The first Europeans visitors to the subcontinent were Portuguese traders who arrived here during the 15th century. They landed on the west coast of India and were amazed by what they saw - a land rich in spices , fruits, clothes of different colours and textures, ornaments , and jewellery. The local people were friendly and treated the travelers with courtesy and respect. The traders exchanged goods with the local people and many returned to Europe. The first among the Portuguese was Vasco da Gama who landed at Calicut on the west of India in 1498. In 1600 Sir Thomas Roe came as the ambassador of Queen Elizabeth of England to the court of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir. In December 1600, Queen Elizabeth granted a character to set up the East India Company. Soon afterwards, during the 17th century, other traders came, and some of them settled here. Among these were the Dutch, the French, and the British. They setup trading posts. Some of the traders such as the East India Company began to do business on a large scale. Many of its' officers settled in trading posts, known as 'factories' at Surat, Bombay and Calcutta, and competition grew between the French and the British. By the 18th century, the power of the Mughal emperor had begun to decrease. As the Mughals grew weaker, the minor rules in the north, the Rajputs, the Marathas, and the Sikhs became restless and the Muslim nobles fought among themselves. This was the end of Mughals rule in the subcontinent, but it was also beginning of the British rise to power. There was no one ruler powerful enough, however, to rule the whole subcontinent ,and the British Government was afraid that their trade would suffer because of all the fighting that was going on. As their interest shifted from trade to government, the British gradually gained more and more power in the subcontinent .The East India Company was also fighting a trading war against the French had been defeated. The British Government decided to take over the East India Company and slowly, they too became involved in politics. By the middle of the 19th century, the British Government began to rule the whole subcontinent. The British had come to the subcontinent as traders but ended up bringing the whole region under their region .They introduced their language, politics, architecture and their ideas. They built roads, railways and large buildings. But the people of the subcontinent were never free and happy, living under the rule of foreign power. They did not like the new rulers, because they felt that the British had no right to run their country. However, it was difficult to fight against the British because the local people were not united.