- "Where did you say we're going again?"
"India. I hear they let cows just wonder through their houses there. Can you imagine? I hate cows." - ―Barbara Huntington and Marcella
India was a landmass in the south of Asia that was also known as the Indian subcontinent or South Asia.
History[]
The name India comes from the river Sindhu in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent (present day Pakistan). Over this river, the Indus Valley Civilization progressed as one of the cradles of human civilization. This civilization existed from 3300 BC to 1900 BC. After the civilsation mysteriously declined, the Vedic or Hindu cultures (introduced by Aryan invaders from Central Asia) began to spread throughout the land. The subcontinent had also undergone later migrations and invasions, with the migrants and invaders eventually blending into India's cultural melting pot over the millennia.
The Persian Empire's expansion into India was followed by an invasion by the Macedonian prince Alexander the Great. After crossing the Sindhu river, the Greeks named it Indus, after which it is aetymologised to India. These were then followed by later Central Asian invaders, including the Huns and Turks, who founded the Delhi Sultanate. Most of the Indian subcontinent was eventually unified by the Mughal Empire from late medieval to early modern times, before eventually collapsing.
India began to be colonized in the beginning of the Modern Era by the European countries of Great Britain, France, Portugal, Denmark, and Holland. The Spanish attempted to sail to India but its explorers and Conquistadores landed up on North America. Eventually, most of India was colonized by Britian via the East India Trading Company.
East India Trading Company[]
- "Our Company's profits are at stake! What are you shiftless fools doing out there in India-counting your own toes?"
- ―Benedict Huntington to an EITC agent
EITC emblem
The East India Trading Company was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I. The Company began to set up factories, one of them being Calcutta. Mughal ruler Siraj-aud-Daula ordered the French and British to remove their fortifications. The French complied, while the British with their fort at the city of Calcutta did not. Angry at this, the Mughals threw the British out. The Company launched an immense invasion with their military forces and struck back hard, only to end up conquering all of India soon enough. The EITC began trading with the East Indies.
The Company began monopolizing in the Caribbean, led by Lord Cutler Beckett. Cutler Beckett would have probably served as a clerk in India before he rose up to power.
Piracy[]
- "Just before we parted company, James mentioned that he had come upon a man, half dead, floating in the sea. They pulled him out, and before he died, he told them a story similar to the ones I have heard here today. He said it happened off the coast of India. It seems these villains are everywhere."
- ―Don Rafael to pirates assembled at Shipwreck Cove
The Vedic civilisation has shown ancient records of Piracy. After the Dark ages, piracy was recorded many times. Arabs used piracy as an excuse to expand into India, and piracy was also used several times as an excuse for war. In 14th century South India, war exploded between the two Muslim and Hindu kingdoms, so there had been a need for fresh supplies, and the easiest way to get them was to raid the trade routes coming from Persia to Africa. During the times of Mughal rule, European pirates also saw treasure in this area and began to pillage Mughal vessels and ships transporting pilgrims heading to Mecca for their annual pilgrimage. These constant raids sparked a war between Portugal and the Mughal Empire, because Portuguese pirates captured a ship belonging to the Mughal queen. In the 18th century, the famous Maratha privateer, Kanhoji Angria, ruled the seas between Mumbai and Goa. The Marathas demanded the East India Trading Company to pay a fee if sailing through their waters.
Pirate Lords like Sumbhajee Angria also began to expand their influence over Indian oceans. Madagascar also had connection with pirate raids on India, due to the fact that both are on the Indian Ocean. Some of the rogue pirates operated off the coast of India.[1].
Notable Indians (by birth)[]
Appearances[]
- The Price of Freedom (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean (First mentioned)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide (First appearance)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Mentioned only) (Deleted scene)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (On a map)
Sources[]
- The Price of Freedom
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East
- Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (DVD featurette)
External Links[]
| Locations in Pirates of the Caribbean | |
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| [edit] |
Notes and references[]
- ↑ The Price of Freedom Chapter Two.