Colonial Rule in India

India was a country engaged in ________since the ancient times.

• wars

• colonisation

• trade

• exploration

Answer explanation

India was a country engaged in colonisation since the ancient times.

__________implemented the doctrine of lapse.

• Wellesley

• Dalhousie

• Hastings

• Cornwallis

Answer explanation

The Governor-General of the English East India Company from 1848 to1856, Lord Dalhousie, introduced the Doctrine of Lapse. The policy helped the Company take over territories of rulers who didn't have a natural heir.

The _____________ were the first to visit India for trade.

• British

• Dutch

• French

• Portuguese

Answer explanation

Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach India for trade. Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast.

__________ gave the British the first farman.

• Akbar

• Ashoka

• Aurangzeb

• Haider Ali

Answer explanation

Aurangzeb gave the British the first farman (royal decree), which granted them trading rights in India. The farman, issued in 1717 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar, further expanded these privileges, allowing the British East India Company to trade freely in Bengal, Gujarat, and Hyderabad without paying customs duties.

Haider Ali became the ruler of Mysore in _________.

• 1761

• 1775

• 1760

• 1767

Answer explanation

Hyder received an independent command in Mysore in 1749. Eventually he displaced Nanjaraj, the prime minister, and made the raja a prisoner in his own palace. About 1761 he made himself ruler of Mysore.

The European trading companies were established to control Indian spice trade.

• True

• False

Four Anglo-Maratha Wars were fought between the years 1775-1818

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This statement is incorrect because there were only three Anglo-Maratha Wars, not four. These wars were fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire from 1775 to 1818.

Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh because of misgovernment

• True

• False

The Doctrine of Lapse was a useful tool in completing the creation of the British Empire in India.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Lord Dalhousie provided the British with the tool called Doctrine of lapse that they used to annex an Indian kingdom if its ruler died without a male heir. They annexed Satara(1848), Sambalpur(1850), Udaipur(1852), Nagpur(1853) and Jhansi(1854) using doctrine of lapse.

The Carnatic Wars were fought between the British and Haider Ali.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This statement is incorrect. The Carnatic Wars were fought between the British East India Company and the French East India Company, not Haider Ali. These wars took place in South India between 1746 and 1763 as part of the larger struggle for colonial dominance between Britain and France.