Class 8 History Chapter 1 Question Answers - Our Pasts III (Part - I)

Q1: What do you mean by puppet?
Ans: Puppet literally means a toy that you can move with strings. The term is used disapprovingly to refer to a person who is controlled by someone else.

Q2: List the Kingdoms which were annexed on the basis of ‘Doctrine of Lapse’.
Ans: Kingdoms annexed on the basis of ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ were: Satara (1848), Sambalpur (1850), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853) and Jhansi (1854).

Q3: Who were called ‘nabobs’?
Ans: Company officials who managed to return Britain with wealth led flashy lives and flaunted their riches. They were called “nabobs” – an anglicised version of the Indian word nawab.

Q4: What did it mean to be nawabs?
Ans: It meant of course that the Company acquired more power and authority. But it also meant something else. Each company servant began to have visions of living like nawabs.

Q5: Why the company had to buy most of the goods in India with gold and silver imported from Britain?
Ans: The company had to buy most of the goods in India with gold and silver imported from Britain because at that time Britain had no goods to sell in India.

Q6: How did the appointment of residents in Indian states help the company?
Ans: Through the Residents, the Company officials began interfering in the internal affairs of Indian states. They tried to decide who was to be the successor to the throne, and who was to be appointed in administrative posts.

Q7: Why was Warren Hastings impeached?
Ans: When Warren Hastings went back to England in 1785, Edmund Burke accused him of being personally responsible for the misgovernment of Bengal. This led to an impeachment proceeding in the British Parliament that lasted seven years.

Q8: What was the main reason for the defeat of Sirajuddaulah at Plassey?
Ans: One of the main reasons for the defeat of the Nawab was that the forces led by Mir Jafar, one of Sirajuddaulah’s commanders, never fought the battle. Clive had managed to secure his support by promising to make him nawab after crushing Sirajuddaulah.

Q9: Explain the following terms: Qazi, Mufti and Impeachment
Ans: Qazi – A judge
Mufti – A jurist of the Muslim community responsible for expounding the law that the qazi would administer.
Impeachment – A trial by the House of Lords in England for charges of misconduct brought against a person in the House of Commons.

Q10: Name the Mughal emperor seen as the natural leader during the revolt of 1857.
Ans: When a massive rebellion against British rule broke out in 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the Mughal emperor at the time, was seen as the natural leader.

Q11: What were the grievances of the Company regarding the Nawabs of Bengal?
Ans: The Company on its part declared that the unjust demands of the local officials were ruining the trade of the Company, and trade could flourish only if the duties were removed.

Q12: How Plassey got its name?
Ans: Plassey is an anglicised pronunciation of Palashi and the place derived its name from the palash tree known for its beautiful red flowers that yield gulal, the powder used in the festival of Holi.

Q13: What was the result of the second Anglo-Maratha war?
Ans: The Second Anglo- Maratha War (1803-05) was fought on different fronts, resulting in the British gaining Orissa and the territories north of the Yamuna river including Agra and Delhi.

Q14: Who was Rayanna and what was his role in anti-British resistance movement?
Ans: Rayanna, a poor chowkidar of Sangoli in Kitoor, carried on the resistance. With popular support he destroyed many British camps and records. He was caught and hanged by the British in 1830.

Q15: What attracted European trading companies to India?
Ans: European trading companies were attracted to India because:

• The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe.
• Pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon too were in great demand.

Q16: What caused huge loss of revenue in Bengal?
Ans: Aurangzeb’s farman had granted only the Company the right to trade duty free. But officials of the Company, who were carrying on private trade on the side, were expected to pay duty. This they refused to pay, causing an enormous loss of revenue for Bengal.

Q17: What was the result of Rani Channamma’s anti-British resistance movement?
Ans: The new policy of “paramountcy” however, did not go unchallenged. When the British tried to annex the small state of Kitoor (in Karnataka today), Rani Channamma took to arms and led an anti-British resistance movement. She was arrested in 1824 and died in prison in 1829.