Changes

Since the 15th century, India has had many nationalities residing within her borders. After the demise of the Mughal empire, the single most significant group to control India have been the British, who controlled large portions of the continent from about 1599 to 1947. Several other European nations had small holdings in India, which were eventually absorbed into [[British India ]] by conquest or sale. For specific advice on researching family history of these nationalities resident in India, please see the [[Dutch]], [[French]], [[German]], [[Portuguese]] and [[Danish]] pages of this websitearticles.

Other ethnic groups came to India as traders and were part of the community in which they resided, rather than a separate state. For specific advice on researching family history of these nationalities resident in India, please see the [[Armenian]] and [[Jewish]] pages of this websitearticles.

If your ancestors were not [[Indian]], British, Anglo-Indian or one of the nationalities named above, then this webpage may provide article provides some research advice on finding your ancestors. In general, if your ancestors lived in a British settlement, much of the information that is presented in the majority of FIBIwiki will also apply to your ancestors. For example, if your ancestors were American missionaries in Bengal, then they should appear in the church records and directories of Bengal in the same manner as British and Anglo-Indians.

If your ancestors were baptised, married or buried in a European church in British India, then the church records should have been transcribed and sent to the capital of the [[Presidency]], where they would later have been forwarded on to London. These records were indexed and about 80% of church records in British India are believed to have survived. You can access these records at the [[APACBritish Library]] in the British Library in London, or at [[LDS]] [[Family History Centres]]. The FIBIS Many of these records are now available online, see the page [[Findmypast]] (pay website has extensive information on locating ) for images, or [[Non-British Church RecordsFamilySearch]] on microfilm for British Indiatranscribed records.

Many EuropeanFor editions available online, Anglo-Indian and other businessmen were named in the see '''[[Directoriesonline]] of their day. The most prominent Directory was Thacker's, which originally only covered [[Bengal]], but eventually encompassed all of British India. If your ancestors were merchants or businessmen, there is a good chance that they would have been listed in Thacker's Directories. A complete set is now housed at the [[APAC]] in London, but most major libraries will hold a few copies for given years. For a comprehensive description, and lists of where they can be located, please visit the informative [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~poyntz/India/directories.html Thacker's Directories].   

Many persons of a diverse range of European nationalities served in the military forces of the continent. There is information on locating military ancestors in India on the FIBIS website. These records apply to the British Army and the East India Company Army. In the early years of British rule in India, the East India Company sometimes hired whole regiments from European countries to supplement their own forces. For example, ''The Swiss Regiment'' was stationed in [[Madras]] in 1801. If you know that your ancestor served with a European military unit in India, then you will need to search the records of the country of origin of the regiment. If they served in a British or HEIC unit, then their records are described on this website.  Sylvia Murphy of Sydney, Australia has transcribed the [http://web.archive.org/web/20071101060624/http://members.ozemail.com.au/~clday/foreign.htm List of Officers of the Bengal Army of Foreign Extraction], from Appendix F of Hodson's ''List of Officers of the Bengal Army 1758-1834''.

Article ''German Voices from India : Officers of the Hanoverian Regiments in East India Company Service'' by Chen Tzoref-Ashkenazi, ''South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Volume 32:, Issue 2 ( August 2009)'' , pages 189-211. Publisher: University of Western Australia Press; Carfax; Routledge. ISSN 00856401. ISSN (electronic) 14790270This journal series is available at the [[British Library]] UIN: BLL01009881033 .

 If you know your ancestor's occupation in India (e.g. tea [[planter]], [[Teacher|teacher]]) then it may be possible to find out information from occupational records. Please see the [[:Category:Occupations|Occupations]] section in FIBIwikicategory.

There is an excellent [[mailing lists|mailing list]] of over 700 friendly and helpful people to help answer your more obscure questions on tracing your family history in India. It might be worth your while to join the list and put a specific query about your ancestors and their nationality to the group. It would be useful to search the INDIA-L India List archives first to see if your ancestor's nationality has been discussed before. For example, you could search for the work "Greek" in the archives, to retrieve all previous references to messages that contained the word "Greek".

The ==British who worked for European East India Companies==Especially during the period when a [[LDSBonds, Covenants, Indentures and Obligations, etc|bond]] have microfilmed ''was required, it was quite hard for a Briton to get permission to enter India, as there were always more applicants than positions, especially for the civilian merchant posts. Many excluded Britons, especially Scots, got around this ban by joining other European Inhabitants in Bengal 1783-1807East India Companies like the Danish or Swedish ones, Madras 1702-1828 and Bombay 1718-1792'' then simply transferring over in India. It is available When the European East India Companies ceased trading, at least some of the employees appear to have been taken on microfilm noby the [British] East India Company.<ref>Balmer, Nicholas.[https://web.archive.org/web/20200226034404/https://lists.rootsweb. com/hyperkitty/list/india.rootsweb.com/thread/4208205/ Permission to travel to India & Bonds until 1833] '''2104564'Rootsweb India Mailing List'' and gives names18 February 2007, country, length of time in India, occupation, relations, and so onnow archived.</ref>

*[http://books.google.com/books?id=MoUfAAAAYAAJ ''Historical Record of the Honourable East India Company's First Madras European Regiment: Containing an Account of the Establishment of Independent Companies in 1645; Their Formation Into a Regiment in 1748; and Its Subsequent Services to 1842''] by [[James Neill|James George Smith Neill]], Staff Officer (1843). Page xvi of the introduction (at the very front of the book) mentions the recruitment in the early days of a few Swiss mercenaries, [[French]] prisoners of war (after their release), 400 Germans at the [[South Africa|Cape of Good Hope]] in 1795 and more Germans in the Eastern Islands [Amboyna] in 1810.==References==<references/>{{#widget:Google PlusOne|size=small|count=true}}