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History Exploration of these regions by European powers first began in the late 15th century and early 16th century, led by the Portuguese explorers. These regions became important sources of trading goods, particularly cotton, indigo and spices after the establishment of European trading companies designed for the specific purpose: the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company, among others, in the 17th century. The New World was initially thought to be the easternmost part of the Indies by explorer Christopher Columbus, who had grossly underestimated the westerly distance from Europe to Asia. Later, to avoid confusion, the New World came to be called the "West Indies", whilst the original Indies came to be called the "East Indies". The racial designation East Indian was once primarily used to describe people of all of the East Indies, but more recently it is been used widely in the US and Canada as a more precise version of an Indian from India, to avoid the potential confusion from the term American Indian (alternately: Native Americans) who where once simply referred to as Indians (see the Native American name controversy for more information). Asian Indian is a similar alternative term although it is more indicative of the ethnicity of people living in South Asia. East Indian is also a designation for an ethnic or sub-ethnic group, based in and around the city of Bombay or Mumbai. These people, part of the original Konkani ethnic group, had been evangelized under Portuguese auspices, and had partly Lusitanized. Later, the area was conquered by the Maratha Empire, and the Marathi language was adopted by the people. Under British rule, they were known as Bombay Portuguese, but, when immigrants from Portuguese-ruled Goa began to enter Bombay, in order to distinguish themselves from the Goans (whom the British also called Portuguese), they renamed themselves "East Indians", purportedly after the British East India Company, in order to demonstrate their loyalty to the British, and as locals of Bombay as distinguished from the Goans. See also | ||||||||||
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