The arrival and Impact of the Europeans Top 100 MCQs With Answer and Explanation

Portuguese in India

1. The first European to discover a direct sea route to India was?
A) Bartholomew Diaz
B) Vasco da Gama
C) Columbus
D) Cabral

2. Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498 during the reign of?
A) Zamorin of Calicut
B) Raja of Cochin
C) Tipu Sultan
D) Vijayanagara ruler

3. The Portuguese built their first fort in India at?
A) Calicut
B) Cochin
C) Goa
D) Surat

4. The Portuguese captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in?
A) 1505
B) 1510
C) 1526
D) 1530

5. The first Portuguese Governor of India was?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Almeida
C) Albuquerque
D) Cabral

6. The “Blue Water Policy” is associated with?
A) Albuquerque
B) Almeida
C) Cabral
D) Xavier

7. The real founder of Portuguese power in India was?
A) Almeida
B) Albuquerque
C) Cabral
D) Xavier

8. The first European to arrive at Goa was?
A) Albuquerque
B) Almeida
C) Vasco da Gama
D) Bartholomew Diaz

9. Which European power introduced tobacco, potatoes, and chilies into India?
A) Dutch
B) Portuguese
C) English
D) French

10. The first printing press in India was set up by?
A) Portuguese at Goa
B) Dutch at Pulicat
C) British at Surat
D) French at Pondicherry

11. The Portuguese missionary who popularized Christianity in South India was?
A) Saint Thomas
B) Francis Xavier
C) Cabral
D) Ignatius Loyola

12. The Portuguese lost their monopoly in India mainly due to?
A) Mughal opposition
B) Competition from Dutch and English
C) Lack of naval power
D) Financial mismanagement

Dutch in India

13. The Dutch East India Company was established in?
A) 1592
B) 1602
C) 1608
D) 1612

14. The first Dutch factory in India was set up at?
A) Surat
B) Masulipatnam
C) Pulicat
D) Nagapattinam

15. The Dutch made Pulicat their main headquarters in India, later shifting to?
A) Surat
B) Madras
C) Nagapattinam
D) Cochin

16. The Dutch were defeated by the English in India at?
A) Buxar
B) Masulipatnam
C) Pulicat
D) Battle of Baleshwar (Hooghly)

17. The Dutch monopoly was strongest in which trade?
A) Textiles
B) Spices
C) Indigo
D) Silk

18. The Dutch were finally expelled from India by?
A) Portuguese
B) British
C) French
D) Marathas

Danish in India

19. The Danes established their first settlement in India at?
A) Masulipatnam
B) Calicut
C) Tranquebar
D) Goa

20. The Danes established another settlement at?
A) Serampore (Bengal)
B) Surat
C) Nagapattinam
D) Pulicat

21. The Danes sold all their Indian settlements to the British in?
A) 1757
B) 1818
C) 1845
D) 1858

Applied / Exam-Oriented

22. Which European power was the first to arrive in India and the last to leave?A) Dutch
B) Portuguese
C) French
D) Danish

23. Which Portuguese explorer first reached Brazil before coming to India?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Pedro Alvarez Cabral
C) Albuquerque
D) Almeida

24. Which was the first European power to set up a factory in India?
A) Portuguese at Cochin
B) Dutch at Pulicat
C) English at Surat
D) French at Pondicherry

25. The Portuguese introduced which of the following crops into India?
A) Potato, tomato, chili, tobacco, pineapple
B) Rice, wheat, barley, sugarcane
C) Coffee, cotton, indigo
D) Tea, opium

British East India Company

26. The British East India Company was established in England in?
A) 1595
B) 1600
C) 1608
D) 1612

27. The first English factory in India was established at?
A) Surat
B) Masulipatnam
C) Calcutta
D) Bombay

28. The English East India Company got a royal farman for trade in Bengal in 1717 from?
A) Aurangzeb
B) Farrukhsiyar
C) Bahadur Shah I
D) Shah Alam II

29. The English acquired Bombay from?
A) Portuguese
B) Dutch
C) French
D) Danes

30. The English shifted their headquarters from Surat to Bombay in?
A) 1650
B) 1668
C) 1687
D) 1690

31. The British East India Company established Fort William at Calcutta in?
A) 1650
B) 1690
C) 1696
D) 1700

French East India Company

32. The French East India Company was established in?
A) 1600
B) 1616
C) 1664
D) 1670

33. The first French factory in India was set up at?
A) Surat
B) Masulipatnam
C) Pondicherry
D) Chandernagore

34. The headquarters of the French in India was at?
A) Surat
B) Pondicherry
C) Chandernagore
D) Mahe

35. The main rival of the French in India during the 18th century was?
A) Portuguese
B) Dutch
C) British
D) Danes

Carnatic Wars (1746–1763)

36. The First Carnatic War (1746–48) was fought between?
A) British and Portuguese
B) British and French
C) French and Dutch
D) Mughals and French

37. The First Carnatic War ended with the Treaty of?
A) Madras
B) Paris
C) Aix-la-Chapelle
D) Salbai

38. The Second Carnatic War (1749–54) was fought mainly over?
A) Control of Bengal
B) Succession disputes in Hyderabad and Carnatic
C) Portuguese territories
D) Dutch spice monopoly

39. The decisive battle of the Second Carnatic War was?
A) Battle of Wandiwash
B) Battle of Ambur
C) Battle of Arcot
D) Battle of Plassey

40. The Second Carnatic War ended with the Treaty of?
A) Madras (1754)
B) Aix-la-Chapelle
C) Salbai
D) Paris

41. The Third Carnatic War (1758–63) was fought between?
A) French and Portuguese
B) British and French
C) British and Dutch
D) Mughals and French

42. The decisive battle of the Third Carnatic War was?
A) Arcot
B) Wandiwash (1760)
C) Buxar
D) Ambur

43. The Third Carnatic War ended with the Treaty of?
A) Paris (1763)
B) Madras
C) Aix-la-Chapelle
D) Salbai

44. The French commander defeated at Wandiwash was?
A) Dupleix
B) Lally
C) Bussy
D) Labourdonnais

45. The French Governor-General who played a leading role in early Carnatic Wars was?
A) Dupleix
B) Bussy
C) Lally
D) Labourdonnais

46. The main significance of the Carnatic Wars was?
A) Portuguese supremacy
B) British supremacy over French in India
C) Dutch return to power
D) Rise of Danish trade

Applied/Exam-Oriented

47. The British East India Company got Bombay as dowry in the marriage between?
A) Charles I and Portuguese princess
B) Charles II and Catherine of Braganza
C) James II and French princess
D) Henry VIII and Spanish princess

48. The French factory at Chandernagore was located in present-day?
A) Odisha
B) Bengal
C) Maharashtra
D) Kerala

49. The Battle of Wandiwash (1760) marked?
A) End of Dutch trade
B) Final defeat of French ambitions in India
C) Start of British rule in Bengal
D) Victory of Mysore over British

50. After the Carnatic Wars, the French were allowed to retain?
A) Pondicherry, Mahe, Karaikal, Chandernagore
B) Only Pondicherry
C) All territories in India
D) None

British Expansion in Bengal

51. The Battle of Plassey (1757) was fought between?
A) British and French
B) British and Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal
C) British and Mir Qasim
D) British and Hyder Ali

52. The main reason for the British victory at Plassey was?
A) British superior army
B) Betrayal by Mir Jafar and Jagat Seth
C) French withdrawal
D) Mughal weakness

53. The Battle of Buxar (1764) was fought between the British and?
A) Siraj-ud-Daulah, French, and Marathas
B) Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah, Shah Alam II
C) Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, and Nizam
D) Dutch and Nawab of Bengal

54. The Battle of Buxar (1764) is considered more important than Plassey because?
A) It ended French influence
B) It gave the British Diwani rights in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa
C) It annexed Awadh directly
D) It introduced Subsidiary Alliance

55. The dual government in Bengal (1765–72) meant?
A) Nawab ruled administration, British controlled revenue
B) British ruled both directly
C) Mughal ruled revenue, British ruled administration
D) Joint Mughal-British control

Mysore Wars

56. The Anglo-Mysore Wars were fought mainly between the British and?
A) Haidar Ali & Tipu Sultan
B) Marathas
C) French
D) Nizam of Hyderabad

57. The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69) ended with?
A) Treaty of Madras
B) Treaty of Srirangapatna
C) Treaty of Mangalore
D) Treaty of Allahabad

58. In the Second Anglo-Mysore War, Tipu Sultan defeated the British at?
A) Wandiwash
B) Pollilur
C) Plassey
D) Buxar

59. The Second Anglo-Mysore War ended with?
A) Treaty of Seringapatam (1792)
B) Treaty of Mangalore (1784)
C) Treaty of Madras
D) Treaty of Paris

60. The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92) ended with?
A) Treaty of Madras
B) Treaty of Mangalore
C) Treaty of Seringapatam
D) Treaty of Allahabad

61. Tipu Sultan died fighting in?
A) First Anglo-Mysore War
B) Second Anglo-Mysore War
C) Third Anglo-Mysore War
D) Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

Maratha Wars

62. The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82) ended with?
A) Treaty of Purandar
B) Treaty of Salbai
C) Treaty of Bassein
D) Treaty of Poona

63. The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05) resulted in?
A) British defeat
B) British conquest of large Maratha territories
C) Restoration of Peshwa
D) Alliance with Mysore

64. The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–19) led to?
A) Maratha supremacy
B) End of Mughal Empire
C) End of Maratha Confederacy
D) Treaty of Salbai

65. The British official who led in the Battle of Assaye (1803) was?
A) Robert Clive
B) Arthur Wellesley
C) Warren Hastings
D) Eyre Coote

Subsidiary Alliance & Expansion

66. The Subsidiary Alliance system was introduced by?
A) Robert Clive
B) Warren Hastings
C) Lord Wellesley
D) Cornwallis

67. The first Indian state to accept Subsidiary Alliance was?
A) Hyderabad
B) Mysore
C) Awadh
D) Gwalior

68. Awadh was forced into Subsidiary Alliance in?
A) 1765
B) 1798
C) 1801
D) 1817

69. The Maratha state forced into Subsidiary Alliance after Treaty of Bassein (1802) was?
A) Holkar
B) Scindia
C) Gaekwad
D) Peshwa Baji Rao II

70. The Doctrine of Lapse was later introduced by?
A) Wellesley
B) Cornwallis
C) Dalhousie
D) Hastings

Applied/Exam-Oriented

71. The Treaty of Allahabad (1765) was signed between?
A) British and Tipu Sultan
B) British and Mughal Shah Alam II + Shuja-ud-Daulah
C) British and Peshwa
D) British and Dupleix

72. The Battle of Pollilur (1780) is famous because?
A) British won against Tipu Sultan
B) Tipu inflicted crushing defeat on the British
C) French defeated British
D) Marathas defeated British

73. The Treaty of Bassein (1802) was signed between?
A) British and Scindia
B) British and Peshwa Baji Rao II
C) British and Holkar
D) British and Gaekwad

74. The defeat of Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War marked the rise of?
A) Portuguese rule
B) British paramountcy in India
C) Mughal resurgence
D) Sikh Empire

75. Who called the Treaty of Bassein (1802) “a nail in the coffin of Maratha independence”?
A) Lord Cornwallis
B) Lord Dalhousie
C) Lord Hastings
D) Lord Wellesley

Economic Impact

76. The main economic motive of European powers in India was?
A) Spreading religion
B) Trade and commerce
C) Scientific research
D) Political alliance

77. The British East India Company transformed itself from a trading company into a political power after?
A) Battle of Plassey (1757)
B) Battle of Buxar (1764)
C) Treaty of Allahabad (1765)
D) Carnatic Wars

78. The most profitable Indian export for Europeans in the 17th century was?
A) Rice
B) Indian textiles (calico, muslin, chintz)
C) Indigo
D) Tea

79. The “Drain of Wealth” theory was later popularized by?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) R.C. Dutt
C) M.G. Ranade
D) Tilak

80. The Europeans disrupted India’s traditional industries mainly by?
A) Heavy taxation
B) Flooding markets with cheap machine-made goods
C) Land reforms
D) Religious conversions

Political Impact

81. The decline of Mughal Empire coincided with?
A) Rise of European powers
B) Maratha Confederacy
C) Invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali
D) All of the above

82. The Battle of Wandiwash (1760) ensured British supremacy by?
A) Defeating the Dutch
B) Defeating the French
C) Defeating Mysore
D) Defeating Mughals

83. The main reason Europeans could establish power in India was?
A) Unity among Indian rulers
B) Weakness and disunity of Indian states
C) Mughal strength
D) Indian naval supremacy

84. Which system gave the British direct control over revenue in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa?
A) Dual government
B) Permanent Settlement
C) Diwani rights
D) Ryotwari

85. The Subsidiary Alliance system primarily aimed at?
A) Revenue reform
B) Political subordination of Indian states
C) Agricultural expansion
D) Trade monopoly

Social & Cultural Impact

86. The Europeans introduced which printing technology in India?
A) Stone printing
B) Movable type printing press
C) Lithography only
D) None

87. Which European missionaries were most active in converting locals to Christianity?
A) Dutch Calvinists
B) Portuguese Jesuits
C) French Dominicans
D) Danish Protestants

88. European arrival indirectly led to?
A) Decline of caste system
B) Rise of modern education
C) New crops and food items
D) All of the above

89. The introduction of English education in India was formalized by?
A) Macaulay’s Minute (1835)
B) Hunter Commission (1882)
C) Wood’s Despatch (1854)
D) Charter Act of 1813

90. The Europeans’ biggest social-cultural legacy in India was?
A) Spread of Islam
B) Indo-European composite culture
C) Introduction of modern science and education
D) Decline of Sanskrit

Applied / Exam-Oriented Questions

91. Which European power controlled Goa till 1961?
A) Portuguese
B) Dutch
C) British
D) French

92. Which European power was the last to leave India?
A) French
B) Portuguese
C) Danish
D) Dutch

93. The British gained Diwani rights in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa after?
A) Plassey
B) Buxar
C) Treaty of Paris
D) Treaty of Madras

94. Which European introduced the word “Hindustan” widely through chronicles?
A) Dutch
B) Portuguese
C) British
D) French

95. Which Indian ruler sought French help to modernize his army against the British?
A) Siraj-ud-Daulah
B) Tipu Sultan
C) Maratha Peshwa
D) Ranjit Singh

96. Which European traveler called Bengal “the paradise of nations”?
A) Francois Bernier (French)
B) Duarte Barbosa (Portuguese)
C) Niccolao Manucci (Italian)
D) Tavernier (French)

97. Who said the Treaty of Bassein (1802) was “a nail in the coffin of Maratha independence”?
A) Cornwallis
B) Dalhousie
C) Wellesley
D) Hastings

98. The European power whose impact on Indian architecture is seen in Indo-Portuguese churches of Goa was?
A) Dutch
B) Portuguese
C) British
D) French

99. The lasting political impact of Europeans in India was?
A) Unity of India under one power
B) Decline of regional languages
C) Expansion of Mughal Empire
D) Revival of caste system

100. The overall impact of European arrival in India was?
A) Fall of indigenous industries
B) Colonial exploitation
C) Cultural synthesis and modernization
D) All of the above