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Emergence of European Powers in India — GK Questions with Answers

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14 questions
  1. On what occasion did Bombay pass from Portugal to England?
    1. Freedom of Portugal from Spain
    2. Marriage of Charles II with Catherine of Braganza
    3. Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)
    4. Treaty of Madrid (1630)
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Marriage of Charles II with Catherine of Braganza

    It was part of the dowry in 1661.

  2. Why did Jahangir allow the English to open a factory at Surat in 1613?
    1. The English and Portuguese made peace
    2. The English secretly offered naval help
    3. A large bribe to Nur Jahan
    4. The English defeated a Portuguese fleet
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) The English defeated a Portuguese fleet

    Thomas Best’s victory at Swally (1612) impressed the Mughals.

  3. Who founded the French East India Company?
    1. François Martin
    2. Colbert
    3. François Caron
    4. De la Haye
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Colbert

    Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, 1664.

  4. Where was the first presidency of the English Company in India?
    1. Madras
    2. Masulipatnam
    3. Surat
    4. Hughli
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Surat

    Surat was the first presidency; Bombay replaced it in 1687.

  5. Aurangzeb ordered English factories seized (1686–90) because the English —
    1. refused local duties in Bengal
    2. attacked Mughal ships on the west coast
    3. fortified their trading stations
    4. all of these
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) all of these

    This was the Anglo-Mughal war, settled in 1690.

  6. Consider about Pondicherry: 1. The Portuguese were the first Europeans there. 2. The French were the second. 3. The English never held it. Correct:
    1. 1 only
    2. 2 and 3
    3. 3 only
    4. All three
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) 1 only

    The Dutch held it in 1693–99, and the English captured it several times (e.g. 1761). (IAS 2010)

  7. Which legal step legitimised the Company’s control over Bengal?
    1. Shah Alam II’s grant of the Diwani of the three eastern provinces
    2. Treaty with Mir Jafar after Plassey
    3. Treaty of Salbai
    4. Treaty of Bassein
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Shah Alam II’s grant of the Diwani of the three eastern provinces

    The 1765 imperial grant gave Company rule a legal basis.

  8. Which statement about the European arrival is NOT correct?
    1. Goa fell to the Portuguese in 1499
    2. The first English factory in the south was at Masulipatnam
    3. The English opened their first eastern factory in Orissa in 1633
    4. The French under Dupleix took Madras in 1746
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Goa fell to the Portuguese in 1499

    Goa was captured in 1510. (IAS 2003)

  9. Which pair is wrongly matched?
    1. Jahangir — William Hawkins
    2. Akbar — Sir Thomas Roe
    3. Shah Jahan — Tavernier
    4. Aurangzeb — Manucci
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Akbar — Sir Thomas Roe

    Roe came to Jahangir’s court (1615–19).

  10. Which of these Bengal factories was Portuguese?
    1. Kasimbazar
    2. Chinsurah
    3. Hughli
    4. Serampore
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Hughli

    Chinsurah was Dutch, Serampore Danish. (UPPCS 2004)

  1. Which ruler was removed by the British on the plea of misgovernment?
    1. Awadh
    2. Jhansi
    3. Nagpur
    4. Satara
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Awadh

    Awadh, 1856 (Dalhousie); the others fell under the doctrine of lapse. (IAS 2007)

  2. Which factor did NOT help moneylenders exploit cultivators under British rule?
    1. New legal system and land revenue policy
    2. Transferability of land
    3. Commercialisation of agriculture
    4. Old moneylending traditions
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Old moneylending traditions

    The new British systems, not old traditions, empowered the moneylender.

  3. The Treaty of Madras (1769) ended which war?
    1. First Carnatic
    2. First Anglo-Mysore
    3. First Anglo-Maratha
    4. Second Anglo-Mysore
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) First Anglo-Mysore

    Haidar Ali dictated it at the gates of Madras.

  4. Ryotwari system was worked out by —
    1. Cornwallis and John Shore
    2. Alexander Read and Thomas Munro
    3. Holt Mackenzie
    4. Dalhousie
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Alexander Read and Thomas Munro

    Mahalwari is linked with Holt Mackenzie.

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