Eighteenth Century Political Formations Class 7 Worksheet History

Q.1. Who was Jawahir Shah?

Jawahir Shah was son of Nadir Shah.

Q.2. When was Banda Bahadur captured and executed?

Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716.

Q.3. When did Marathas successfully raid Delhi?

1737 AD

Q.4. What was the result of Aurangzeb’s long war in the Deccan?

Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and financial resources of his empire by fighting a long war in the Deccan.

Q.5. What was chauth?

25 per cent of the land revenue claimed by zamindars was called chauth. In the Deccan this was collected by the Marathas.

Q.6. What was the geographical and economic importance of Awadh?

Awadh was a prosperous region, controlling the rich alluvial Ganga plain and the main trade route between north India and Bengal.

Q.7. Who seized the rich province of the Punjab and the Sarkar of Sirhind from the Mughals in mid of the 17th century?

Ahmad Shah Abdali had seized the rich province of the Punjab and the Sarkar of Sirhind from the Mughals.

Q.8. How were peasant-pastoralists important for Shivaji?

Groups of highly mobile, peasantpastoralists (kunbis) provided the backbone of the Maratha army. Shivaji used these forces to challenge the Mughals in the peninsula.

Q.9. What were the offices held by Sa‘adat Khan?

Sa‘adat Khan held the combined offices of subadari, diwani and faujdari. In other words, he was responsible for managing the political, financial and military affairs of the province of Awadh.

Q.10. Why zamindars of Bengal had to borrow money from bankers and moneylenders?

Revenue was collected in cash with great strictness from all zamindars. As a result, many zamindars had to borrow money from bankers and moneylenders.

Q.11. What was the ambition of the Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah? Why was his ambition not fulfilled?

The ambitions of the Nizam to control the rich textile-producing areas of the Coromandel coast in the east were checked by the British who were becoming increasingly powerful in that region.

Q.12. Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the Deccan?

Marathas wanted to expand beyond the Deccan for power and authority. It gradually chipped away at the authority of the Mughal Empire. By the 1720s, they seized Malwa and Gujarat from the Mughals and by the 1730s, the Maratha king was recognised as the overlord of the entire Deccan peninsula. He possessed the right to levy chauth and sardeshmukhi in the entire region.

Q.13. Who established a stable Maratha kingdom and how?

The Maratha kingdom was another powerful regional kingdom to arise out of a sustained opposition to Mughal rule. Shivaji (1627-1680) carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families (deshmukhs). Groups of highly mobile, peasantpastoralists (kunbis) provided the backbone of the Maratha army. Shivaji used these forces to challenge the Mughals in the peninsula.

Q.14. How did Burhan-ul-Mulk reduce Mughal influence in the Awadh region?

Burhan-ul-Mulk tried to decrease Mughal influence in the Awadh region by reducing the number of office holders (jagirdars) appointed by the Mughals. He also reduced the size of jagirs, and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions. The accounts of jagirdars were checked to prevent cheating and the revenues of all districts were reassessed by officials appointed by the Nawab’s court.

Q.15. How did Murshid Quli Khan become powerful in Bengal?

Bengal gradually broke away from Mughal control under Murshid Quli Khan who was appointed as the naib, deputy to the governor of the province. Although never a formal subadar, Murshid Quli Khan very quickly seized all the power that went with that office. In an effort to reduce Mughal influence in Bengal he transferred all Mughal jagirdars to Orissa and ordered a major reassessment of the revenues of Bengal. Revenue was collected in cash with great strictness from all zamindars.