Q40. Which Peshwa signed the Treaty of Bassein in December 1802?
[UPSC CDS, 2021]
(A) Baji Rao I
(B) Balaji Vishwanath
(C) Baji Rao II
(D) Madhavrao I
Answer: (C) Baji Rao II
Explanation: Baji Rao II accepted British protection following his defeat by Yashwantrao Holkar’s forces. The December 1802 Treaty of Bassein required a British subsidiary force and restricted external relations, angering other Maratha houses and contributing to war.
Q39. What was the prime minister of Shivaji’s Ashtapradhan called?
(A) Amatya
(B) Sachiv
(C) Peshwa
(D) Sumant
Answer: (C) Peshwa
Explanation: Peshwa originally meant the leading minister in Shivaji’s eight-officer framework. It was an office under the Chhatrapati, not an independent royal title. In the eighteenth century, successive Peshwas accumulated executive authority and increasingly dominated confederate politics.
Q38. Which Peshwa was known as Nanasaheb?
(A) Baji Rao I
(B) Balaji Baji Rao
(C) Madhavrao I
(D) Balaji Vishwanath
Answer: (B) Balaji Baji Rao
Explanation: Balaji Baji Rao, son of Baji Rao I, is commonly called Nanasaheb Peshwa. He held office from 1740 to 1761, when Maratha ambitions extended widely across India. His period concluded amid the severe losses at Panipat.
Q37. In which year was the Treaty of Salbai signed?
[SSC MTS (2020 cycle, held 2021)]
(A) 1773
(B) 1799
(C) 1794
(D) 1782
Answer: (D) 1782
Explanation: The Treaty of Salbai of 1782 ended the First Anglo-Maratha War and was negotiated through Mahadji Scindia. It established a settlement between the Maratha leadership and the English East India Company, generally permitting an interval of peace between them.
Q36. The Treaty of Mandsaur (1818) was concluded between the Holkar state and which European power?
[SSC MTS (2020 cycle, held 2021)]
(A) British
(B) Dutch
(C) Danish
(D) French
Answer: (A) British
Explanation: The Holkar state accepted the Treaty of Mandsaur after defeat at Mahidpur in 1817. The agreement with the East India Company in January 1818 restricted its sovereignty and reflected British successes against Maratha powers in the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
Q35. Which ruler received assistance from an eight-minister council called Ashtapradhan?
[BPSC Re-Examination (Prelims), 2020]
(A) Babur
(B) Akbar
(C) Aurangzeb
(D) Shivaji
Answer: (D) Shivaji
Explanation: Shivaji established the Ashtapradhan as a body of leading officials with designated spheres of responsibility. The eight posts covered executive supervision, finance, records, diplomacy, military affairs, law and religious duties. Royal authority nevertheless remained decisive.
Q34. Who established the Ashtapradhan in the Maratha state?
[BPSC Prelims, 2019]
(A) Chandragupta Maurya
(B) Ashoka
(C) Harshavardhana
(D) Shivaji
Answer: (D) Shivaji
Explanation: The eight leading departments associated with Shivaji’s administration were headed by officers known collectively as Ashtapradhan. While the positions had distinct responsibilities, the arrangement remained subordinate to the ruler. Later Peshwa predominance should not be projected unchanged onto Shivaji’s reign.
Q33. Who led the uprising of 1857 at Kanpur and was connected to the former Peshwa family?
[WBCS Prelims, 2019]
(A) Begum Hazrat Mahal
(B) Rani Lakshmibai
(C) Nana Sahib
(D) Kunwar Singh
Answer: (C) Nana Sahib
Explanation: Nana Sahib was an adopted son of Baji Rao II and a key leader of the Kanpur rebellion in 1857. The disputed continuation of the former Peshwa’s pension contributed to his grievances against Company rule, though 1857 had wider causes.
Q32. What was the Maratha claim for protection revenue from neighbouring territories called?
[UPPSC Prelims, 2018]
(A) Sardeshmukhi
(B) Chauth
(C) Abwab
(D) Jamadani
Answer: (B) Chauth
Explanation: Chauth was broadly a claim equivalent to one-fourth of revenue in territories subject to Maratha demands, often linked to protection or non-interference. It differed from Sardeshmukhi, an additional claim of roughly ten percent asserted as a superior revenue right.
Q31. The Third Battle of Panipat occurred in which year?
[RRB Group D, 2018]
(A) 1761
(B) 1762
(C) 1763
(D) 1760
Answer: (A) 1761
Explanation: Maratha forces fought Ahmad Shah Abdali’s Afghan-led coalition on 14 January 1761. The defeat disrupted Maratha ambitions in northern India but did not end all Maratha authority. Regional houses later re-established significant influence before the British wars.
