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

Q1: How was Tipu Sultan killed?
Ans: Four wars were fought with Mysore (1767-69, 1780-84, 1790-92 and 1799). Only in the last – the Battle of Seringapatam – did the Company ultimately win a victory. Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam, Mysore was placed under the former ruling dynasty of the Wodeyars and a subsidiary alliance was imposed on the state.

Q2: Write a short note on Warren Hastings.
Ans:  Warren Hastings (Governor-General from 1773 to 1785) was one of the many important figures who played a significant role in the expansion of Company power. By his time the Company had acquired power not only in Bengal, but also in Bombay and Madras. Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General, introduced several administrative reforms, notably in the sphere of justice.

Q3: What was Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse?
Ans:

• Lord Dalhousie who was the Governor-General devised a policy that came to be known as the Doctrine of Lapse.
• The doctrine declared that if an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would “lapse”, that is, become part of Company territory.
• One kingdom after another was annexed simply by applying this doctrine: Satara (1848), Sambalpur (1850), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853) and Jhansi (1854).

Q4: Give a brief description of all the three Anglo-Maratha wars.
Ans: The Marathas were subdued in a series of wars.

• In the first war that ended in 1782 with the Treaty of Salbai, there was no clear victor.
• 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.
• Finally, the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817-19 crushed Maratha power. The Peshwa was removed and sent away to Bithur near Kanpur with a pension. The Company now had complete control over the territories south of the Vindhyas.

Q5: Write a note on Tipu Sultan—The ‘Tiger of Mysore’.
Ans: Tipu Sultan – The ‘Tiger of Mysore’

• Tipu Sultan, son of Haidar Ali (ruled from 1782 to 1799) was known as Tiger of Mysore’. Mysore controlled the profitable trade of the Malabar coast where the Company purchased pepper and cardamom.
• In 1785 Tipu Sultan stopped the export of sandalwood, pepper and cardamom through the ports of his kingdom, and disallowed local merchants from trading with the Company.
• He also established a close relationship with the French in India, and modernized his army with their help.
• In the last – the Battle of Seringapatam, the Company ultimately win a victory. Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital Seringapatam.

Q6: What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company?
Ans: The areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company were:

• The nawabs refused to grant the Company concessions, demanded large tributes for the Company’s right to trade, denied it any right to mint coins, and stopped it from extending its fortifications.
• They claimed that the Company was depriving the Bengal government of huge amounts of revenue and undermining the authority of the nawab by refusing to pay taxes, writing disrespectful letters, and trying to humiliate the nawab and his officials.
• 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.

Q7: How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?
Ans: Finally, in 1765 the Mughal emperor appointed the Company as the Diwan of the provinces of Bengal. The assumption of Diwani benefited the East India Company in several ways.

• The Diwani allowed the Company to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.
• From the early eighteenth century its trade with India had expanded. But it had to buy most of the goods in India with gold and silver imported from Britain. This was because at this time Britain had no goods to sell in India. The outflow of gold from Britain slowed after the Battle of Plassey, and entirely stopped after the assumption of Diwani.
• 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.

Q8: What is the policy of paramountcy?
Ans: Under Lord Hastings a new policy of “paramountcy” was initiated. Now the Company claimed that its authority was paramount or supreme, hence its power was greater than that of Indian states. In order to protect its interests it was justified in annexing or threatening to annex any Indian kingdom. This view continued to guide later British policies as well.

Q9: Explain the system of “subsidiary alliance”.
Ans: According to the terms of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces. They were to be protected by the Company, but had to pay for the “subsidiary forces” that the Company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of this protection. If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment, then part of their territory was taken away as penalty. The states which had to lose their territories on this ground were Awadh and Hyderabad.

Q10: Give an account of different European trading companies besides the British East India Company that entered the Eastern markets.
Ans: 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, the Portuguese had already established their presence in the western coast of India, and had their base in Goa. In fact, it was Vascoda Gama, a Portuguese explorer, who had discovered this sea route to India in 1498. By the early seventeenth century, the Dutch too were exploring the possibilities of trade in the Indian Ocean. Soon the French traders arrived on the scene.

Q11: What administrative reformations were brought in the sphere of justice?
Ans: From 1772 a new system of justice was established. Each district was to have two courts – a criminal court (faujdari adalat ) and a civil court (diwani adalat ). Maulvis and Hindu pandits interpreted Indian laws for the European district collectors who presided over civil courts. The criminal courts were still under a qazi and a mufti but under the supervision of the collectors. In 1775 eleven pandits 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 Nizamat Adalat – was also set up at Calcutta.

Q12: What was the main cause of the Battle of Plassey?
Ans: Sirajuddaulah asked the Company to stop meddling in the political affairs of his dominion, stop fortification, and pay the revenues. After negotiations failed, the Nawab marched with 30,000 soldiers to the English factory at Kassimbazar, captured the Company officials, locked the warehouse, disarmed all Englishmen, and blockaded English ships. Then he marched to Calcutta to establish control over the Company’s fort there. On hearing the news of the fall of Calcutta, Company officials in Madras sent forces under the command of Robert Clive, reinforced by naval fleets. Prolonged negotiations with the Nawab followed. Finally, in 1757, Robert Clive led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at Plassey. The Battle of Plassey was the first major victory the Company won in India.

Q13: Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army.
Ans: Several changes occurred in the composition of the Company’s army:

• The East India Company started recruiting peasants into their armies and training them as professional soldiers, which came to be known as the sepoy army.
• As warfare technology changed from the 1820s, the cavalry requirements of the Company’s army declined.
• The soldiers of the Company’s army had to keep pace with changing military requirements and its infantry regiments now became more important.
• In the early nineteenth century the British began to develop a uniform military culture. Soldiers were increasingly subjected to European-style training, drill and discipline that regulated their life far more than before.

Q14: How did the East India Company begin trade in Bengal?
Ans: East India Company begin trade in Bengal

• The first English factory was set up on the banks of the river Hugli in 1651. This was the base from which the Company’s traders, known at that time as “factors”, operated. The factory had a warehouse where goods for export were stored, and it had offices where Company officials sat.
• As trade expanded, the Company persuaded merchants and traders to come and settle near the factory. By 1696 it began building a fort around the settlement.
• Two years later it bribed Mughal officials into giving the Company zamindari rights over three villages. One of these was Kalikata, which later grew into the city of Calcutta or Kolkata as it is known today. It also persuaded the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to issue a farman granting the Company the right to trade duty free.