
-The Maratha ascetic Tukaram born in the village of Dehu near Pune (d.1649).
1609 -‘Akil Takht’ (God’s Throne) erected at Amritsar by Guru Har Govind.
1610 -Dutch allowed to establish a settlement in Pulicat by the King of Chandragiri.
1611 -Jahangir married to Meherunnisa (widow of Sher Afghan), who received the title ‘Noor Jahan’
(Light of the World).
-English settlements established in Musalipatnam and Petapuli for the first time.
-The United French east India Company founded.
1612 -Usman Khan Lohani (son of Isa Khan) defeated at the Battle of Nekujyal. He died of his
wounds, the last of the independent rulers of Bengal.
-Prince Khurram (later Shahjahan) married to Arjumand Banu Begum (later Mumtaz Mahal), daughter
of Asaf Khan (brother of Noor Jahan).
-Formation of the navy of the East India Company, four vessels (the Dragon, James, Osiander and
Solomon under Captain Thomas Best). In the same year, the Company became a joint stock company.
-Portuguese attacked Pulicat and expelled the Dutch (until a negotiated settlement of 1616).
-Danish east India Company formed at Copenhagen.
1613 -Jahangir gave permission to East India Company to establish factories at Surat, the first being
established by Thomas Aldworth.
-Raja Man Singh died. Allegedly 60 of his women committed ‘suttee’ at his funeral.
-Completion of Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra.
1614 -Jahangir captured Mewar from Rana Amar Singh.
-death of Mira Bai (b.1527).
-King of Spain ordered the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa to forcibly drive the English out of India.
1615 -Ambassador Thomas Roe landed at Surat, visiting Jahangir the next year, before leaving India in
1618.
1617 -Second joint stock company of the East India Company founded in London.
-Jahangir prohibited smoking tobacco, but it had already taken a popular hold in Deccan, Gujarat and
North India.
1618 -Aurangzeb born at Dohad in Gujarat.
1620 -The Armenian Begum Rezabeebeh Sookeas (d.1630) recorded as the first foreign lady in
Calcutta.
1621 -The 9th Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur born (d.1675).
-Assault by Rai Rayan Vikramjit secured Kangra Fort for Jahangir.
-Prince Khusru blinded by Prince Khusru.
1622 -Death of Prince Khusru, perhaps murdered by Shahjahan.
1623 -Prince Shahryar married the daughter of Noor Jahan (by her first husband), Ladili. Fearful of
Noor Jahan’s influence, Shahjahan rebelled against Shahryar but defeated at the Battle of Billochpur.
-Death of the poet Tulsidas (b.1532).
1625 -Dutch established the settlement at Chinsura (their first base in Bengal).
1626 -General Mahabat Khan took Jahangir and Noor Jahan prisoner for 6 months.
-The East India Company established their first fortified position in India, at Aramgaon.
1627 -Jahangir died, weakened by asthma and alcohol, at Bhimbar near the Kashmir foothills.
Shahjahan succeeded him the next year.
1628 -Shahjahan enthroned at Agra, but Noor Jahan had convinced Shahryar to be declared Emperor at
Lahore. Shahryar was captured, imprisoned and blinded, Noor Jahan pensioned off (d.1645). Asaf
Khan was ordered the kill all the other male members of the royal house.
1630 -Seventh Sikh Guru, Har Rai, born (d.1661).
-Founder of the Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji born at Sivaner in Junner (d.1680).
1631 -Death of Mumtaz Begum, only hours after the birth of a daughter (one of 14 children born since
his marriage in 1612).
1632 -Construction of the Taj Mahal commenced (completed 1653). It was designed as a mausoleum
for either Mumtaz or Arjumand Banu Begum.
-Shahjahan prohibited the construction of further Hindu temples.
-Burton and Cartwright arrived, the first Englishmen to reach Bengal.
1634 -Hair from the Prophet Muhammad brought from Mecca to India by Syed Abdullah of Medina. It
was finally placed in the Hazratbal mosque in Kashmir.
-Shahjahan’s Peacock Throne completed by Bebadal Khan after 7 years.
1636 -Aurangzeb appointed Viceroy of Deccan by Shahjahan (dismissed 1644).
1637 -Completion of the Diwan-i-Khas (Shahjahan’s private audience chamber) in Delhi.
1638 -Shahjahan declared desire to move capital from Agra to Delhi.
1639 -Construction of Delhi’s Red Fort commenced (completed 1646).
1640 -British under Francis Day given permission from the ruler of Chandragiri to establish centre in
Madras, the first land held by the British in India.
-Sixth Sikh Guru Har Govind ordered by Shahjahan to leave Amritsar. Sikhs were forbidden from
entering the city until 1708.
1641 -Lamas consecrated the first Chogyal ruler of Sikkim.
1644 -Construction of the Jama Masjid commenced (completed 1658).
1645 -Death of Guru Har Govind. Succeeded by his grandson as 7th Guru, Har Rai.
-Death of Noor Jahan Begum, widow of Jahangir.
-Dutch established factory at Kayal (south of Tuticorin).
-The burns of Princess Jahanara Begum treated by ship’s surgeon Gabriel Broughton. As a reward,
Shahjahan allowed the British to trade throughout the Mughal Empire.
1646 -Torna Fort captured from Bijapur by Shivaji.
-Completion of the Red Fort in Delhi, and commencement of the work on the Moti Masjid (Pearl
mosque) of Agra (completed 1653).
-Capital shifted from Agra to Delhi (then renamed Shahjahanabad).
1649 -Death of Sant Tukaram (b.1608).
1650 -Completion of the Padshahnama (a history of the first 10 years of Shahjahan’s rule), and
dedicated to Emperor Muhammad Amin Kaswini.
-East India Company made settlement at Hooghly, alongside the Dutch.
-The ‘Great Mughal’ (the largest Indian diamond, uncut 787.5 carats, 240 after cutting) extracted from
the Kolar goldfield.
1652 -Construction of the Se Cathedral at Goa completed after 100 years.
1653 -Completion of the Taj Mahal.
1655 -Job Charnock arrived in India and joined the East India Company in Bengal. He later founded
Calcutta.
1656 -Eighth Sikh Guru Har Kishan born (d.1664).
-Golconda captured by Shahjahan.
1657 -Dara Shikoh completed his translation (from Sanskrit to Persian) of 60 volumes of the
Upanishads.
-Shahjahan suddenly fell ill, causing his 4 sons to rush to Delhi to seize the throne.
-Murad proclaimed himself Emperor.
-Junnar plundered and Ahmadnagar attacked by Shivaji, in the first act against the Mughals.
1658 -In the battle to secure Delhi, Suja was defeated by Dara Shikoh, at the Battle of Bahadapur.
-Shahjahan and Dara Shikoh sent Jaswant Singh to stop Aurangzeb’s march on Agra, but he was
defeated at Dharmat. Dara Shikoh was defeated a month later at the Battle of Samugarh near Agra.
Aurangzeb took Agra and imprisoned Shahjahan, and later Murad (who had been tricked into believing
Aurangzeb was supporting his claims).
1659 -Suja defeated by Aurangzeb at the Battles of Khajwah and Maksudbad (near Malda). Suja fled to
Arakan, where he was killed (in 1661) by King Sandathudamma.
-Dara Shikoh defeated at the Battle of Deorai, before fleeing to Chief Dadar of the Baluchi (who then
handed him over to Aurangzeb before execution in 1662).
-Aurangzeb entered Delhi, was enthroned officially and took the title ‘Alamgir’.
-Afzal Khan of Bijapur killed by Shivaji near Pratapgarh Fort.
-Death of Muhammad Adil Shah of the Adil Shahi Dynasty.
1661 -Pajput Prince Medini Singh of Gahrwal delivered Sulaiman Shikoh (son of Dara) to Aurangzeb.
He was imprisoned then poisoned.
-Death of Gur Har Rai, succeeded by his 2nd son as the 8th Sikh Guru, Har Kishan.
-Murad beheaded in Gwalior Fort after mock trial for the murder of Ali Naqi (killed 1657).
-Charles II of England received Bombay as dowry from Portuguese (after his marriage to Princess
Catherine of Braganza), which was then leased to the East India Company in 1668.
1662 -Mir Jamula defeated Ahom King Jayadeva Simha of Assam, and invaded Guwahati.
-Francis Xavier canonized at Goa.
1663 -Cochin captured by the Dutch.
1664 -Shivaji commenced his Surat campaign, the first time Indian and British troops came into
conflict.
-Death of the 8th Sikh Guru, Har Kishan, aged only 7. He was succeeded as 9th Guru by Tegh Bahadur,
2nd son of the 6th Guru Har Govind.
-Sultan of Bijapur allowed the French to build Pondicherry.
-Aurangzeb prohibited the repairing of Hindu temples and shrines.
1665 -Shivaji virtually surrendered the Purandhar Fort after a two-month siege. In a peace treaty,
Aurangzeb received 23 of Shivaji’s forts (leaving Shivaji only 12 minor bases).
1666 -Shahjahan died in Agra Fort, still a prisoner. Shivaji and his son Sambhaji were then brought to
Agra as prisoners (but luckily escaped 3 months later).
-Birth of the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, at Patna.
1667 -Court persuaded Aurangzeb to give Shivaji the title ‘Raja’.
-Aurangzeb abolished customs duty for Muslims.
-Danes established factory in Bengal.
1668 -First French factory and settlement established at Surat.
-The ‘First British European Regiment’ formed, the first British unit raised in India.
-First official consignment of Indian tea reached Britain.
-Aurangzeb prohibited all Hindu religious fairs.
1669 -Aurangzeb ordered all Provincial Governors to destroy the schools and temples of the Hindus.
-Bengal Pilot Service started at Hooghly.
-Uprising of Jats under Gokla of Tilpat near Mathura. It was suppressed by Hasan Ali Khan, who had
Gokla cut into pieces.
1670 -Shivaji captured the Mughal Fort of Singhagarh in revenge for the destruction of the Viswanath
temple of Varanasi (1669). Shivaji then plundered Surat, reciving a huge ransom from the French,
Dutch and Bohra Muslims, but little from the British.
-Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of the Keshava Deva temple of Mathura, and a mosque to be built
on the site.
-Second Danish East India Company formed.
1671 -Naval port of Jinjeera of Bijapur handed over to the Mughals.
-Aurangzeb ordered the dismissal of all the Hindu clerks and officials in his service.
1672 -Court of Judicature (and therefore English Law) established by the East India Company.
-Aurangzeb brutally suppressed the revolt of the traditionally-peaceful Satnami Hindu sect, then sent
army of 40,000 under Mahabat Khan against the Marathas. The army of shivaji under Moro Pant pingle
and Pratap Rao Gujar smashed the imperial army.
1673 -Pondicherry founded by the French under Francois Martin.
1674 -Shivaji crowned in Raigarh Fort, taking the title ‘Chhatrapati’, and Henry Oxinden’s presence at
the ceremony started the friendship between Shivaji and the East India Company.
-Death penalty for theft introduced by the East India Company (until 1677).
-Mutiny of British units suppressed by the East India Company.
1675 -Ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, beheaded after days of torture, brought about by Aurangzeb’s
demands that he embrace Islam.
1676 -Charles II granted East India Company to mint coins called ‘rupee’ and ‘pice’ in Bombay (first
minted in 1678).
1677 -Shivaji received in Hyderabad by Abul Hasan Qutub Shah, and a defensive and offensive
alliance signed between the two, against the Mughals. Shivaji then captured the fortresses of Jinjee and
Vellore.
-Auangzeb ended recruiting Hindus into his administration.
-Aurangzeb poisoned his own son, Muhammad Sultan.
1678 -Rajputs revolted against Aurangzeb, and his son Prince Akbar joined their cause.
-British introduced a Chief Justice to India.
1679 -Akbar abolished the Jeziya Tax, but reimposed on Hindus in 1679 by Aurangzeb.
-Aurangzeb attacked Bijapur. Shivaji arrived in support, but his son, Sambhaji, went temporarily over
to the Mughals.
1680 -Deaths of Shivaji, at Rairi, (and succeeded by Sambhaji) and Rana Raj Singh of Mewar
(succeeded by his eldest son Jai Singh).
-East India Company established trading centre at Calcutta, and then Elihu Yale (after whom Yale
University is named) funded the establishment of St. Mary’s Church in Madras.
1681 -Sambhaji, son of Shivaji crowned at Raigarh Fort.
-Prince Akbar revolted against his father Aurangzeb, then fled to Sambhaji for protection (before
fleeing to Persia in 1688, where he died in 1706).
1682 -East India Company in Bengal made into a Presidency, giving it independence from Madras.
1683 -British Crown charter gave East India Company to raise military forces and make decisions on
peace and war at its own discretion.
1684 -Aurangzeb sent his son Muazzam to conquer Konkan.
1685 -The East India Company gained rights from James II to exert British rights across India.
1686 -Aurangzeb attacked Bijapur, and ended with a peace treaty.
-Settlement of Sutanuti establisahed by Job Charnock (after fleeing Hooghly because of a skirmish with
Mughal troops).
-Permission from James II to East India Company to establish mint in Madras.
-East India Company’s naval establishment became the Bombay Marine (later the Indian Navy, His
Majesty’s Indian Marine, The Royal Indian Marine, The Royal Indian Navy, and then from 1948 the
Indian Navy).
1687 -Aurangzeb annexed Golconda from Qutub Shah Sultan Tana Shah.
-Headquarters of the East Indian Company transferred from Surat to Bombay.
-Aurangzeb again attacked Bijapur, forcing its surrender after 7 months, ending 197 years of the Adil
Shahi Dynasty.
1688 -French East India Company permitted by Aurangzeb to establish settlement in Chandernagar, in
West Bengal.
-British left Bengal for Madras, after a dispute with the Mughal Governor.
-Sambhaji, son of Shivaji, captured by Aurangzeb.
1689 -Sambhaji (and his advisor Kavi Kailash) paraded through the streets of Tulapur, then brought
before Aurangzeb. They refused to accept Islam, so were blinded, had their tongues cut out, and then
beheaded.
1690 -The British reconciled with Aurangzeb.
-french laid foundations for their settlement at Chandernagar.
1691 -The Jats under Raja Ram Singh attacked Akbar’s mausoleum in Sikandra, looting it and burning
the bones, in revenge for Mughal attacks upon the Keshava Deva temple at Mathura.
-Job Charnock established first English factory at Calcutta.
1693 -Death of Job Charnock.
-The Company received the rights to 3 villages adjoining Madras.
1694 -Malla King Durjan Singh consecrated the terracotta Madan Mohan temple of Bishnupur.
1695 -Aurangzeb forbade all Hindus (except Rajputs) from bearing arms and from riding palanquins,
elephants and fine horses.
1696 -Fort William constructed at Calcutta (later demolished then rebuilt in 1773).
1697 -Aurangzeb ordered the desecration of the Jagannath temple of Puri.
1698 -Aurangzeb captured the Maratha seat of Jinjee Fort. The regent, Raja Ram, fled and set up a new
capital at Satara.
-East India Company allowed to collect revenues from the villages of Kalikata, Sutanuti and
Govindapur (the basis for Calcutta) by Aurangzeb’s grandson, Subedar Prince Azim-us-Shah of Bengal.
-A rival East India Company formed in England, styled ‘The English Company Trading to the East
Indies’.
1699 -Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur ascended the Amber Throne.
-Guru Govind Singh anointed his first 5 chosen successors (the Khalsa) at Anandpur Sahib in the
Punjab, and given the suffix ‘Singh’ (‘lion’); Dayaram Singh, Dharamdas Singh, Himmatri Singh,
Mokham Chand Singh and Sahib Chand Singh.
-Raja Ram led 60,000 troops against the Mughals, leading to the taking of Pune, Nasik and the
Godavari Valley.
-Calcutta made seat of the Presidency of the EIC, with a Governor appointed to Fort William.
1700 -Raja Ram died of smallpox at Singhagarh, succeeded by the infant Shivaji III (under the regency
of his mother, Tara Bai).
-Prince Azim-us-Shah built Belvedere House (later the residence of the Governor General of Bengal (in
1802, and then the National Library).
1701 -John Norris (representative of William III of Britain) received an audience with Emperor
Aurangzeb at Parnela.
1702 -The ‘old’ and ‘new’ East India Companies united, and renamed the United Company of
Merchants of England trading to the East Indies (became the East India Company in 1833).
1705 -Aurangzeb led his last campaign, against the fortress of Wagingera, only to enter it and find it
empty (the defenders having escaped via a tunnel to join their Maratha allies).
1706 -French Governor General and founder of Ponicherry, Francois Martin, died.
-Denmark sent the first Protestant missionary, Bartholomew Zeigenbalg, to India, but even he admitted
his failure.
1707 -Aurangzeb died at Ahmadnagar, prompting a bitter conflict between his kin.
1707 -Aurangzeb died at Ahmadagar. He made a testament requesting the empire be divided between
his sons, but instead Prince Muazzam (Shah Alam) took the throne as Bahadur Shah I. He then defeated
(and killed) his younger brother, Prince Azam, near Jajau (south of Agra).
-Badan Singh succeeded to the leadership of the Jats, laying the foundations for the rulers of Bharatpur.
1708 -Shahu (son of Sambhaji) entered Satara, and was crowned the Maratha ruler, but declared an
imposter by Tara Bai (widow of Raja Ram and regent to Shivaji III), opening a bitter civil war between
the Marathas.
-The 10th Sikh Guru, Govind Singh died from wounds inflicted earlier by an Afghan assassin.
Succeeded by Banda Bahadur (a.k.a, Lachman Das), who took Amritsar from the Mughals.
1709 -Bahadur Shah I (Shah Alam I) defeated his 3rd brother Kam Baksh at Hyderabad, consolidating
his position as Mughal Emperor.
1712 -Bahadur Shah I died at Lahore (aged 72). His four sons went to war to claim the throne, and the
only survivor took the throne, as Jahandar Shah. As a precaution, he massacred the royal princes, with
only Farrukhsiyar surviving (as he fled to Bengal).
-Shivaji III (son of Raja Ram and Tara Bai) died and replaced by his brother Sambhaji.
1713 -Throne of Delhi captured from Jahander Shah by Farrukhsiyar.
-Balaji Viswanath appointed by shahu in Peshawar.
-First Indian book (in Tamil) printed using moulded type.
1715 -First Christian Church in Calcutta built (destroyed in 1756).
-Asaf Jah established himself as Subedar of the Deccan, and later Viceroy of the Mughal Emperor and
first Nizam of Hyderabad.
-Sikh chief Banda Bahadur Bairaji surrendered Guraspur to the Mughls under Farrukhsiyar. He was
executed in 1716 after refusing to accept Islam, along with his 4 year old son Ajai Singh.
1716 -Rana Sangram Singh II became King of Mewar.
1717 -Surman got the rights to six villages around Madras, and rights to trade in Bengal.
-Murshid Quli Khan became the 1st Nawab of Bengal.
1718 -Hussain Ali Khan, supported by the Marathas, marched on Delhi. Farrukhsiyar was imprisoned
by the Sayyid brothers, blinded then murdered.
1719 -Jahandar Shah strangled to death. The Sayyids created two short-lived successors, and then
Rustam Khan became Emperor, with the title Muhammad Shah (the last Indian Emperor of any real
authority).
-Virtual independence gained by Governor Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal.
-The French East India Company given a charter to trade with India by France, only the first since five
such trading ventures began in 1604.
1720 -Peshwa Balaji Viswanath died, succeeded by his son Baji Rao.
-Muhammad Shah murdered Hussain Ali Sayyid, but spared his brother, Abdulla Khan Sayyid (only to
poison him later).
1721 -At Cambay in Gujarat, cricket was played, by sailors, for the first time in India.
-Hyder Ali born in village of Budi Kota (d.1782).
1722 -Bharatpur founded by the Jat ruler Maharaja Badan Singh.
-Calcutta Police Force formed by J.Z. Holwell (100 years before the London Police).
-Joseph Francois Dupleix arrived in India from France.
-The Khorasan merchant Sadat Khan established the Nawab of Oudh family.
1724 -Mir Qumar-ud-din Chin Kilich Khan defeated Mughal Viceroy of Deccan at the Battle of
Shakarkheta.
1725 -Murshid Quli Khan of Murshidabad died, and succeeded by his son-in-law, Suja-ud-daula. He
destroyed the German Ostend East India Company in Banki Bazar near Barrackpore.
-Jantar Mantar observatory of Delhi built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur (one of the five he created;
Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Ujjain and Varanasi).
1726 -George I of England permitted the Company to establish Municipal Corporations and Mayors’
Courts in Bombay and Calcutta.
1727 -Jaipur City founded by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber.
1728 -Completion of Jai Singh’s astronomical tables and the sundial based upon the calculations.
-First Freemasons’ Lodge of India established in Calcutta’s Fort William by Mr. George Pomfret.
1729 -Dupleix became Governor of Chandernagar.
1730 -Sambhaji defeated by Shahu, who was proclaimed the ruler of the entire Maratha domain (except
the small region around Kolhapur).
1731 -Swedish East India Company formed by King Frederick of Sweden, and King John V of
Portugal formed the temporary Portuguese East India Company.
1732 -Birth of Warren Hastings in Oxfordshire, the first president of the East India Company.
1735 -Shipbuilding yard in Bombay commissioned by the Bombay Council, to be under Navji
Nusserwanji Wadia.
1737 -Calcutta hit by the worst cyclone on record in India, accompanied by an earthquake and a 12-
metre high tidal wave. Some 300,000 were killed.
-Nizam defeated by Baji Rao I, who then marched on Delhi.
1738 -Death of Suja-ud-duala. Sarfaraj Khan became Governor of Bengal, but his tenure was one of
failure.
-The Persian Turk Nadir Shah Quli entered India, and entered Delhi the next year. For 58 days his
rampage continued and an estimated 20,000 perished. He returned to Persia bearing the Peacock
Throne and the Kohinoor Diamond.
1739 -As the result of a treaty between Nadir Shah and Emperor Muhammad Shah, Afghanistan was
separated from the Indian Empire.
-Karikal founded by the French.
1740 -Death of Peshwa Baji Rao I, succeeded by his son Balaji Baji Rao.
-Ali Bardi Khan (brothjer of Sarfaraj Khan) ousted Sarfaraj after the Battle of Giria and took throne of
Murshidabad, being recognized as Viceroy of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar by the Mughal Emperor.
1741 -The Bargis (Marathas from Berar) under Bhaskar Pandit pillaged Bengal, a campaign that lasted
for 10 years.
1742 -Birth of the Maratha diplomat Nana Phadnavis.
-British permitted by dig a ditch around Calcutta by Nawab Ali Bardi Khan of Murshidabad (the
‘Maratha Ditch’, until it was filled and filled the ‘Circular Road’).
-Dupleix became Governor of Pondicherry at Chandernagar.
-The 1st Carnatic War between the French and British began (until 1748).
1743 -Jai Singh II died.
1744 -Bhaskar Pandit, leader of the Maratha Bargis, murdered when fooled into negotiations with Ali
Bardi Khan.
-Robert Clive joined the East India Company.
1745 -Raghoki Bhonsle of the Marathas pillaged much of Orissa and Burdwan (in revenge for the
murder of Bhaskar Pandit).
1746 -De La Bourdannais captured Madras from the British.
1747 -Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani) of Afghanistan invaded India for the first time (eight more times
prior to 1767).
1748 -Death of Emperor Muhammad Shah (succeeded by his son, Ahmad Shah) and Nizam Asaf Jah of
Hyderabad.
-Admiral Edward Boscawen landed royal troops at Fort David (south of Pondicherry) to support
Company troops, the first government troops to serve in India.
-End of the 1st Carnatic War, and Madras returned to Company control.
1749 -Chatrapati Shahu (grandson of Shivaji) died, and succeeded by Raja Ram (posthumous son of
Shivaji II).
1750 -Warren Hastings landed at Calcutta, then only an 18-year old in the service of the East India
Company.
-Start of the 2nd Carnatic War (ended 1754).
-Bith of Tipu, son of Hyder Ali, at Devanhalli near Bangalore.
1751 -Robert Clive captured Arcot from Chanda Saheb.
-Second invasion of India from Afghanistan by Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani), annexing the Punjab and
Sind.
-At Nizam’s Court I Hyderabad, the Frenchman Bussy emerged as a major influence (until recalled by
Governor Lally in 1758).
1752 -Nawab Chanda Saheb of Arcot defeated at the Battle of Tiruchirapalli, then executed by Clive’s
forces.
-Third invasion of India by Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani).
-Gregorian calendar introduced throughout the British dominion in India.
1753 -Maharaja Surajmal plundered Delhi for a month, making him one the richest potentates in all of
India.
-The Nawab of Oudh became virtually independent of the Mughals.
-The cruel Siraj-ud-daula formally declared successor to Ali Bardi Khan in Bengal.
1754 -Dupleix left India.
-Sahabuddin, 1st Nizam of Hyderabad (and son of Emperor Jahandar Shah) deposed and blinded
Emperor Ahmad Shah (and his mother), taking the throne with the title Alamgir II and making himself
independent of the Marathas.
1755 -Principal Danish settlement established at Serampore (near Calcutta).
1756 -Death of Ali Bardi Khan of Bengal, succeeded as Nawab by his 20-year old daughter Siraj-ud-
daula.
-Birth of the scientist Jose Custodio Faria (a.k.a. Abbe Faria) at Goa (d.1819).
-Siraj-ud-daula attacked Calcutta. 146 prisoners (including commander John Zephenia Holwell and 4
women) locked in a small room, and 123 suffocated, the so-called ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’. Robert
Clive attacked Calcutta with 10 vessels, 900 European troops and 1,500 sepoys. It was recaptured in
1757.
-Fourth invasion of India by Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani), this time sacking Mathura and Brindavan
before entering Delhi.
-Suja-ud-daula became Nawab of Oudh.
-Chief of the Jats, Badan Singh, died, and succeeded by his adopted son Surajmal.
1757 -Captain Eyre Coote captured Bandel from the Portuguese, and Robert Clive took Chandernagar
from the French. Siraj-ud-daula advanced upon Calcutta, but attack avoided by negotiations. The
British were then allowed to fortify the settlement, establish a mint and receive reparations. Clive then
led 900 Europeans (the 39th Foot), 2,000 Sepoys and 8 cannon against Murshidabad. For 22 dead and
56 injured, Clive smashed Siraj-ud-daula’s army at the famed Battle of Plassey. Siraj-ud-daula fled but
was captured and killed by Muhammad Beg.
-.Mir Zafar ascended throne as Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
-East India Company minted their first rupee coins in Calcutta.
-Lord Clive commenced present Fort William in Calcutta (completed 1773).
1758 -George II of England allowed the Company to keep any booty taken from ‘enemies’ of the
Company or King.
-Raghunath Rao (Raghoba, brother of Peshwa) captured Lahore and seized Punjab.
-French General Bussy left Nizam Salabat Jung, and returned to Europe, greatly affecting French
influence in India, a situation worsened by General Count de Lally’s failure to take Madras from the
British (in 1759).
-Separate courts established by the Company for Indians and Europeans.
1759 -Emperor Alamgir II of Delhi murdered by his minister Imad-ul-Mulk, then succeeded by Shah
Alam II (grandson of Aurangzeb).
-Clive defeated Dutch East India Company expedition (attempting to reestablish Dutch settlements in
Bengal) at Chinsura, marking the end of Dutch involvement in India.
1760 -French General Lally surrendered Pondicherry to Captain Eyre Coote, followed by the British
victory at the Battle of Wandiwash.
-Nizam defeated Maratha army of Sadashiv Rao Bhau at the Battle of Udgir.
-Robert Clive left India (returned May 1765).
-Maratha army of Sadashiv Rao Bhau and Vishvas Rao captured Delhi, but soon retreated to shortages
of food and supplies.
-Mir Zafar’s son, Miran, killed by lightning, so when Mir Zafar died he was succeeded by his son-in-
law Mir Kasim.
1761 -Third and last Battle of Panipat between the Marathas and the Afghan Ahmad Shah Abdali. The
Marathas were completely smashed. Maratha leader Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao died and was succeeded
by 18 year old Madhav Rao (assisted by Raghoba).
-Rani Ahalya Bai took Indore and remained largely independent until 1795.
-Agra Fort captured by Jat Raja Surajmal, taking sovereignty of Bharatpur.
-Hyder Ali took virtual control of the Mysore.
-Death of Tara Bai of Pune.
1762 -Ahmad Shah Abdali’s 6th attack on India.
-British-led Madras ar,y seized Manila from the Spanish.
1763 -East India Company captured Murshidabad, and Mir Zafar reinstated as Nawab after the British
had defeated Mir Kasim at the Battles of Katwa, Giria and Udayanala.
-Marathas under Raghoba defeated Nizam of Hyderabad at Rakshabhuvan.
-Najib-ud-daula took control of Delhi.
-Sannyasi and Fakir rebellions against foreign influences took control of Bengal and north Bihar (until
1775).
1764 -Mir Kasim attacked Patna, but lost the battle.
-European Bengal Regiment mutinied, followed by the first Sepoy Mutiny. Put down by Major Hector
Monroe.
-Allied forces of Mir Kasim, the Emperor of Delhi and Nawab Suja-ud-daula (Oudh) defeated at the
Battle of Buxar, making the British virtual rulers of the Ganga Valley from the Himalayas to the sea.
-Raja Nanda Kamar given title ‘Maharaja’ by Shah Alam II, and appointed Collector of Burdwan,
Nadia and Hooghly.
-Ahmad Shah Abdali’s 7th invasion of India.
1765 -Robert Clive returned to India to commence his 2nd term as Governor of Bengal, but also as
Revenue Minister of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (by the Treaty of Allahabad) (taken as the start of British
rule in India).
-Hyder Ali of Mysore defeated by the Marathas.
-Mir Zafar died and succeeded by his son Nizam-ud-daula.
-Revolt of the 15th Battalion of Bengal, when they refused to take ship for Burma. The leaders of the
revolt (Raghunath Singh, Umraogir Singh and Yusuf Khan) tied to cannon and blown away.
1766 -British officers of the Company revolted against reductions in field allowances.
-Robert Clive introduced the official postal system.
-Chuar uprising in Bengal and Bihar (continued until 1771 and then again from 1795 to 1816).
1767 -Battle of Changama started the 1st Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69). Col. Smith routed the
combined armies of Hyder Ali and Nizam.
-Robert Clive returned sick and depressed to England, where he committed suicide in 1774.
-Ahmad Shah Abdali’s 8th and last invasion of India, failing to achieve a victory over the Sikhs, but
leaving his protégé, the Sikh Chief Amar Singh, as ruler of Patiala.
-Saint and composer Thyagaraja born at Thiruvayur (d.1847).
-Survey of India founded.
1768 -Assassination of Jat Raja Jawahir Singh, succeeded by Ratan Singh.
-British signed a peace treaty with Nizam (who accepted British supremacy).
1769 -Hyder Ali forced terms upon the British at Madras, to conclude the 1st Anglo-Mysore War.
-First organized horse racing in India held at Akra near Calcutta.
1770 -Death of Najib-ud-daula, succeeded by his son Zabita Khan.
-Great plague and famine in Bengal, killing c.20% of the 15 million population.
-Bank of Hindustan established in Calcutta by Alexander and Co., the first European-led financial
institution in India.
1771 -Madras Race Course established.
-Marathas defeated Hyder Ali at the Battle of Milgotha Pass, forcing his flight back to his capital. The
Marathas then attacked Delhi, forcing Emperor Shah Alam II to return to Delhi from Allahabad (under
British protection).
1772 -Warren Hastings appointed President of the Bengal Council by the Court of Directors of the East
India Company (until 1785).
-Birth of the languages scholar and proponent of the abolition of suttee Ram Mohan Roy at
Radhanagar.
-Death of Peshwa Madhav Rao I (aged only 28)(and the death of Maratha hopes of supremacy),
succeeded by his brother Narayan Rao.
-Portuguese established first public court in India.
-Muslim (Shariat-based) Personal Law enacted by the British.
1773 -Peshwa Narayan Rao murdered by his uncle Raghoba (who made himself Peshwa).
-Scindia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, Bhonsle of Nagpur and Gaekwad of Baroda became effectively
independent of the Peshwa.
-British Parliament passed the Regulating Act of 1772, to control the actions of the East India
Company.
-Agra taken from the Jats by Shah Alam II’s army led by Mirza Nazaf Khan.
-Jat ruler Nawab Singh of Bharatpur died, while his brother Ranjit Singh captured Bharatpur (ousting
his brother Naval Singh).
1778 -Col. Chapman captured Rohilakhand after the Battle of Miran Katra.
-Supreme Court in Calcutta replaced the Mayor’s Court (under the 1772 Regulating Act).
-Death of Robert Clive, having committed suicide due to criticism of his deeds in India.
1775 -British and Nana Fadnavis signed the Treaty of Purandhar.
-Raghoba signed Treaty of Surat with the British.
-British troops captured Barrackpore of Bengal.
-Maharaja Nanda Kumar arrested and hanged on charges of forgery.
-1st Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82) began when Marathas beaten by Col. Keating at Arras.
-Abdul Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad Bahadur Shah II born, the last of the Mughal Emperors.
-Varanasi ceded to the British.
1776 -Warrren Hastings resigned (but later retracted the resignation).
-Muslim Fakirs under Majnun Shah increased disturbances in Bengal.
-Present Viswanath temple of Varanasi built, by Ahalya Bai of Indore.
1777 -Ex-Nawab of Bengal, Mir Kasim, died in poverty in Delhi.
1778 -Revolution in Pune I favour of Raghoba, but he was soon ousted in a counter-revolution.
-The Sanskrit scholar and blind sage Swami Virjanand born near Jaladhar (d.1868).
-First European indigo factory established.
-Nathaniel Brushy Halhead published the first printed Bengali book (on grammar) in Hooghly.
1779 -The Marathas, the Nizam and Hyder Ali formed an alliance to remove the British.
-Raja Serfoji of Thanjavur built the Schwartz church, probably the first built by a Hindu ruler, for the
Spanish missionary Rev. C.V. Schwartz.
1780 -First English newspaper in India published, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General
Advertizer (ceased in 1783 when hickey charged with defamation).
-Capt. Bruce captured Gwalior Fort, while General Goddard later took Bassein Fort.
-Birth of the powerful Maharaja Ranjit Singh (d.1839).
-2nd Mysore War (1780-84) between the British and Hyder Ali.
-Warren Hastings established the Muhammedan Madrassa in Calcutta to encourage Arabic studies
amongst the Indian population.
1781 -Eyre Coote stopped Hyder Ali’s advances at the Battles of Porto Novo, Pallilore and Salangarh.
Later the British took Nagapatnam.
1782 -Treaty of Salby signed by the British and Scindia (for the Marathas), restricting Maratha
diplomatic relations only to the British.
-French naval squadron under Admiral de Suffrein arrived late to assist Hyder Ali, who died in
December (succeeded by his son Tipu).
-Court of Wards established in Bengal to take care of zamindaris of minors, females and incapables.
-The Monegar and rajah of Venkatagiri Choultries established in Madras, India’s first home for elderly
paupers.
1783 -British Parliament presented with Fox’s reformist India Bill, aimed at reforming administration
in India, but defeated in 1784.
-Tipu Sultan (assisted by the French) besieged Mangalore.
-Warren Hastings censured by the Court of Directors, so he resigned.
-8th Somnath temple rebuilt by Rani Ahalya Bai of Indore.
1784 -Asatic Society of Bengal established by William Jones (which became the Royal Asiatic Society,
then Asiatic Society (1951).
-India Act of 1784 presented to Parliament by Pitt, and passed.
-Tipu Sultan built the Gumbuz of Sringapatnam (where he and his parents would later be interred).
-Madras’ first newspaper, The Madras Courier, published for the first time.
-Public lotteries first introduced to Calcutta, the first to raise funds for St. John’s Church. Other
lotteries supported the building of Hare Street, Amherst Street, College Street and Strand Road.
-Introduction of the Preventive Detention Act.
-Bara Imambara in Lucknow built by Nawab Asaf-ud-din, allegedly as a famine relief measure.
1785 -Death of ex-Rohila chief Jabita Khan.
-Bhagavad Gita translated into English for the first time.
1786 -Burke placed before the British Parliament the charges against Warren Hastings.
-Lord Cornwallis took over in India as Governor General and Commander-in-Chief.
-Birth of the Waahabi-preacher Sayyid Ahmed Barelwi at Rae Bareli.
1787 -Robert Kyd established the Indian Botanic Gardens in Calcutta.
-35 districts of Bengal (est.1786) reduced to 23.
-Vishnupada temple of Gaya constructed by Ahalya Bai of Indore.
1788 -Pitt’s Regulatory Act introduced and passed to increase government control in India.
-Trial of Warren Hastings commenced in the House of Commons, and later acquitted.
-First publishing of the Calcutta Gazette. Its 3rd edition had the first advertisement in an Indian
language (Bengali).
-Jabita Khan’s infamously cruel son Ghulam Kadir seized in Delhi by forces from Scindia. He was
mutilated, and Scindia assumed control in India under the puppet rule of the Emperor Alam Shah II
(who’d been blinded by Ghulam Kadir).
1789 -East India Company signed a Treaty with the Nizam and Peshwa, aimed at dividing up the
territory of Tipu Sultan.
-Bombay’s first newspaper first published, the weekly Bombay Herald.
1790 -3rd (indecisive) Anglo-Mysore War broke out (1790-92). General Meadows captured Dindigul
then Palghat.
-Lord Cornwallis seized authority of the Nawab of Murshidabad, and moved Sadar Nizamat Adalat to
Calcutta.
-Export of Muslin from Bengal banned by the East India Company.
1791 -Lord Cornwallis seized Bangalore from Tipu Sultan.
-Lord Cornwallis retreated to Madras after the Battle of Arikera.
1792 -Tipu agreed to surrender half his territory by the Treaty of Srirangaptnam.
-Queen’s College (later Banaras Sanskrit College) established by Jonathan Duncan.
-East India Company established first modern observatory at Madras.
-India’s first cricket club, the Cricket Club of India established in Calcutta.
1793 -Lord Cornwallis decided to administer India just with Europeans.
-Missionary William Carey arrived in India, founder of the Serampore Mission in 1800.
-Company’s Charter to trade with India renewed.
1794 -Raja Vizieram Rauze of Vizianagram killed revolting against the British.
-Court of Directors of the Company turned down Cornwallis’ plan to combine the Crown and Company
armies.
-Birth of Dwarkanath Tagore (grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore) (d.1846).
1795 -Warren Hastings honourably acquitted.
-Cochin annexed from the Dutch to the British.
-Revolt of the 15th Battalion of the Bengal Native Infantry when it refused to go to Malacca. The
Battalion was disbanded, and replaced in the line with the 37th Battalion.
-Death of Chama Raja of Mysore and Rani Ahalya Bai of Indore.
1796 -Suicide of Peshwa Madhav Rao II, succeeded by his cousin Baji Rao II (last of the Peshwas).
1797 -Birth of poet Mirza Ghalib (d.1869).
1798 -East India Company received Allahabad Fort.
-Nizam of Hyderabad concluded Treaty of Subsidiary Allowance with the British.
-4th and last Anglo-Mysore War began with British siege of Srirangapatnam.
1799 -Tipu Sultan killed, the only Indian king to die fighting the British. He was succeeded by an
infant descendant of the Hindu Raja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Udiyar.
-Nawab Wajir Ali of Oudh deposed by the British.
-Lahore captured by Ranjit Singh of Lahore.
-Hawa Mahal Place (or Palace of the 4 Winds) built in Jaipur by Maharaja Pratap Singh.
1800 -Death of Maratha statesman Nana Phadnavis.
-Lord Wellesley established Fort William College in Calcutta.
-The Union School (the first English teaching school) established in Bhowanipore (in Calcutta).
-Coorg declared its independence (until 1834).
1801 -First Bengali version of the New Testament published, in Serampore, and the first printed
Bengali book, Pratapaditya Charita (by Ramram Basu).
-At Fort William College, William Carey appointed Professor of Bengali.
-Bengal and Madras received Supreme Courts.
-Bombay Army dispatched to Egypt (later to Mauritius (1810) and Iran (1856).
1802 -Peshwa Baji Rao concluded treaty of Subsidiary Allowance with the British after his defeat at the
hands of Yashwant Rao Holkar.
-First cricket century scored in India, by Peter Vansittart of Etonians against the Cricket Club of
Calcutta.
1803 -Delhi, then Puri, captured by Lord Lake in the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805), forcing the
blind Emperor Shah Alam II into British control. The Treaty of Surji Arjangaon granted the British
Delhi, Agra and Broach.
-Orissa and Cuttack given to Company control by the Treaty of Deogaon with Bhonsle.
-Calcutta received its first statue, that of Lord Cornwallis.
-Lord Wellesley suppressed the sacrifice of children in the sea off Sagar Island.
1804 -Holkar of Indore attacked Delhi, but repelled after 9 days by British forces under Lt. Col. Burns
and Lt. Col. Ochterlony.
-Literary Society began under the presidency of James Mackintosh (later the Asiatic Society of
Bombay).
1805 -Death of Lord Cornwallis at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh (only 8 weeks after arriving from
England).
-First book on Marathi grammar, by William Carey, published.
-First major setback for the British, when Lord Lake failed to take Bharatpur.
-Dome of the Harmandir Sahib of Amritsar plated with gold by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and henceforth
known as the Golden Temple by the British.
1806 -British forces under Col. Rolls Gillespie suppressed a mutiny of Indian forces at Vellore and
Madras who opposed the prohibition on caste-markers and earrings.
-Ludhiana captured by Ranjit Singh.
-Akbar Shah II became Emperor in Delhi.
1807 -State of Junagarh annexed by the Company.
1808 -Sikhs of Sirhind appealed to British for protection against Raja Ranjit Singh.
1809 -European officers serving in the Company demonstrated against the differences in treatment
between themselves and officers in the royal service.
-Bank of Bengal (first of the Presidency Banks) established.
-Kali Temple of Kalighat (in Calcutta), built by Santosh Roy of the sabarna Roy Chowdhury family,
consecrated.
1810 -Duncan Dock of Bombay completed.
1811 -Lhasa entered for the first time by an Englishman, Thomas Manning, but forced to leave a year
later by Qing officials in Beijing.
1812 -Maratha chiefs continued to encourage the Pindari menace in central India.
-East India Company established the Fort George College in Madras.
1813 -First boat races in Calcutta.
-Semaphore introduced between Calcutta and Chunar (in Uttar Pradesh), and between Calcutta and
Sagar Island.
-Revolt of the Gujars of Saharanpur after British assumed effective control of the estate of the late Raja
Ram Dayal Sharma.
1814 -Calcutta Museum established, by the Dainsh doctor Dr. Nathaniel Wallich, as part of the Asiatic
Society.
-Coal mining commenced in Raniganj in Bengal.
-The Serampore Press of Bengal issued the Simhasan Battisi, the first printed Marathi book.
1815 -Malaun of Nepal taken by General David Ochterlony.
-First iron smelter established in Madras, the East India Company began minting silver coins in India,
and Jessop & Co. built the first iron bridge in India.
1816 -Nepal signed treaty with Governor-General Lord Hastings, ceding Kumaon and Garhwal to
India, and withdrew from Sikkim.
-Bhonsle of Nagpur, Appa Saheb, signed a treaty with the British which saw him give up independence
and started the break-up of the Maratha confederacy.
-The short-lived Bengal Gazette started by Gangadhar Bhattacharya and Hara Chandra Roy.
1817 -Ram Mohan Roy started a Hindu college in Calcutta (later renamed Presidency College).
-Devandranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath Tagore), Syed Ahmad Khan (founder of the Aligarh
Movement and the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental School in Aligarh) and Ferdunji Naoroji (founder of
the ‘Young Bombay Party’) born.
-Mill’s History of India published for the first time.
-Jabalpur and Gujarat annexed by the British.