Modern History of India GK Questions:Advent of Europeans Part 3

 

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Advent of Europeans-Part 3

Daily Online General Knowledge Quiz:Previous year paper gk questions with answers and explanation in English on Advent of Europeans and commencement of Modern History of India.

1. Which of the following European Colonisers did not have a settlement on the Eastern Coast of India?
A. French
B. Portuguese
C. Dutch
D. Danish

Danish

Note: The Eastern Coastal Plains refer to a wide stretch of landmass of India, laying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal.

It stretches from Tamil Nadu in the South to West Bengal in the North. Of all the foreigners on the Malabar coast, the Danish were the least successful.

The limited resources of Denmark, with its inadequate manpower, were no match for those of their fellow traders like the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English.

Danish was the one who had not any settlement on the eastern coast of India whereas French settlement in Pondicherry, Portuguese have Goa and Dutch in Kochi.

2. Which among the following regulations made English as a medium of education compulsory in government aided schools and colleges?
A. Pitts India Act, 1784
B. Educational Despatch, 1854
C. Macaulay Minute, 1835
D. Regulating Act, 1773

Macaulay Minute, 1835

Note: Macaulay was Secretary to the Board of Control under Lord Grey. After the passing of the Government of India Act, 1833 he was appointed as the first law Member of the Governor General's Council.

He served on the Supreme Council of India between 1834 and 1838. He introduced English education in India through his famous minute of February, 1835.

Macaulay minute reform made English as a medium of education which was compulsory in upper primary level education.

Macaulay's famous proposal of promoting the English language is called the Macaulay Minute. In that, he suggested English should be taught in place to Arabic, Sanskrit, and Persian in colonial schools in India.

3. During colonial period, British capital was mainly invested in?
A. infrastructure
B. industry
C. agriculture
D. services

agriculture

Note: Company rule in India brought a major change in the taxation and agricultural policies, which tended to promote commercialisation of agriculture with a focus on trade, resulting in decreased production of food crops, mass impoverishment and destitution of farmers and in the short-term, led to numerous famines.

After the removal of international restrictions by the Charter of 1813, Indian trade expanded substantially and over the long-term showed an upward trend.

The result was a significant transfer of capital from India to England which, due to the colonial policies of the British, led to a massive drain of revenue rather than any systematic effort at modernisation of the domestic economy.

4. When did the British Government start ruling India directly?
A. After the Battle of Plassey
B. After the Battle of Panipat
C. After the war of Mysore
D. After Sepoy Mutiny

After the Battle of Plassey

Note: The beginning of British political sway over India may be traced to the Battle of Plassey in 1757. It was the most decisive war that marked the initiation of British rule in India for the next 2 centuries.

The Nawab of Bengal become a puppet in the hands of the English.

The Battle of Plassey (Palashir Juddha or Battle of Palashi) was a battle that took place on June 23, 1757, on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, about 150 km north of Calcutta.

This battle was fought between the British East India Company led by Robert Clive and the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-daula. The French troops were also a part of this battle and fought with Siraj-ud-daula against Robert Clive.

5. In which of the following systems of land settlement adopted by the English did provide more protection to the interest of farmers?
A. Permanent settlement of Bengal
B. Ryotwari settlement of Madras
C. Zamindari settlement of Central States.
D. Malgujari (land revenue) settlement of United States.

Ryotwari settlement of Madras

Note: It was the Ryotwari System which offered some protection to the interests of the producers. There the settlement was direct. i.e, between the government and the cultivator. Moreover, it was for a period of 30 years and not permanent as in the case of the permanent settlement.

The ryotwari system was a land revenue system in British India which was introduced by Sir Thomas Munro allowed the government to deal directly with the cultivator ('ryot') for revenue collection and gave the peasant freedom to cede or acquire new land for cultivation.

6. Who among the following Portuguese captured Goa?
A. Francisco de Almeida
B. Alfonso de Albuquerque
C. Vasco de Gama
D. Roberto de Nobili

Alfonso de Albuquerque

Note: It was Albuquerque who captured Goa in 1510. He was appointed Governor and 'Captain General of India'.

Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean and built a reputation as a fierce and skilled military commander

To secure a permanent foothold on the coast of India, he took Goa in March, 1510, abandoning it two months afterwards, only to return in November, when he took the place again, and held it thereafter for the Portuguese.

7. Where are the mortal remains of St.Francis Xavier housed?
A. Velankanni, chennai
B. Se Cathedral, Velha(Goa)
C. Basilica of Bom Jesus Velha(Goa)
D. St.Xaviers Church, Mumbai

Basilica of Bom Jesus Velha(Goa)

Note: The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa. The Basilica holds the mortal remains of St.Francis Xavier, a very close friend of St.Ignatius Loyola with whom he founded the society of Jesus, (Jesuits)

Francis Xavier died on Sanxian Island while enroute to continental China on 2nd December, 1552.The body of Francis Xavier was first taken to Malacca and 2 years later shipped back to Goa. It is said that the Saint's body was as fresh as the day it was buried.

8. Sati was prohibited by?
A. Warren Hastings
B. Lord Wellesley
C. Lord William Bentinck
D. Lord Dalhousie

Lord William Bentinck

Note: Lord William Bentinck took effective steps to root out the practice of Sati. He also set out against evils like child marriage and infanticide. It should be noted that Sati was something, which was tried to be removed even before the coming of the Mughals.

The Bengal Sati Regulation,or Regulation XVII, in India under East India Company rule, passed by the governor-general Lord William Bentinck in council on 4 December 1829, which made the practice of sati or suttee illegal in all jurisdictions of India and subject to prosecution.

The ban is credited with bringing an end to the practice of sati in India. It was first major social reform legislation enacted by the British in India and one part of the reforms enacted by Bentinck.

9. The first Trading Centre which was established by the British was?
A. Kolkata
B. Surat
C. Chennai
D. Mumbai

Surat

Note: The British East India Company opened their first trading centre at Surat, Gujarat in 1612. This was as per the deed of right Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted to them. In 1640, they opened their second centre in Madras(Now Chennai).

In 1687, they shifted their main trading centre from Surat to Bombay, the city that leased out from the British king in 1668.

10. In which of the following places was the Ryotwari settlement introduced?
A. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab
B. North-West Provinces and Punjab
C. Madras and Bombay
D. Bengal and Bihar

Madras and Bombay

Note: The Ryotwari settlement was a method introduced, by the British to collect revenues, which was introduced in parts of the Madras and Bombay presidencies between 1792 and 1827.Under it, a direct settlement was made between the Government and the Ryotwari who was the cultivator of land.

It was directly imposed on the ryots(culivator of land) through agreements, the rate was 50% in dry lands and 60% in the wetland. In this case the rates were high and unlike the permanent system they could be increased.

As per the ryotwari system if the ryots did not pay the tax they could be evicted from their land by the government. As the contract was directly with the cultivators there were no middle men like in the Zamindari system.

11. Who among the following, abolished the Dual System of Government in Bengal?
A. LLORD Clive
B. Lord Cornwallis
C. Spencer
D. Lord Warren Hastings

Lord Warren Hastings

Note: Warren Hastings has been credited to end the Dual system of governance.

In the Dual System, the company had Diwani rights (rights to collect revenue) and the Nizam or Indian chiefs had the administrative authority. Hastings abolished the Dual System that had been established by Robert Clive.

12. Who among the following was famous for framing the education minute?
A. Lord Elgin
B. Lord Macaulay
C. Sadler
D. None of the Above

Lord Macaulay

Note: Lord Macaulay introduced English education in India through his famous minute of February 1835.He made an Educational System that would create a class of anglicised Indians, who would serve as cultural intermediaries between the British and the Indians. Macaulay succeeded in implementing ideas previously put forward by Lord William Bentinck, the Governor General since 1829.

13. Who succeeded the Madras Presidency as it existed till Indian Independence?
A. Sir Thomas Munro
B. Lord Hastings
C. Lord Cornwallis
D. Lord Welliesley

Sir Thomas Munro

Note: The Madras Presidency, officially the presidency of fort St. George came as a result of the efforts of Sir Munro. He also introduced the Ryotwari System and has appointed the Governor in 1820.

14. Who among the following Europeans, established their trade and influence in India first?
A. British
B. French
C. Dutch
D. Portuguese

Portuguese

Note: Near the end of the 15th century, it was the Portuguese sailor Vasco Da Gama who was the first to establish trade links with India, by being the first to arrive as well, which he did by circumnavigating Africa.

15. The first attempt to introduce a representative and popular element in the Governance of India was made through?
A. Indian Council Act, 1861
B. Indian Council Act, 1892
C. Indian Council Act, 1909
D. Government of India Act, 1919.

Indian Council Act, 1909

Note: Indian Council Act, 1909 also known as the Moreley-Minto reforms named after the then secretary of State for India, Lord Morley and the Viceroy Lord Minto.

Its provisions were incorporated into the Indian Councils Act of 1909 and were perhaps the first attempt at introducing a popular representative element in the government.

It envisaged a separate electorate for Muslims. This act first time gave recognition to elective principle for the appointment of non-officials members of the councils. The maximum number of additional members of the Indian Legislative was raised from 16 to 60

It introduced for the first time the method of election, an attempt to widen the scope of legislative councils, pacify the demands of moderates in Indian National Congress and to increase the participation of Indians in the governance. The Act amended the Indian Councils Acts of 1861 and 1892.

References

1.English Education Act 1835-wikipedia
2.Battle of Plassey-wikipedia
3.A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan : from the year MDCCXLV-archive.org
4.ryotwari system | Indian tax system | Britannica-Britannica Online Encyclopedia
5.The Economic History of India Under Early British Rule-socialsciences.mcmaster.ca
6.Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Afonzo_de_Albuquerque-wikisource
7.Volume 6, Chapter 1, Section 5 -- Transactions of the Portuguese in India under the Government of Don Alfonso de Albuquerque-columbia.edu
8.Basilica of Bom Jesus-wikipedia
9.Sati (practice)-wikipedia
10.Bengal Sati Regulation,1829-wikipedia
11.Warren-Hastings -Britannica Online Encyclopedia
12.Indian-Councils Act of 1909 -Britannica Online Encyclopedia