8th CBSE

From Trade to Territory

1. Multiple Choice Questions:

Choose the correct options:
(i) Which one was mot a trading company?: The Japanese.
(ii) What was farman? : It was a royal order.
(iii) The nawab of Bengal after Alivardi Khan was : Sirajuddaulah
(iv) The British who did the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at Plassey was : Robert
Clive
(v) This Governor-General introduced the policy of ‘paramountcy’ : Lord Hastings
(vi) Which one of the these was annexed on the basis of Dalhousie’s ‘ Doctrine of Lapse’? :
Satara
(vii) The Governor-General who was impeached.: Warren Hastings

2. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence.

(i) British territories were broadly divided into administrative units called Presidencies
(ii) Mahadi Sindhia and Nana Phadnavis Were two famous Maratha soldiers and
statesmen of the late 18th century.
(iii) The Royal Charter could not prevent other European powers from entering the Eastern
Markets.
(iv) The Bengal Nawabs asserted their power and autonomy after the death of Aurangzeb
(v) Mir Jafar was made the Nawan of Bengal after the defeat of Sirajuddaulah at Plassey.
(vi) The Company took over Awadh in the year 1856
(vii) The principal figure in an Indian district was the Collector
(viii) The first Anglo-Maratha war ended with the Treaty of Salbai.

3. State whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F)

(i) The Maratha power was crushed in the third Anglo-Maratha war.(T)
(ii) Tipu Sultan disallowed local merchants from trading with the company.(T)
(iii) The company took away parts of territories from Punjab and Satara on the basis of
‘subsidiary alliance’.(F)
(iv) The Mughal emperor appointed the Company as the Diwan of the provinces of Bengal
in the year 1700.(T)
(v) Sirajuddaulah got help from his commander Mir Jafar and finally won victory in the
Battle of Plassey.(F)
(vi) Lord Dalhousie’s ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ proved to be a total failure.(F)

4. Match the items in column A correctly with those given in column B

Column A Column B
(i) Trained soldiers Sawars
(ii) Training in archery Teerandazi
(iii) A heavy gun used by Musket
 infantry soldiers
(iv) Civil court Diwani adalat
(v) Tipu Sultan Seringapatam
(vi) Vasco Da Gama Portuguese explorer

5. Very short Answer Type Question:

(i) Who was the ruler of England in 1600?
Ans. Queen Elizabeth I was the ruler of England in 1600.
(ii) What caused huge loss of revenue in Bengal?
Ans. Aurangzeb’s farman had granted the Company only the right to trade duty free. But
the officials of the company,who were carrying on private trade on side , also stopped
paying duty. This caused a huge loss of revenue for Bengal.
(iii) Why did the company want a puppet ruler?
Ans. A puppet ruler would willingly give it trade concessions and other privileges.
(iv) What was rhe main reason for the defeat of Sirajuddaulah at Plassey?
Ans. Mir Jafar, one of Sirajuddaulah’s commanders, did not fight the battle.
(v) Why did the Battle of Plassey become famous?
Ans. It was the first major victory the company won in India.
(vi) Whom did the company install in place of Mir Jafar?
Ans. Company installed Mir Qasim in place of Mir Jafar.
(vii) How did the company purchase Indian Goods?
Ans . It purchased Indian Goods with gold and silver imported from Britain.
(viii) Who were called “nabobs’?
Ans. several company officials returned to Britain with wealth and led flashy lives and
showed their riches with great pride. They were called ‘nabobs’.
(ix) Who were the Residents?
Ans. The Residents were the political or commercial agents and their job was to serve
and further the interests of the company.
(x) What purpose did the Resident serve?
Ans. Through the residents, the company officials began interfering in the internal affairs of
Indian states.
(xi) Name the two rulers under whose leadership Mysore became powerful?
Ans. Hiader Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan.
(xii) Why did Tipu Sultan develop a close relantionship with the French in India?
Ans.He did so in order to modernize hi sarmy with their help.
(xiii) What happened in the Battle of Seringapatam?
Ans. Tipu Sulatn was killed defending his capital Seringapatam.
(xiv) What was the result of the second Anglo-Maratha war?
Ans. The British gained Orissa and the territories north of the Yamuna river including Agra
and Delhi.
(xv) What was the objective behind the Company’s new policy of ‘paramountcy’?
Ans. The company claimed that its authority was paramount or supreme and therefore its
power was greater than that of Indian states.
(xvi) What was the result of Rani Channamma’s anti-British resistance movement?
Ans.She was put in the prison where she died.
(xvii) What was Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse?
 Ans. If an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would become the part of
Company territory.
(xviii) Name the Kingdoms which were annexed on the basis of ‘Doctrine of Lapse’
Ans. Satara, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur and Jhansi.
(xix) What constituted the Mughal army?
Ans. Cavalry and infantry, that is, paidal soldiers.
(xx) Why was Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, tried after he returned to
England?
Ans. He was tried for the misgovernance.
(xxi) What was the result of this trail?
Ans. Warren Hastings was impeached.
6. Short Answer Type Questions:
(i) Give an account of different European trading companies besides the British East India
Company that entered the Eastern markets.
Ans. Different European trading companies:
(A) 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, Portuguese had already
established their presence in the western coast of India and had their base in Goa.
(B) The Dutch: By the early 17th century, the Dutch too were exploring the possibilities of
trade in the Indian Ocean.
(C) The French: The French traders soon arrived on the scene for the same purpose.
(ii) What were the grievances of the Company regarding the Nawabs of Bengal?
Ans. The Company declared that the unjust demands of the local officials were ruining the
trade of the company. Trade could flourish only if the duties were removed. It was also
convinced that to expand trade it had to enlarge its settlements, buy up villagers and rebuild
its forts.
(iii) Write a note on Tipu Sultan-The’ Tiger of Mysore’
Ans. 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 modernize his army with their help. The British got furious. They waged four
battles against Tipu Sultan. T last battle proved unfortunate for him. He was killed defending
his capital Seringapatnam. The way he resisted the British is undoubtedly praiseworthy.
(iv) Give a brief description of all the three Anglo-Maratha wars. Also write the main
consequences.
Ans. The company waged a series of wars against the Martha in order to crush Maratha
power.
(a) In the first war there was no clear victor, hence it ended in 1782 with the Treaty of
Salbai.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(v) What administrative reformations were brought in the sphere of justice?
Ans. Before the reformations were brought, there were Maulvis and Hindu Pandits who
interpreted Indian laws for the European district collectors who presided over civil courts.
The criminal courts were still under a qazi and a mufti. The Brahman pundits usually gave
different interpretations of local laws. But there was no uniformity in them. To bring out
about uniformity, in 1775 eleven pundits were asked To compile a digest of Hindu laws. N.B
Halhed translated this digest into English. By 1778 a code of Muslim laws was also compiled
for the benefit of European judges, under the Regulating Act of 1773, a new Supreme court
was established, while a court of appeal- the Sadar Nizamal Adalat was also set up at
Calcutta.