The first Europeans to make contact with the Mughal court were merchants looking to secure trading rights. They were soon accompanied by priests and diplomats and, as the European presence grew, by solders and administrators.

In 1757 Robert Clive, an officer of the British East India Company, was given the task of re-taking Calcutta from the ruler of Bengal. Success at the Battle of Plassey meant that Bengal fell under the military control of the Company. In 1764 the Company was given the right to collect revenue in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II (reigned 1759-1806). Originally a mercantile company founded under royal charter, the Company was, by 1783, effectively under the control of the British government. Using the Company, Britain gradually increased its control over South Asia.

British women did not start going to India in large numbers until the 18th and 19th century. At this time they began to be featured in Company paintings – paintings commissioned from Indian artists by Europeans, usually employees of the East India Company. Increased contact with Europeans led to a change in the way they were depicted by Indian artists. Paintings produced in the 18th and 19th century became increasingly satirical and European ways of life were often ridiculed.