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PRAHAR 2024
Modern History - Prelims Questions DPP - 04

1. With reference to Indian history, consider the 2. The French were the second European to
following statements: (UPSC Prelims, 2022) arrive in India.
1. The Dutch established their factories 3. Captain Hawkins of England visited the
/ware houses on the east coast on lands court of Jahangir.
granted to them by the Gajapati rulers. How many of the above statements are
2. Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa correct?
from the Bijapur Sultanate. (a) Only one (b) Only two
3. The English East India Company (c) All three (d) None
established a factory at Madras on a plot
of land leased from a representative of the 4. Which among the following Portuguese rulers
Vijayanagara empire. had established Portuguese strongholds in
How many of the above statements are India as well as maintained a good rapport
correct? with the Vijayanagara Empire?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (a) Vasco Da Gama
(c) All three (d) None (b) Alfonso De Albuquerque
(c) Francisco D’ Almeida
2. Consider the following statements:
(d) Pedro Alvares Cabral
1. The Battle of Colachel occurred in 1741,
where the Dutch East India Company was 5. With whose permission did the English set up
defeated by Marthanda Varma, their first factory in Surat?
2. Pedro Alvarez Cabral was the founder of (UPSC Prelims, 2009)
the Portuguese power in India.
(a) Akbar (b) Jahangir
Which of the following statements given
(c) Shahjahan (d) Aurangzeb
above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

3. With reference to the arrivals of the

Europeans in India, which of the following
statements are correct?
1. Portuguese came to India in the late 15th
Century.
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Answer
1. (b) 4. (b)
2. (a) 5. (b)
3. (b)

Hints and Solutions
1. (b)
Option (b) is correct:
 Statement 1 is incorrect: There is a
difference in the timeline of the events.
The end of the Gajapati Dynasty was in
1542. The United East India Company of
the Netherlands was founded in March
1605 by the Charter of the Dutch
Parliament. And by 1605 the first
factory was set up in Masulipatnam.
 Statement 2 is correct: Alfonso de
Albuquerque considered as Founder of
the Portuguese power in India. He
captured Goa from Bijapur; persecuted
Muslims; and captured Bhatkal from Sri
Krishna Deva Rai (1510) of
Vijayanagara.
3.
 Statement 3 is correct: The English
East India Company established a factory
in Madras in 1639 on land leased from
representatives of the Vijayanagara
Empire called the Nayakas.
2. (a)
Option (a) is correct:
 Statement 1 is correct: Battle of
Colachel: The Battle of Colachel
occurred in 1741, where the Dutch East
India Company was defeated by
Marthanda Varma, the Maharaja of
Travancore, in present-day Kerala.
 Marthanda Varma's forces
triumphed due to strategic tactics
and modernization of his army,
including European-style training
and weaponry
 Eustachius De Lannoy, a Dutch
official, was captured in the battle
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and later contributed to the
Travancore army, introducing
European military tactics, artillery,
and discipline.
 Statement 2 is not correct: Alfonso de
Albuquerque (1509- 1515) was
considered the founder of the Portuguese
power in India. He captured Goa from
Bijapur; persecuted Muslims; captured
Bhatkal from Sri Krishna Deva Rai
(1510) of Vijayanagara. He Initiated the
policy of marrying with the natives of
India. He also banned the practice of sati
in his area of influence. Albuquerque
died in 1515 leaving the Portuguese as
the strongest Naval power in India.
(b)
Option (b) is correct:
 Statement 1 is correct: Vasco-da-Gama
reached Calicut via the Cape of Good
Hope in 1498 and was warmly welcomed
by Zamorin (Ruler of Calicut).
 Statement 2 is not correct: French were
the last among the European companies
to enter India. In 1664, during the reign
of Louis XIV, the efforts of his minister
Colbert resulted in the formation of the
French trading company. The first French
factory in India was established at Surat
in 1667 by Francois Caron which was
followed by the factory at Masulipattam
by Marcara in 1669 after acquiring
permission from the ruler of Golconda.
The foundations of Pondicherry were led
by Martin in 1673. The trading post at
Chandranagar was established at the
place given by the Nawab of Bengal
Shaista Khan.

 Statement 3 is correct: Captain
Hawkins arrived in the court of
Jahangir in April 1609 itself. However
the mission to establish a factory at Surat
didn’t succeed due to opposition from the
Portuguese, and Hawkins left Agra in
November 1611.
4. (b)
Option (b) is correct:
Alfonso De Albuquerque established a
Portuguese stronghold on the mainland in
India and made the Portuguese flag supreme
on the Indian Ocean. He conquered Goa in
1510 from Bijapur (abolition of Sati) and
established their domination from Hormuz
in the Persian Gulf to Malacca in Malaya.
Goa became the first bit of Indian territory to
be under a European power since the time of
Alexander. Albuquerque developed a good
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relationship with Vijayanagar because both
had a common enemy that was the Deccan
Sultanate. In 1520 Krishna Dev Raya also
gifted a fort. Both kingdoms sent embassies to
each other. Trade flourished and especially
horse trade in which horses were supplied to
Vijaynagar from Europe.
5. (b)
Option (b) is correct:
In 1611, the English had started trading at
Masulipatnam on the south-eastern coast of
India and later established a factory there in
1616. It was in 1612 that Captain Thomas
Best defeated the Portuguese in the sea off
Surat; an impressed Jahangir granted
permission to the English in early 1613 to
establish a factory at Surat under Thomas
Aldworth.