CBSE 8 History Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory Questions and Answers

Chapter 2 – From Trade to Territory Questions and Answers

Content Structure

  • A. Exercise questions & answers
    • Match the following
    • Fill in the blanks
    • State whether true or false
  • B. Additional Questions & Answers
    • Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)
    • Fill in the blanks
    • Match the following 
    • Short-type questions & answers 

Long-type questions & answers 

A. Exercise questions & answers

Match the following 

Column AColumn B
DiwaniTipu Sultan 
“Tiger of Mysore”Right to collect land revenue
Zardari AdalatSepoy
Rani ChannammaCriminal court
Sipahiled an anti-British movement in Kitoor

Ans:

Column AColumn B
DiwaniRight to collect land revenue
“Tiger of Mysore”Tipu Sultan
Zardari AdalatCriminal court
Rani Channammaled an anti-British movement in Kitoor
SipahiSepoy

Fill in the blanks

(a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of _____________. 
(b) Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of _________________. 
(c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of _____________________. 
(d) Maratha kingdoms were located mainly in the ______________ part of India.

Ans: 
(a) Plassey
(b) Mysore
(c) Lapse
(d) Western 

State whether true or false

(a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century.
Ans: False. 
Statement: The Mughal Empire weakened in the 18th century,

(b) The English East India Company was the only European company that traded with India. 
Ans: False. 
Statement: Other European companies like the Portuguese, Dutch, and French traded with India.

(c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab.
Ans; True.
Statement: Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire in Punjab and ruled from 1799 to 1839.

(d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they conquered.
Ans: False. 
Statement: The British made many administrative changes, such as introducing the Collector system, new laws, and the judicial system.

4. What attracted European trading companies to India?
Ans: 
(a) High-quality cotton and silk made in India.
(b) Indian spices like pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon.

5. What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal Nawabs and the East India Company?
Ans: The Bengal Nawabs and the East India Company had conflicts over: 

  • Revenue Loss – The Nawabs accused the Company of cheating and reducing Bengal’s income.
  • Taxes – The Nawabs wanted the Company to pay taxes, but the British refused.
  • Fort Building – The Nawabs stopped the British from building forts, fearing they would gain more power.
  • Political Control – The Company interfered in Bengal’s rule, trying to control the Nawab.

6. How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?
Ans: The East India Company gained the Diwani rights in 1765, which allowed them to collect taxes and control revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. This benefited the Company in several simple ways:

  • Trade Boost: The extra money helped fund their trade and expand their business.
  • More Money: They could collect taxes directly, giving them a huge amount of wealth.
  • Control: They gained power over the local economy and administration.
  • Less Competition: They used this wealth to strengthen their army and defeat rivals.

7. Explain the system of “subsidiary alliance”.
Ans: The Subsidiary Alliance was a policy used by the East India Company to control Indian rulers. It meant:

  • If the rulers failed to pay, the British took part of their land as a penalty.
  • Indian rulers could not have their own armies.
  • The British promised to protect them, but the rulers had to pay for British troops stationed in their kingdom.

8. In what way was the administration of the company different from that of Indian rulers?
Ans: The Company’s administration was different from Indian rulers in these ways:

  • Profit Focus: The Company prioritized profit and trade, while Indian rulers focused on welfare and local needs.
  • Administration – Indian rulers depended on local leaders, while the Company used British officers and Collectors to run the government.
  • Military Use: The Company used its army to control territories, while Indian rulers relied on diplomacy and local alliances.

9. Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army.
Ans: The Company’s army changed over time. In the beginning, it had mostly Indian soldiers (sepoys) trained like Mughal soldiers, using swords and bows. In the 1820s, the army started using modern guns like muskets and matchlocks. This reduced the need for horse soldiers (cavalry), making foot soldiers (infantry) more important.

B. Additional Questions & Answers

Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs) 

1. Which one is not a trading company?
(a) The Japanese
(b) The Dutch 
(c) The Portuguese
(d) The French 

Ans: (a) The Japanese

2. Aurangzeb died on
(a) 1707
(b) 1709
(c) 1708
(d) 1706

Ans: (a) 1707

3. Who was the last Mughal Emperor?
(a) Bahadur Shah I
(b) Aurangzeb
(c) Bahadur Shah Zafar
(d) Shah Jahan

Ans: (c)  Bahadur Shah Zafar

4. Who gives the charter to the East Indian Company?
(a) Article 21
(b) Police
(c) Governer 
(d) Queen Elizabeth 

Ans: (d) Queen Elizabeth 

5. What was Farman?
(a) It was a royal dress
(b) it was a royal order 
(c) It was a royal food 
(d) It was a royal procession

Ans: (b) it was a royal order 

6. Who discovered the sea route to India in 1498?
(a) Christopher Columbus
(b) Ferdinand Magellan
(c) Vasco da Gama
(d) Marco Polo

Ans: (c) Vasco da Gama

7. What was the old name of Kolkata?
(a) Bombay
(b) Calcutta
(c) Madras
(d) Pataliputra

Ans: (b) Calcutta

8. Which British officer led the Company’s army against Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey? 
(a) Lord Hastings
(b) Robert Clive
(c) Edmund Burke
(d) lord Dalhousie 

Ans: (b) Robert Clive

9. Who betrayed Siraj-ud-Daulah during the Battle of Plassey in 1757?
(a) Robert Clive
(b) Mir Jafar
(c) Warren Hastings
(d) Tipu Sultan

Ans: (b) Mir Jafar

10. Who was the Nawab of Bengal after Alivardi Khan?
(a) Murshid Quli Khan
(b) Mir Jafar
(c) Siraj-ud-Daulah
(d) Tipu Sultan

Ans: (c) Siraj-ud-Daulah

11. Who was the Nawab of Bengal in 1690?
(a) Murshid Quli Khan
(b) Siraj-ud-Daulah
(c) Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan
(d) Ibrahim Khan

Ans: (a) Murshid Quli Khan

12. When was the Battle of Plassey fought?
(a) 1757
(b) 1764
(c) 1748
(d) 1772

Ans: (a) 1757

13. When was the Battle of Buxar fought?
(a) 1763
(b) 1764
(c) 1762
(d) 1772

Ans: (b) 1764

14. Which one of these was annexed based on Dalhouseie’s Doctrine of Lapse?
(a) Hyderabad 
(b) Panjab
(c) Awadth
(d) Satara 

Ans: (d) Satara

15. Haider Ali became the ruler of which kingdom in 1761?
(a) Hyderabad
(b) Mysore
(c) Maratha Empire
(d) Bengal

Ans: (b) Mysore

Fill in the blanks 

1. The old name of Chennai was ___________________. 
2. The Bengal Nawab asserted their powers from entering the __________ markets. 
3. In the year ____________ Tipu Sultan banned the export of sandalwood, pepper, and cardamom.
4. The British finally won in the Battle of __________ in 1799.
5. The first Anglo-Maratha war was ended with the Treaty of _____________. 
6. The Third Anglo-Maratha War happened from ___________ to __________. 
7. The British annexed Satara in ___________. 
8. ____________ was the first Governor-General of Bengal. 
9. Haidar Ali son was _____________. 
10. _______________ was a strong ruler Nawab of Bengal.

Ans: 
1. Madras 
2. Internal
3. 1785
4. Srirangapatna
5. Salbai 
6. 1817 to 1819
7. 1848
8. Warren Hastings
9. Tipu Sultan 
10. Siraj-ud-Daulah

True or False 

1. The Maratha power was crushed in the third Anglo-Maratha war.
Ans: True.

2. Haider Ali was the son of Tipu Sultan.
Ans: false.

3. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish trade in India.
Ans: True.

4. The British annexed Jhansi in 1848.
Ans: False.

5. The Battle of Plassey was fought in 1857.
Ans: False. 

6. Tipu Sultan was also known as the “Tiger of Hyderabad’.
Ans: False.

7. The capital of Tipu Sultan’s kingdom was Seringapatam.
Ans: True. 

8. Mahatma Gandhi started the Quit India Movement in 1842.
Ans: False.

9. The Treaty of Mangalore was signed between the British and Haider Ali.
Ans: False.

10. Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in 1498.
Ans: True. 

Match the following 

Column AColumn B
1. Trained soldiers on horseback(a) Dewani adalt
2. Training in archery(b) Sawars 
3. A heavy gun used by infantry soldiers(c) 1757
4. The Plassey Battle(d) 1764 
5. The Buxer Battle(e) Teerandazi 
6. Civil Court (f)  Portuguze explores
3. A heavy gun used by infantry soliders(g) Seringapatam 
8.  Vasco da Gama (h) Musket 

Ans: 

Column AColumn B
1. Trained soldiers on horseback(b) Sawars
2. Training in archery(e) Teerandazi
3. A heavy gun used by infantry soldiers(h) Musket
4. The Plassey Battle(c) 1757
5. The Buxer Battle(d) 1764
6. Civil Court (a) Dewani Adalat
7. Tipu Sultan (g) Seringapatam
8. Vasco da Gama (f) Portuguese explorer

Short-type questions & answers 

1. Who gives the Charter to the East Indian Company?
Ans: Queen Elizabeth gave the charter to the East Indian Company.

2. Why did Siraj-ud-Daulah lose the Battle of Plassey?
Ans: Siraj-ud-Daulah lost the battle because Mir Jafar, one of his commanders betrayed him and helped the British.

3. Who replaced Mir Jafar?
Ans: The British replaced him with Mir Qasim.

4. Why did Bengal lose a lot of money?
Ans: The British policies and heavy taxes caused a big loss of revenue in Bengal.

5. Which two rulers made Mysore strong?
Ans: Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan were two rulers who made Mysore strong.

6. What happened in the Battle of Seringapatam?
Ans: The British defeated Tipu Sultan in 1799, and he was killed in the battle.

7. What happened after the Second Anglo-Maratha War?
Ans: The British won and took control of more Maratha territories.

8. Why did the British introduce the policy of Paramountcy?
Ans: The British wanted full control over Indian rulers and their kingdoms.

9. What was Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse?
Ans: If an Indian ruler had no son to inherit the throne, the British took control of the kingdom.

10. Which kingdoms were taken by the British under the Doctrine of Lapse?
Ans: Satara (1848), Sambalpur (1850), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853), and Jhansi (1854) were taken by the British under the Doctrine of Lapse.

Long-type questions & answers

1. Described The Battle of Plassey. 
Ans: After Alivardi Khan died in 1756, Sirajuddaulah became the Nawab of Bengal. The East India Company saw him as a threat and wanted a weak Nawab who would obey them. They tried to help one of his rivals take power but failed. This made Sirajuddaulah angry, and he ordered the Company to stop interfering, stop building forts, and pay taxes. When they refused, he marched with 30,000 soldiers, captured the English factory at Kassimbazar, took Company officials as prisoners, and blocked English ships. Then, he took control of Calcutta.

The Company, shocked by this, sent Robert Clive with an army from Madras. After failed talks, Clive led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey. The Nawab lost because Mir Jafar, one of his commanders, betrayed him and did not fight. Clive had promised to make Mir Jafar the next Nawab. After the battle, Sirajuddaulah was killed, and Mir Jafar became Nawab.

2. Describe the Battle of Buxer. 
Ans: When Mir Jafar protested against the Company’s growing control, the Company removed him and made Mir Qasim the Nawab. Angry, Mir Qasim joined forces with the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II and the Nawab of Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daula, to fight the British.

In 1764, the Battle of Buxar took place. The three rulers fought against the Company, but the British army defeated them. Mir Qasim fled and the Company made Mir Jafar Nawab again because the Nawab promised to British to pay Rs. 500,000 every month, but the Company wanted more money for trade and wars. When Mir Jafar died in 1765, the Company decided to rule Bengal themselves.

In 1765, the Mughal emperor made the Company the Diwan of Bengal, giving it full control over Bengal’s money. Now, the British used Indian revenue to pay for soldiers, trade, and build forts, instead of bringing gold and silver from Britain. Now revenues from India could finance Company expenses. These revenues could be used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in India, maintain Company troops, and meet the cost of building the Company fort and offices at Calcutta.

3. Write a note on Tipu Sultan – The Tiger of Mysore.
Ans: The East India Company used the military when it felt its power or trade was at risk. This happened in Mysore, a strong kingdom in South India. Mysore became powerful under Haidar Ali (1761-1782) and his son Tipu Sultan (1782-1799). It controlled trade on the Malabar coast, where the Company bought pepper and cardamom. In 1785, Tipu Sultan banned the export of sandalwood, pepper, and cardamom and stopped local merchants from trading with the British. He also allied with the French and modernized his army with their help.

The British saw Tipu as a big threat. They fought four wars against Mysore (1767-69, 1780-84, 1790-92, and 1799). The British finally won in the Battle of Shrirangapatnam (1799), where Tipu Sultan was killed. After his death, Mysore was given back to the Wodeyar dynasty, but the Company forced them into a Subsidiary Alliance, ensuring British control.

4. How did the East India Company begin trade in Bengal?
Ans: The East India Company set up its first English factory on the banks of the Hooghly River in 1651. This factory had a warehouse for storing goods and offices for Company officials.

As trade grew, the Company convinced merchants and traders to settle near the factory. By 1696, it started building a fort around the area. In 1698, the Company bribed Mughal officials to get zamindari rights over three villages, including Kalikata (which later became Calcutta, now Kolkata).

The Company also convinced Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to issue a Farman (royal order) allowing them to trade without paying taxes. However, Company officials used this for personal trade and refused to pay duties, causing huge revenue losses for Bengal. This angered the Nawab of Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan, leading to conflicts between him and the Company.

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