Q140. Which city became the capital of the Portuguese Estado da Índia?
[RRB NTPC (UG), 7 May 2026, Shift 3]
(a) Cochin permanently
(b) Surat
(c) Goa
(d) Malacca
Answer: (c) Goa
Explanation: Goa was conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510 and became the Portuguese administrative capital in 1530, replacing Cochin. Its harbour and strategic location made it a crucial centre for the Portuguese network of Indian Ocean fortresses.
Q139. Under Bengal’s dual government after 1765, which division of responsibilities broadly prevailed?
[RRB NTPC (UG), 7 May 2026, Shift 1]
(a) Company collected revenue while the Nawab retained nominal administration
(b) British and French jointly governed Bengal
(c) The Nawab commanded all Company troops
(d) Dutch authorities collected Bengal revenue
Answer: (a) Company collected revenue while the Nawab retained nominal administration
Explanation: Robert Clive’s dual government combined Company control of Diwani revenue with nominal Nawabi responsibility for administration. The separation obscured accountability and enabled the Company to exercise substantial power while shifting many obligations to Indian authorities.
Q138. Serampore College was established on the bank of which river?
[SSC GD Constable, 30 Apr 2026, Shift 1]
(a) Yamuna
(b) Hooghly
(c) Damodar
(d) Mahananda
Answer: (b) Hooghly
Explanation: Serampore College was founded in 1818 by William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward. The college stands on the Hooghly River in Bengal. At the time, Serampore was a Danish possession where the missionaries worked.
Q137. What was the principal objective of the Regulating Act of 1773?
[OSSSC Forest Guard, 29 Apr 2026, Shift 1]
(a) Abolish slavery in India
(b) Subject the East India Company to British parliamentary oversight
(c) Introduce railways across India
(d) End all taxation in Bengal
Answer: (b) Subject the East India Company to British parliamentary oversight
Explanation: Parliament passed the Regulating Act to supervise the East India Company’s political and financial affairs. It created the Governor-General of Bengal with a council and made early provision for a Supreme Court at Calcutta, strengthening metropolitan oversight.
Q136. Which matching of European powers and prominent Indian settlements is entirely correct?
[UPHESC Assistant Professor History, 19 Apr 2026]
(a) Portuguese–Goa; Dutch–Pulicat; French–Chandernagore; English–Madras
(b) Portuguese–Pulicat; Dutch–Goa; French–Madras; English–Chandernagore
(c) Portuguese–Madras; Dutch–Chandernagore; French–Goa; English–Pulicat
(d) Portuguese–Chandernagore; Dutch–Madras; French–Pulicat; English–Goa
Answer: (a) Portuguese–Goa; Dutch–Pulicat; French–Chandernagore; English–Madras
Explanation: Goa was the Portuguese headquarters, Pulicat a major Dutch centre, Chandernagore an important French trading town, and Madras a leading English settlement. The associations help distinguish companies operating simultaneously on the Coromandel and Bengal coasts.
Q135. What major administrative arrangement was established by the Regulating Act of 1773?
[UPHESC Assistant Professor History, 19 Apr 2026]
(a) Independent Bombay and Madras presidencies
(b) A federal elected parliament in India
(c) A Governor-General’s council with Madras and Bombay subordinate to Bengal
(d) Complete abolition of Company rule
Answer: (c) A Governor-General’s council with Madras and Bombay subordinate to Bengal
Explanation: The Regulating Act centralized the Company’s administration by creating a Governor-General and executive council in Bengal. The governors of Madras and Bombay became subordinate in defined matters, marking an initial statutory effort to regulate private Company government.
Q134. In which year did the Dutch establish their early factory at Masulipatnam?
[DSSSB PRT, 10 Apr 2026, Shift 1]
(a) 1616
(b) 1639
(c) 1605
(d) 1664
Answer: (c) 1605
Explanation: The Dutch established a factory at Masulipatnam on the Andhra coast in 1605, commonly described as their earliest trading factory in India. The Golconda region supplied textiles that the VOC exchanged within its wider Asian commercial network.
Q133. What constitutional change ended East India Company rule after the revolt of 1857?
[RRB NTPC (Graduate), 27 Mar 2026, Shift 3]
(a) Restoration of Mughal sovereignty
(b) Transfer of authority to the British Crown
(c) Transfer of power to the French company
(d) A new Dutch trading monopoly
Answer: (b) Transfer of authority to the British Crown
Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1858 transferred the administration of British territories from the East India Company to the Crown. The revolt of 1857 exposed the limits of Company governance and accelerated this major institutional transition.
Q132. At which Indian port did Vasco da Gama first arrive on his pioneering sea voyage?
[RRB NTPC (Graduate), 25 Mar 2026, Shift 1]
(a) Surat
(b) Goa
(c) Diu
(d) Calicut
Answer: (d) Calicut
Explanation: Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on the Malabar coast in 1498. Calicut was already an active Indian Ocean market, and its ruler, the Zamorin, encountered the new Portuguese merchants amid long-established Arab and Indian trading networks.
Q131. Which 1741 encounter saw the kingdom of Travancore defeat the Dutch?
[RRB NTPC (Graduate), 24 Mar 2026, Shift 1]
(a) Battle of Bedara
(b) Battle of Colachel
(c) Battle of Plassey
(d) Battle of Wandiwash
Answer: (b) Battle of Colachel
Explanation: At Colachel in 1741, forces of Marthanda Varma of Travancore defeated the Dutch East India Company. The outcome checked Dutch territorial ambitions in the region and became an important episode in the history of European-Indian military encounters.
