European Arrival and Expansion in India - Question Bank

1. Which European power was the last to establish a significant trading presence in India?
A) The Portuguese
B) The Dutch
C) The French
D) The British
2. The French East India Company was established in which year?
A) 1602
B) 1608
C) 1664
D) 1670
3. The Battle of Plassey is considered a turning point because it led to:
A) The establishment of the British Raj
B) The end of Mughal rule
C) The beginning of political dominance of the British East India Company in Bengal
D) The introduction of Western education
4. Which of the following was a direct economic impact of European expansion on Indian agriculture?
A) Diversification of crops
B) Introduction of new farming techniques
C) Forced cultivation of cash crops like indigo and cotton
D) Increased food grain production
5. The annexation of Awadh in 1856, supposedly due to misgovernance, was carried out under the Doctrine of Lapse by:
A) Lord Dalhousie
B) Lord Canning
C) Lord William Bentinck
D) Lord Lytton
6. The Subsidiary Alliance system effectively made Indian states:
A) Independent
B) Dependent on the British
C) Equal partners with the British
D) Self-sufficient
7. Which act marked the beginning of British governmental control over the East India Company's administration in India?
A) Pitt's India Act 1784
B) The Regulating Act of 1773
C) The Charter Act of 1813
D) The Charter Act of 1833
8. The Dutch East India Company was primarily interested in controlling the trade of:
A) Cotton textiles
B) Indigo
C) Spices from the Spice Islands
D) Opium
9. The Portuguese established their first trading post in India at:
A) Calicut
B) Cochin
C) Goa
D) Surat
10. Which of the following was a key reason for European interest in Indian cotton textiles?
A) High demand in Europe for raw cotton
B) Use in the production of gunpowder
C) Popularity and demand in European markets
D) Essential for shipbuilding
11. The Battle of Plassey was significant because it gave the British East India Company control over:
A) Madras
B) Bombay
C) Bengal
D) The entire Indian subcontinent
12. The British gained control of Pondicherry from the French after which major conflict?
A) First Carnatic War
B) Second Carnatic War
C) Third Carnatic War
D) Anglo-French Wars
13. Which European power established a trading post at Serampore (Frederiksnagore) in Bengal?
A) The Portuguese
B) The Dutch
C) The French
D) The Danes
14. The Second Anglo-Sikh War resulted in the annexation of Punjab by the British in which year?
A) 1846
B) 1848
C) 1849
D) 1856
15. The First Anglo-Sikh War concluded with the Treaty of:
A) Lahore
B) Amritsar
C) Bhyrowal
D) Ferozeshah
16. The Anglo-Sikh Wars were fought by the British East India Company against the Sikh Empire based in:
A) Oudh
B) Punjab
C) Kashmir
D) Sindh
17. The Treaty of Seringapatam, which ended the Third Anglo-Mysore War, was signed between the British and:
A) Hyder Ali
B) Tipu Sultan
C) The Marathas
D) The Nizam of Hyderabad
18. Who was the ruler of Mysore who fought fiercely against the British in the Anglo-Mysore Wars?
A) Hyder Ali
B) Tipu Sultan
C) Krishnaraja Wodeyar III
D) Nandi Raj
19. The Battle of Seringapatam, which led to the death of Tipu Sultan, was the final engagement of which war?
A) First Anglo-Mysore War
B) Second Anglo-Mysore War
C) Third Anglo-Mysore War
D) Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
20. The Carnatic Wars were essentially a struggle for supremacy between the British and which other European power in South India?
A) The Dutch
B) The Portuguese
C) The French
D) The Danes
21. The British East India Company gained control of Bombay from which European power?
A) The Portuguese
B) The Dutch
C) The French
D) The Danes
22. Which Portuguese settlement in India was captured by the Dutch in 1663?
A) Diu
B) Daman
C) Cochin
D) Goa
23. The dual government system in Bengal, introduced by Robert Clive, was eventually abolished by:
A) Lord Cornwallis
B) Warren Hastings
C) Lord Wellesley
D) Lord Dalhousie
24. The Treaty of Allahabad, signed after the Battle of Buxar, granted the Diwani rights to the British East India Company.
A) Mir Qasim
B) Shuja-ud-Daulah
C) Shah Alam II
D) Robert Clive
25. Who was the Mughal emperor who allied with Mir Qasim and Shuja-ud-Daulah against the British at the Battle of Buxar?
A) Farrukhsiyar
B) Alamgir II
C) Shah Alam II
D) Muhammad Shah
26. The Battle of Buxar, which consolidated British power in Bengal, was fought in which year?
A) 1757
B) 1764
C) 1771
D) 1781
27. Which of the following was a major consequence of European expansion in India regarding Indian industries?
A) Growth of indigenous industries
B) Decline of handicrafts
C) Increased exports of finished goods
D) Technological advancement
28. The Mahalwari system of revenue settlement was prevalent in:
A) Southern India
B) Western India
C) Northern India (Agra, Awadh, Punjab)
D) Eastern India
29. Ryotwari settlement was primarily implemented in which regions of India?
A) Bengal and Bihar
B) North-Western Provinces and Punjab
C) Madras and Bombay
D) Assam and Orissa
30. The Permanent Settlement of Bengal was introduced by:
A) Robert Clive
B) Warren Hastings
C) Lord Cornwallis
D) Lord Wellesley
31. The first permanent settlement introduced by the British in India was in:
A) Bengal
B) Madras
C) Bombay
D) Oudh
32. The Charter Act of 1833 allowed the British East India Company to continue its political functions but not as a trading body. This was known as:
A) Commercialization
B) Disintegration
C) Administrative Control
D) Decommercialization
33. The East India Company's monopoly on trade in India was abolished by which act?
A) The Regulating Act of 1773
B) The Charter Act of 1813
C) The Charter Act of 1833
D) The Government of India Act 1858
34. Which European power controlled the island of Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) for a significant period before the British?
A) The French
B) The Dutch
C) The Portuguese
D) The Spanish
35. The annexation of Satara, Sambalpur, and Jhansi was carried out under the Doctrine of Lapse by:
A) Lord Wellesley
B) Lord Dalhousie
C) Lord Curzon
D) Lord Dalhousie
36. The Doctrine of Lapse, a policy of annexation, was associated with Governor-General:
A) Lord William Bentinck
B) Lord Dalhousie
C) Lord Canning
D) Lord Lytton
37. Which Indian ruler was the first to accept the Subsidiary Alliance?
A) The Nizam of Hyderabad
B) The Nawab of Awadh
C) The Maharaja of Mysore
D) The Raja of Travancore
38. The Subsidiary Alliance policy was introduced by which British Governor-General?
A) Lord Wellesley
B) Lord Hastings
C) Lord Dalhousie
D) Lord Bentinck
39. The British East India Company was granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa by the Mughal emperor:
A) Aurangzeb
B) Farrukhsiyar
C) Shah Alam II
D) Bahadur Shah I
40. Which treaty brought an end to the First Anglo-Carnatic War?
A) Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
B) Treaty of Pondicherry
C) Treaty of Madras
D) Treaty of Versailles
41. The Battle of Wandiwash, a decisive victory for the British over the French, took place in:
A) 1759
B) 1760
C) 1761
D) 1763
42. Who was the French governor-general in India during the Carnatic Wars?
A) Dupleix
B) Bussy
C) Lally
D) La Bourdonnais
43. The Third Anglo-Maratha War, which effectively ended Maratha power, concluded in which year?
A) 1805
B) 1813
C) 1818
D) 1823
44. The Anglo-Mysore Wars were primarily fought between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of:
A) Maratha
B) Sikh
C) Mysore
D) Nizam of Hyderabad
45. Which of the following was NOT a major trading commodity sought by European powers in India?
A) Spices
B) Cotton textiles
C) Indigo
D) Gold
46. The Dutch East India Company established its first factory in India at:
A) Surat
B) Pulicat
C) Cochin
D) Goa
47. Who was the British commander who defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey?
A) Lord Dalhousie
B) Lord Cornwallis
C) Robert Clive
D) Warren Hastings
48. The Battle of Plassey, a pivotal event in British expansion, was fought in which year?
A) 1757
B) 1764
C) 1771
D) 1789
49. Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer, reached Calicut in India in which year?
A) 1492
B) 1498
C) 1505
D) 1510
50. Which European power was the first to establish a significant trading presence in India?
A) The British
B) The French
C) The Dutch
D) The Portuguese