CLASS VIII- Social Studies

HISTORY
Lesson 2
The Expansion of British Power

Q1. Fill in the blanks: (1 mark each)

i. India was a significant trading centre.
ii. Merchants from Europe and Asia came to trade here.
iii. Queen Elizabeth issued a charter to the East India Company to
trade with the East.
iv. The East India Company was formed in 1600.
v. The factories were places which consisted of British officials and
godowns.
vi. The European traders wanted to take spices/cotton/indigo/silks
from India.
vii. Besides the British, the French and Portugese/ Dutch were the
other European traders who came to India.
viii. After defeating the French, the way was clear for the British to
establish their rule in India.
ix. Bengal was the richest of the Indian provinces.
x. Murshid Quli Khan was the nawab of Bengal.
xi. Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah asked the British to remove all its
fortifications.
xii. The Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757.
xiii. The Battle of Plassey laid the foundation of British rule in India.
xiv. The British made Mir Jafar, the new Nawab of Bengal after the
battle of Plassey.
xv. Mir Jafar was replaced by Mir Qasim as Nawab.

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 xvi. Mir Qasim fought against the British with the help of Shuja-ud-
Daulah and Shah Alam II.
xvii. Shah Alam II granted diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
xviii. The battle of Buxor was fought in 1764.
xix. The people of Bengal suffered immensely because of the dual
system of government.
xx. Tipu Sultan the ruler of Mysore died defending his capital
Seringapatnam in 1799.
xxi. Lord Wellesley acquired territories through the tactical method of
the Subsidary Alliance.
xxii. The Resident could interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom.
xxiii. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a powerful ruler of Punjab.
xxiv. Lord Dalhousie became the Governor General in 1848.
xxv. Lord Dalhousie acquired Indian territories through the policy of
Doctrine of Lapse.
xxvi. Bengal, Bombay and Madras were the three presidencies of the
British empire.
xxvii. The credit of introducing civil services in India goes to Lord
Cornwallis.
xxviii. The Indian soldiers in the British army were known as Sepoys.
xxix. Diwani is the right to collect revenue from a particular area.
xxx. The person with the legal right to a property is known as heir.

Q2. Multiple Choice Questions: (1 mark each)

i. When did Queen Elizabeth give a charter to the English East India
Company?
a. 1600
b. 1500
c. 1700
d. 1800

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 ii. This nawab of Bengal asked the English East India company to
remove all fortifications in Calcutta.
a. Murshid Quli Khan
b. Ali Vardi Khan
c. Haidar Ali
d. Siraj –ud- daulah

iii. This Governor General introduced the system of Subsidiary

Alliance.
a. Robert Clive
b. Wareen Hastings
c. Lord Cornwallis
d. Lord Wellesley

iv. The British victory at _________ led Shah Alam to grant Diwani
of Bengal.
a. Plassey
b. Buxor
c. Seringapatnam
d. Punjab

v. One of the four agencies that carried out day to day administration
of the company was the
a. Police
b. Cavalry
c. Infantry
d. Factories

vi. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of:

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 a. Awadh
b. Punjab
c. Mysore
d. Bengal

vii. The capital of Mysore was

a. Seringapatnam
b. Buxor
c. Plassey
d. Jhansi

viii. The credit of introducing civil services in India goes to:

a. Lord Wellesley
b. Lord Dalhousie
c. Lord Mountbatten
d. Lord Cornwallis

ix. The Battle of Plassey was fought in:

a. 1757
b. 1764
c. 1848
d. 1768

x. Indian soldiers in the British army were known as:

a. Daroga
b. Chowkidar
c. Diwan
d. Sepoys

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Q3. True or False: (1 mark each)
i. The Indian penal code established the principle of Rule of law.
(True)
ii. The Battle of Plassey was fought between the British and Ali
Vardi Khan (False)
iii. Mir Jafar was a traitor. (True)
iv. Shah Alam II granted ‘diwani’ to the British. (True)
v. Haider Ali was the son of Tipu sultan. (False)
vi. Shija-ud-din was the nawab of Awadh. (True)
vii. The ruler who accepted the Subsidiary Alliance became totally
dependant on the British. (True)
viii. The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy devised by Lord Wellesley
to annex other kingdoms.(False)
ix. Bengal, Bombay and Madras were British Presidencies .(True)
x. The Fort William College was set up in Calcutta in 1801.(True)

Q4. Match The following: (1 mark each)

A. Battle of Plassey 1. Lord Cornwallis
B. Battle of Buxor 2. Lord Wellesley
C. Subsidiary Alliance 3. Lord Dalhousie
D. Doctrine of Lapse 4. Siraj-ud-Daulah
E. Civil Services 5. Diwani
Answer: A -4, B-5, C-2, D-3, E-1

Q5. Very short answer questions: (2 mark each)

i. What were factories ?

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Ans: Places which consisted of British officials and godowns.
ii. What was the main cause behind Anglo- French Wars?
Ans: Trade Rivalry
iii. Which Queen issued the charter to trade to the East India
Company?
Ans: Queen Elizabeth
iv. Which Governor General introduced the Subsidiary Alliance?
Ans: Lord Wellesley
v. Name the capital of Mysore.
Ans: Seringapatnam
vi. After which battle did the British get diwani rights in Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa?
Ans: Buxor
vii. Which war led to foundation of British rule in India?
Ans: Battle of Plassey
viii. What did the Bengal Resolution of 1793 state?
Ans: Justice should be based on written laws and regulations instead
of age old customs and traditions.
ix. Who were ‘sepoys’?
Ans: Indian soldiers in the British army.
x. Name the ruler of Punjab who was on friendly terms with the
British.
Ans: Maharaja Ranjit Singh

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Q6. Short answer questions: (2 to 3 sentence answer) (3mark each)
i. Name the European countries that sent trading companies to
India.
Ans: Portugal, Holland, United Kingdom (UK), France, Denmark

ii. What are factories? Why were they so called?

Ans: The factories were places which consisted of British officials
and godowns. They were so called because the officials of the
company were called as ‘factors’

iii. What was the result of battle of Plassey?

Ans: #It laid the foundation of British rule in India.

#People who came as traders became the masters of India.

iv. Discuss the growth of British influence with special emphasis

on Mysore.
Ans: #Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan were powerful rulers of Mysore

#Between 1766 and 1799 four wars were fought between

Mysore and the British

#In 1799 , in the 4th Anglo Mysore war, the British defeated
Mysore and annexed his kingdom to their empire.

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v. Why did the British need a large army?
Ans: # to protect their territories from external attack

# to protect their territories from internal revolt

# to conquer more territories

vi. Why was it difficult for Indians to get selected in the Indian
civil service exams?
Ans: # the exam was held in London and a very few Indians could
afford the cost of travel.

#The medium of expression was English which was a foreign

language to the Indians.

#The maximum age for competing was very low.

vii. What was the reason of rivalry between the European powers?
Ans:# to obtain control over Indian market of spices, cotton, silk,
indigo etc.

# all wanted to buy at very low prices in India and sell them at very
high prices elsewhere.

# since profits from trade were very huge, each European country
vied for a greater share of this trade.

viii. How was day to day administration carried out by the British?

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Ans: The day to day administration were carried out by the following
4 agencies:

 The Civil service – for general administration

 The Army – to protect the territories the British held in India
 The Police - to maintain law and order
 The Judiciary – to dispense justice

ix)Write a note on the Doctrine of Lapse.

Ans:# The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy devised by Lord Dalhousie
to annex Indian kingdoms to the British Empire.
#According to this, when the ruler of a kingdom died without a
natural heir, his territory would not automatically pass to the adopted
heir but would “lapse” that is, become part of the British dominion
unless it had been approved by the British.
#Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi had been annexed this way.

x) What was the Dual System of government in Bengal?

Ans. #The British collected the revenue directly in Bengal and also
the military was under it. Only a small amount was given to the
nawab to run the administration.
# The British had all the power and income but no responsibility
whereas the nawab had all the responsibility but no power and no
stable source income.
# This unique arrangement was known as the Dual System of
government.

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Q7. Long answer questions:(more than three points) (4 mark each)
i) What was the Subsidiary Alliance ? Explain.
Ans: # Under the Subsidiary Alliance, Lord Dalhousie asked the
Indian kings to accept British supremacy and sign a subsidiary treaty
with them.

#)In return, the British promised to protect the ruler from internal
rebellion and from attacks by rivals.
# The British maintained a large army at the cost of Indian rulers and
indirectly controlled the internal and foreign affairs of the Indian
ruler.

#The Resident could interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom

and so the Indian ruler who accepted this alliance became totally
dependent on the British and could no longer take decisions
independently.

ii) What were the issues of conflict between the nawabs of Bengal
and the English East India Company?
Ans:#In 1717, the East India Company succeeded in obtaining the
right to import and export goods without paying customs duty. The
concession granted was only for the company but the officials also
stopped paying duty on their private trade which resulted in enormous
loss of revenue to Bengal.
#The conflict between the nawabs and the company intensified
Alivardi Khan asked the officials to pay the duty or the privilege
would be withdrawn and also asked the company not to extend its
fortifications.
#When Siraj-ud-Daulah became the nawab, matters became worse.
He asked the company to remove all fortifications. The company
refused to do so.

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#So the nawab sent his troops and occupied the company’s factories
in Calcutta. They decided to dispose Siraj – ud- Daulah. This resulted
in a war.

iii) How did Lord Dalhousie expand the British territories in India?
Ans:# The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy devised by Lord Dalhousie
to annex Indian kingdoms to the British empire.
#According to this, when the ruler of a kingdom died without a
natural heir, his territory would not automatically pass to the adopted
heir but would “lapse” that is, become part of the British dominion
unless it had been approved by the British.
#Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi had been annexed this way

iv) Describe the structure of administration during the British rule.

Ans: # The British divided the territories they held in India into
provinces. Three of these were Bengal, Bombay and Madras. They
were called Presidencies.
# Each Presidency was administered by a Governor with a Governor
General acting as a overall head.
# The district was looked after by the Collector. He supervised
revenue collection and the overall administration of the district.
# The day to day administration was carried out by the following four
agencies:

 The Civil service – for general administration

 The Army – to protect the territories the British held in India
 The Police - to maintain law and order
 The Judiciary – to dispense justice
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v) How did the British deal with dispensing justice in India?
Ans: # Before the coming of the British, the judicial system had been
based largely on religious sources such as the shastras and the shariat.
Steps were taken by Warren Hastings and Lord Cornwallis to institute
a proper judicial system in India.

# In 1837, the Indian penal code and codes of civil and criminal
procedures were introduced.

#The Rule of Law was established, meaning that administration

would be based on law, rather than the wishes of the ruler.Equality
before Law was also introduced. This meant that all people were
equal before the law, regardless of caste, class or gender.

#Europeans always had a superior position in the eyes of the law.

Cases of discrimination against Indians were common.

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