ABSTRACT
European overseas empires were founded on the strength of ocean-going navies sponsored by their respective states. Though Spain and Portugal dominated the sea lanes across the globe for almost a century following the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 CE, their respective armadas failed to keep the English, Dutch and French nations out of the race for the ‘New World’ for long. By the seventeenth century, the primacy of Spain and Portugal in oceanic affairs was being challenged and vigorously contested in Europe and elsewhere. The English and the Dutch had emerged as the successful heirs in the ‘Eastern’ waters, replacing the Portuguese in the early seventeenth century. By the late eighteenth century, the British Royal Navy had successfully managed to eliminate all native and European challenges in the Indian Ocean so as to establish their supremacy. This chapter charts the ascendancy of British power in the Indian Ocean.
