MODERN HISTORY MCQ

ADVENT OF PORTUGUESE

Who was the Zamorin ruler of Calicut when Vasco da Gama arrived in 1498?

A) Manavikraman Raja

B) Samudra Gupta

C) Krishnadevaraya

D) Vijayanagar Nayak

The Zamorin was the hereditary title of the Hindu rulers of Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) in Kerala, India. This
title was held by a royal dynasty belonging to the Eradi subgroup of the Samantan community.

Which missionary introduced the Inquisition in Goa in 1560?

A) St. Francis Xavier

B) Ignatius Loyola

C) Gaspar Correia

D) Joao de Castro

St. Francis Xavier arrived in Goa in 1542, advocating for reform among Portuguese settlers and converts, urging
stronger measures against those secretly practicing other faiths. In a 1546 letter, he suggested creating an
institution to address religious nonconformity, but he died in 1552, eight years before the Goa Inquisition began
in 1560.

The Inquisition was introduced in Goa in:

A) 1542

B) 1560

C) 1600

D) 1620
St. Francis Xavier was associated with:

A) Jesuit Mission

B) Franciscan Mission

C) Dominican Mission

D) Augustinian Mission

St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552) was one of the original seven founders of the Society of Jesus, commonly known
as the Jesuits.

Which Portuguese traveler wrote “The Book of Duarte Barbosa” describing Indian society?

A) Duarte Barbosa

B) Fernao Nunes

C) Barbosa de Almeida

D) Tomé Pires

The Battle of Raichur (1520) was fought between Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire and Ismail Adil
Shah of the Bijapur Sultanate. The Portuguese did not directly participate in this battle as combatants, though
Krishnadevaraya did employ Portuguese mercenaries (arcabuziers) for firearms [Link] victory;
Adil Shah fled, fort captured

Who was the last Portuguese Governor-General in India before 1961?

A) Manuel António Vassalo e Silva

B) Cabral

C) Joao de Castro

D) Almeida
Who was the Portuguese contemporary of Akbar at the Mughal court?

A) Francisco de Almeida

B) Duarte Barbosa

C) Antonio Monserrate

D) St. Francis Xavier

The Portuguese introduced printing press for the first time in India at:

A) Cochin

B) Calicut

C) Goa

D) Daman

The first printing press in India was established at the Jesuit Saint Paul’s College in Old Goa. The first book
printed in India was the “Compendio Spiritual DaVide Christaa” (Spiritual Compendium of the Christian Life) by
Gaspar Jorge de Leo Pereira, the Portuguese Archbishop of Goa.

Who defeated the Portuguese at the Battle of Swally (1612)?

A) Dutch
B) English East India Company

C) Marathas

D) Mughals

The Battle of Swally (1612) was a naval clash near the port town of Suvali (Surat) between the English East India
Company and the Portuguese. Captain Thomas Best led the English fleet and defeated the Portuguese despite
being outnumbered. This victory broke Portuguese dominance over Indian Ocean trade. The Mughals,
impressed by the English, allowed them to set up a factory in Surat. It marked the beginning of British
commercial expansion in India.

The Portuguese built their first fort in India at:

A) Calicut
B) Cochin
C) Goa
D) Diu

Which Portuguese viceroy encouraged marriages between Portuguese men and Indian women?
A) Francisco de Almeida
B) Afonso de Albuquerque
C) Nuno da Cunha
D) João de Castro

The Dutch expelled the Portuguese from Malacca in:

A) 1605
B) 1641
C) 1661
D) 1683

The Portuguese captured Malacca (Malaysia) in:

A) 1509
B) 1511
C) 1515
D) 1520

The Portuguese, under Afonso de Albuquerque, captured Malacca on 24 August 1511. This strategic conquest
gave Portugal control over the Strait of Malacca, one of the most vital maritime trade routes between India and
China.

Which Portuguese fort in India was the strongest and held till 1961?
A) Diu
B) Daman
C) Bassein
D) Aguada

The Portuguese missionary who translated Indian texts into Portuguese was:
A) Duarte Barbosa
B) Garcia da Orta
C) Fernão Lopes
D) Roberto de Nobili

The military operation by which India annexed Goa was:

A) Operation Polo
B) Operation Vijay ✅
C) Operation Blue Star
D) Operation Meghdoot

Which Mughal general expelled Portuguese from Hugli in 1632?

A) Qasim Khan ✅
B) Shaista Khan
C) Man Singh
D) Asaf Khan

Portuguese introduced cashew cultivation mainly in:

A) Goa ✅
B) Bengal
C) Gujarat
D) Kerala

The aim of Almeida’s Blue Water Policy was:

A) Expansion of land empire
B) Naval supremacy in Indian Ocean
C) Spread of Christianity
D) Alliance with Indian rulers

The Bahmani ruler who lost Goa to Albuquerque was:

A) Yusuf Adil Shah
B) Muhammad Shah III
C) Ismail Adil Shah
D) Ibrahim Adil Shah

Bombay was given to the English as part of the dowry of:

A) Catherine of Braganza
B) Mary Tudor
C) Elizabeth I
D) Maria de’ Medici

The Portuguese empire in Asia was called:

A) Estado da Índia
B) Nova Goa
C) Indo-Lusitania
D) Lusitanian Dominion

ADVENT OF Dutch

Pulicat, located on the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh became the first major base of the Dutch East India
Company (VOC) in India. The Dutch took control of Pulicat in 1609, establishing it as their headquarters on the
Coromandel Coast before shifting to Nagapattinam later. To fortify their presence, they built Fort Geldria in
1613, which became the administrative and military center of Dutch operations. Pulicat was a hub for textile
exports spice trade, pearl fishing, and notably, the slave trade—with thousands of slaves shipped to Southeast
Asia during the 17th century. The Dutch also introduced shareholding practices here, issuing shares to Dutch
settlers—making Pulicat one of the earliest places in India to witness the joint stock company model in action.
Pulicat remained under Dutch control until 1825, when it was ceded to the British East India Company, marking
the end of Dutch influence in India.

The main base of Dutch power in India was:

 A) Bombay
 B) Madras
 C) Pulicat
 D) Goa
Answer: C) Pulicat
 The Pulicat fort of the Dutch was called:
 A) Fort St. David
 B) Fort Geldria
 C) Fort George
 D) Fort Nassau
Answer: B) Fort Geldria

Which place replaced Pulicat as the Dutch headquarters in India in 1690?

 A) Cochin
 B) Nagapattinam
 C) Surat
 D) Pondicherry
Answer: B) Nagapattinam

 The Dutch East India Company was known as:
 A) VOC
 B) VCO
 C) OVC
 D) CVE
Answer: A) VOC

VOC stands for:

 A) Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie
 B) Verenigde Oriental Company
 C) Vereenigde Overseas Company
 D) Verenigd Oost-Compagnie
Answer: A) Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie

Dutch replaced the Portuguese in which Indian region?

 A) Malabar
 B) Coromandel
 C) Bengal
 D) Konkan
Answer: B) Coromandel

The Dutch ousted the Portuguese from Malacca in:

 A) 1607
 B) 1609
 C) 1641
 D) 1656
Answer: C) 1641

The most decisive battle between English and Dutch in India was:
A) Battle of Buxar
B) Battle of Plassey
C) Battle of Bedara
D) Battle of Colachel
Answer: C) Battle of Bedara
The Battle of Bedara was fought in:
A) 1757
B) 1759
C) 1760
D) 1764
Answer: B) 1759

The English defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Bedara in:

A) Bengal
B) Madras
C) Bombay
D) Surat
Answer: A) Bengal

Battle of Bedara (1759) was fought near Chinsurah between the British East India Company and the Dutch VOC.
Nawab Mir Jafar, frustrated with British dominance, invited the Dutch to intervene. The Dutch landed with troops
and warships from Batavia to reclaim influence in Bengal. British forces under Colonel Francis Forde decisively
defeated them in both land and naval battles. This crushed Dutch ambitions in India and ended their military
credibility. They retreated to Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. The battle marked the collapse of Dutch power
in Bengal and reinforced British supremacy.

Battle of Colachel was fought on 10 August 1741 between the Kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India
Company. Dutch forces, led by Admiral Eustachius De Lannoy, aimed to curb Travancore’s expansion under
Marthanda Varma, which threatened Dutch spice trade monopolies. Despite early Dutch successes, Travancore’s
army, led by Ramayyan Dalawa, defeated them decisively. De Lannoy was captured and later became a trusted
commander in Travancore’s army. The Dutch never recovered militarily in India after this defeat. It was one of the
first major Asian victories over a European power. The battle marked the decline of Dutch colonial ambitions in
South India.

Which ruler of Travancore defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel (1741)?
A) Marthanda Varma
B) Hyder Ali
C) Tipu Sultan
D) Raghunatha Nayak
Answer: A) Marthanda Varma

The Dutch signed a treaty with Travancore after Colachel in:

A) 1742
B) 1743
C) 1745
D) 1750
Answer: B) 1743

The Battle of Colachel marked:

A) The rise of Travancore as a power
B) The beginning of British supremacy
C) The end of Dutch monopoly
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above

The Dutch exported saltpetre mainly for:

A) Making glass
B) Dyeing
C) Gunpowder
D) Food preservation
Answer: C) Gunpowder

The main Dutch settlement in Malabar was at:

A) Calicut
B) Cochin
C) Kannur
D) Kollam
Answer: B) Cochin

The Dutch captured Cochin from the Portuguese in:

A) 1630
B) 1650
C) 1663
D) 1675
Answer: C) 1663

The Dutch signed a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut in:

A) 1604
B) 1608
C) 1610
D) 1612
Answer: A) 1604

The Dutch replaced the Portuguese as rulers of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in:
A) 1610
B) 1638
C) 1658
D) 1672
Answer: C) 1658

The Dutch power declined in India in which century?

A) 16th century
B) 17th century
C) 18th century
D) 19th century
Answer: C) 18th century

The Dutch presence in India finally ended with their loss of:
A) Pulicat
B) Cochin
C) Nagapattinam
D) Chinsurah
Answer: D) Chinsurah (handed to British in 1825)

The Dutch defeat in Bedara (1759) was against which English official’s forces?
A) Robert Clive
B) Hector Munro
C) Eyre Coote
D) Warren Hastings
Answer: B) Hector Munro

Which Indian king gave trade concessions to the Dutch in Coromandel?

A) Vijayanagar rulers
B) Nayaks of Madurai
C) Nawabs of Arcot
D) Marathas
Answer: B) Nayaks of Madurai

The Dutch introduced which European system in India?

A) Plantation farming
B) Joint stock trading company
C) Permanent settlement
D) Mercantilism
Answer: B) Joint stock trading company

Dutch East India Company (VOC), founded in 1602, was the world’s first formally recognized joint stock trading
company. It introduced this European system to India when it established trading posts like Masulipatnam (1605)
and Pulicat (1610). The VOC allowed investors to pool capital and share profits and risks—revolutionizing global
trade and colonial expansion.

Dutch influence in Kerala ended with:

A) Treaty of Mavelikkara
B) Battle of Plassey
C) Treaty of Salbai
D) Treaty of Srirangapatna
Answer: A) Treaty of Mavelikkara (1743)

The Treaty of Mavelikkara (1743) was signed between Marthanda Varma, ruler of Travancore, and the Dutch
East India Company after their defeat at the Battle of Colachel. It marked the end of Dutch military ambitions in
Kerala and ensured peace and non-aggression between both parties. The Dutch agreed not to interfere in
Travancore’s internal affairs or support its enemies. In return, Travancore committed to supplying pepper and
cotton cloth to the Dutch at fixed quotas. This treaty allowed Marthanda Varma to pursue uninterrupted
expansion and consolidation of his kingdom.