FROM TRADE TO TERRITORY

I. Fill in the blanks:

(a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of Plassey
(b) Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of Mysore.
(c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of Lapse
(d) Maratha kingdoms were located mainly in the South-western part of India.

II. State whether true or false :

(a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century – False
(b) The English East India Company was the only European company that traded with
India – False
(c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab – True
(d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they
conquered – False

III. Answer the following:

Who was the last powerful Mughal ruler?
Answer: Aurangzeb was the last powerful Mughal ruler.
Name the battles fought by Tipu Sultan.
Answer: Tipu sultan fought four battles in the years (1767-69, 1780-84, 1790-92,
1799). Only in the last which was the battle of Seringapatam he lost.
Who was the first Governor- general ?
Answer: Warren Hastings, was the first Governor-General.
What are the reasons that caused the conflicts between Bengal nawabs and East India
Company?
Answer. The reasons that caused the conflicts between Bengal nawabs and East India
Company were:
a) Nawabs denied concessions to the East India Company on many occasions
b) Nawabs also demanded large tributes from the company
c) The company officials wrote insulting letters to the nawabs
d) The company denied paying taxes

Q5. What were the reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire?
Ans: The reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire were:-
Local Subadars and zamindars began asserting their authority and establishing
regional kingdoms. Powerful regional kingdoms emerged in various parts of
India.There was no effective control over the entire region in the centre.
The British started emerging as a political power.
Q6. Which were the other trading Companies that came to the Indian shores?
Ans: The Portuguese traders landed in the western coast of India, and established
themselves in Goa. Later during the 17th century the Dutch also started trading in
India. Soon after the Dutch the French entered the Indian shores.

Q7. What were the commodities that these companies traded in?
Ans: The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British companies traded in:-
Cotton, Silk, Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon.
Q8. Give a brief note on the Battle of Plassey.
Ans: The battle of Plassey took place on 23 June 1757 at Palashi, West Bengal,
India, on the banks of the Bhagirathi River. The opponents were Siraj Ud Daulah,
the Nawab of Bengal, and the British East India Company.
The French East India Company sent a small contingent to fight against the British
East India Company. The British East India Company used Siraj-ud-Daulah’s deposed
army chief – Mir Jafar, to defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah. Siraj-ud-Daulah was captured and
executed. The Company won the battle and took the entire province of Bengal and
appointed Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal.
Q8. What attracted European trading companies to India?
Answer. European trading companies were looking for new lands from which they could
buy goods at a cheap price and carry them back to Europe to sell at higher prices.
The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe.
Spices like Pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon too were in great demand. These
were the reasons that attracted European trading companies to India.

Q9. Describe the policy of “paramountcy”.

Ans: Lord Hasting introduced the policy of “paramountcy” in India. Under this
policy the Company claimed that its authority was paramount or supreme, hence its
power was greater than that of Indian states.

Q10. What was the ‘doctrine of lapse’?

Ans” Lord Dalhousie devised a policy that was known as the Doctrine of Lapse. The
doctrine declared that if an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom
would “lapse”, that is, become part of Company territory. One kingdom after another
was annexed simply by applying this doctrine.
3.04.25