Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory

Contents
Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs): .................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory Short Answer Questions (SAQs): ................................ 4
Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory Long Answer Questions (LAQs): ................................. 8

Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs):

1. Who was the last of the powerful Mughal rulers?

Answer

Aurangzeb

2. With what purpose did the British originally come to India?

Answer

Trading

3. Who was the ruler of England in 1600?

Answer

Queen Elizabeth I

4. Name a thing produced in India which had a big market in Europe.

Answer
Fine qualities of cotton and silk (Any One)

5. How did the royal charter empower the East India company?

Answer

Through royal charter, East India company gained sole trading rights with the
East.

6. Why did the Battle of Plassey become famous?

Answer

It was the first major victory the Company won in India.

7. When did the British emerge on the political horizon of India?

Answer

By the second half of the 18th century

8. Who discovered the sea route to India and when?

Answer

Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer, discovered the sea route to India in

1498 C.E.

9. When did Siraj-ud-Daulah become the Nawab of Bengal?

Answer

Siraj-ud-Daulah became the Nawab of Bengal in 1756 C.E., after the death of
Alivardi Khan.
10. Why did the Company want a puppet ruler?

Answer

A puppet ruler would willingly give it trade concessions and other privileges.

11. Whom did the Company install in place of Mir Jafar?

Answer

Company installed Mir Qasim in place of Mir Jafar.

12. Who were called ‘nabobs’?

Answer

Several Company officials returned to Britain with wealth and led flashy lives
and showed their riches with great pride. They were called “nabobs’.

13. Why did Tipu Sultan develop a close relationship with the French in India?

Answer

He did so in order to modernise his army with their help.

14. What was the objective behind the Company’s new policy of ‘paramountcy
’?

Answer

The Company claimed that its authority was paramount or supreme and
therefore its power was greater than that of Indian states.

15. What happened in the Battle of Seringapatam?

Answer

Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam.

16. What was Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse?

Answer

If an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would become the part
of Company territory.

17. What was the result of Rani Channamma’s anti-British resistance

movement?

Answer

She was put in the prison where she died.

18. Why was Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, tried after
he returned to England?

Answer

He was tried for the misgovernance of Bengal.

Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory Short Answer

Questions (SAQs):

1. What led to a fierce battle between the European trading companies?

Answer

• The competition for Indian silk, cotton, spices among the European
companies pushed up the prices at which goods could be purchased which led
to reduction of profit.
• They saw a way to increase profit by eliminating rival companies which led
to a fierce battle between the trading companies.
• They regularly sank each other's ships, blocked routes and prevented rival
ships from moving with supplies of goods. Trading posts were also protected
with arms and fortifications.

2. Give an account of different European trading companies besides the British

East India Company that entered the Eastern markets.

Answer

Different European trading companies were:

• The Portuguese: By the time the first English ships sailed down the West
coast of Africa, round the Cape of Good Hope, and crossed the Indian Ocean,
the Portuguese had already established their presence in the western coast of
India and had their base in Goa.
• The Dutch: By the early 17th century, the Dutch too were exploring the
possibilities of trade in the Indian Ocean.
• The French: The French traders soon arrived on the scene for the same
purpose.

3. What were the causes of conflict between Siraj-ud-Daulah and the British?

Answer

• The Company was not paying taxes.

• The Company officials were writing disrespectful letters to the Nawab.
• The British started deploying forces in Calcutta and in spite of the refusal of
the Nawab to allow them to keep their forces there, the British did not with
draw them.

4. What was the Doctrine of Lapse? Which kingdoms did the Company annex
by applying this Doctrine?

Answer
The Doctrine of Lapse was the culmination of the Company’s territorial
expansion policy. It was implemented by Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-
General of India from 1848 to 1856. According to the
doctrine if an India ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would ‘lapse’,
that is, become a part of Company territory. Several kingdoms were annexed
by applying this doctrine - Satara, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhansi and
Awadh.

5. How did the assumption of Diwani prove advantageous for the East India
Company?

Answer

The assumption of Diwani was advantageous for the East India Company in
many ways. The Diwani allowed the Company to use the vast revenue
resources of Bengal. This solved a major problem that the Company had
earlier faced. Its trade with India had expanded no doubt but it had to pay
most of the
goods in India with gold and silver imported from Britain. The auto flow of
these costly metals from Britain stopped after the assumption of Diwani now
revenues from India could finance Company
expenses. These revenues could be used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in
India, maintain Company books and meet the cost of building the Company
fort and offices at Calcutta.

6. Why was the East India Company worried about Russia in the late 1830s?
What did the

Answer

In the late 1830s the East India Company became worried about Russia. It got
feared that Russia might expand across India and enter India from the north-
west. Hence, the British now wanted to secure their
control over the north-west. They fought a prolonged war with Afghanistan
between 1838 and 1842 and established indirect Company ruler there. Sind
was taken over in 1843. However, it took some time to
take over Punjab because of the resistance put by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. But
after his death, it was annexed in 1849.

7. Give a brief description of all the three Anglo-Maratha wars. Also write the
main consequences.

Answer

The Company waged a series of wars against the Marathas in order to crush
Maratha power:
• In the first war there was no clear victor, hence it ended in 1782 with the
Treaty of Salbai.
• The second Anglo-Maratha War began in 1803 and ended in 1805. This war
was fought on different fronts resulting in the British gaining Orissa and the
territories north of the Yamuna river including Agra and Delhi.
• The third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817-1819 crushed Maratha power. The
Peshwa was removed. The Company now had complete control over the
territories south of the Vindhyas.

8. Write a brief note on Tipu Sultan.

Answer

Tipu Sultan was the famous ruler of Mysore. He ruled Mysore from 1782 to
1799. Under his leadership Mysore became very powerful. It controlled the
profitable trade of the Malabar coast where the Company purchased pepper
and cardamom. In 1785 Tipu Sultan stopped the export of these items through
the ports of his kingdom, and disallowed local merchants from trading with
the Company. He also developed relationship with the French in India to
modernise his army with their help. The British got furious. They waged four
battles against Tipu Sultan. The last battle proved unfortunate for him. He was
killed depending his capital Seringapatam. The way he resisted the British is
undoubtedly praiseworthy.

Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory Long Answer

Questions (LAQs):

1. How did the East India Company begin trade in Bengal?

Answer

• The East India Company set up first English factory on the banks of the river
Hugli in the year 1651 which became the base from which the Company’s
traders, known at that time as ‘factors’, operated.
• The factory had a warehouse where goods for export were stored and it had
offices where Company officials set. As trade expanded, the Company
persuaded merchants and traders to come and settle near the factory.
• By 1696 the Company began to build a fort around the settlement. Two
years later it bribed Mughal officials into giving the Company zamindari rights
over three villages. One of these was Kalikata which later developed into a
city, known as Calcutta.
• The Company also persuaded the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to issue a
farman granting the Company the right to trade duty-free.
• The Company tried continuously to press for more concessions and
manipulate existing privileges.

2. Why was the Battle of Plassey fought? What was its result?

Answer

The Battle of Plassey was fought when the conflicts between the Bengal
nawabs and the Company got intensified. The Company did not like
Sirajuddaulah because he was a strong nawab of Bengal. It wanted a prepped
ruler in his place who would willingly give trade concessions and other
privileges. For this purpose the Company tried to help one of Sirajuddaulah’s
rivals become the nawab. This infuriated Sirajuddaulah. He asked the
Company to stop meddling in the political affairs of his dominion, stop
fortifications and pay the revenues. When the Company refused to do so the
nawab market with 30,000 soldiers to the English factory at kasimbazar,
captured the Company officials and
locked the warehouse. Then he marched to Calcutta where he was interrupted
by the Company officials.

Finally, in 1757, Robert Clive led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at
Plassey, known as the Battle of Plassey. Sirajuddaulah could not manage to
win this battle because one of his commanders, named Mir Zafar supported
Robert Clive by not fighting the battle. The victory of the Company in the
Battle of Plassey strengthened its roots in the Indian soil. It was the first major
victory the Company won in the country.

3. How did the Company expand its rule in India after the famous Battle of
Buxar?

Answer

The East India Company crossed all limits in the process of annexation of
Indian states that began in 1757 and continued till 1857. The Company rarely
launched a direct military attack on an unknown territory. Instead it used a
variety of political, economic and diplomatic methods to extend its influence
before annexing an Indian kingdom:

• The Company appointed Residents in Indian states after the Battle of Buxar
in 1764. Through the Residents, the Company officials began interfering in the
internal affairs of Indian states. The Company forced the states into a
‘subsidiary alliance’ under which Indian rulers were not allowed to have their
independent armed forces. They were to be protected by the Company, but
had to pay for the subsidiary forces. It the Indian rulers failed to make to
payment, then part of their territory was taken away as penalty. Awadh and
Hyderabad were forced to code territories on this ground.
• Under the policy of ‘paramountcy’ the Company claimed that its authority
was supreme and therefore its power was greater than that of Indian states. In
order to protect its interests it was justified in annexing Indian states.

• Then there was the Doctrine of Lapse which declared that if an Indian ruler
died without a male heir his kingdom would lapse that is, become part of
Company territory. Satara, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur, Jhansi and Awadh
were annexed under this policy.