Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – December 11

All the statements are correct. Throughout the sixteenth century the Portuguese were masters of the Eastern sea

All the statements are correct. Throughout the sixteenth century the Portuguese were masters of the Eastern seas and had the absolute control of the Indian sea-borne foreign trade. In India their chief settlements were Goa, Daman, Diu and Cochin. But they failed to make strong hold in Indian subcontinent as British. This was due to following reasons.

(i)No strong person was sent to India after the death of Albuquerque. The result was that the Portuguese Empire began to disintegrate.

(ii)  The Portuguese administration was corrupt.

(iii) The religious policy of the Portuguese was also responsible for their ruin.

(iv)  The establishment of the Mughal Empire was also partly responsible for Portuguese failure.

(v)  Portugal being a small count,, its resources were not sufficient for the conquest of a count, like India.

(vi)  In 1580, Portugal came under Spanish rule. The result was that Spanish interest predominated. Various restrictions were put on Portuguese entreprise in the interest of Spain.

s and had the absolute control of the Indian sea-borne foreign trade. In India their chief settlements were Goa, Daman, Diu and Cochin. But they failed to make strong hold in Indian subcontinent as British. This was due to following reasons.

The Blue Water policy is attributed to Don Francisco de Almeida, the first Viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in India. His Blue Water policy was to be powerful at the sea instead of building fortresses on Indian land. His Policy is to maintain supremacy on the sea and to confine their activity purely to commercial transaction.

More learning:

Alfonso-d-Albuquerque was Second and greatest of the Portuguese governor who succeeded De Almeida in 1509. He was ambitious man whose policy was to found a Portuguese empire in the East. He reversed Almeidas’s policy and Captured Goa from ruler of Bijapur in 1510 which became headquarter of his administration. In 1511 conquered Malacca fitted out to explore spice Island.

Another important governor was Martin Alfonso De Souza. The Famous Jesuit saint Fransisco Xavier came to India with him.

Nino Da Cunha was  another important governor between 1529-1538. He acquired Due and Bessein from Bahadurshah of Gujarat.

Statement 1 is correct. The Battle of Plassey was a scripted battle. The British forces conspired with Mir Jafar and other ministers such as Yar Lutuf Khan, the Jagat Seths – Mahtab Chand and Swarup Chand, Omichund and Rai Durlabh.

Statement 2 is correct. The Battle of Plassey was a result of the Black Hole incident in Calcutta. The Nawab captured Fort William, the British stronghold in Calcutta, and held prisoners-of-war in a small, dingy chamber called the Black Hole.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Siraj-ud-daula was defeated and killed at Plassey on 23 June 1757. Siraj-ud-daula seized the English factory at Kasimbazar before the war.

Statement 1 is correct. Charter act 1853 gave birth to the Indian civil services and was open to all including Indians. This ended the system of appointments by recommendation and started a system of open and fair competition.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The charter act made the Governor General of Bengal as the Governor General of British India and all financial and administrative powers were centralized in the hands of Governor General-in-Council. Thus, with Charter Act of 1833, Lord William Bentinck became the First Governor General of British India.

Statement 3 is correct. India’s first law commission was set up under Charter act of 1833 and Lord Macaulay was made its Chairman.

Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control of the English East India Company, had an important effect on spreading education in India when in 1854 he sent a despatch to Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India and suggested that Primary Schools must Adopt vernacular languages. High schools must adopt Anglo Vernacular Language and on College Level English medium should be a must for education.

Important Recommendations of wood’s dispatch were:

(i)An education department was to be set up in every province.

(ii)Universities on the model of the London university be established in big cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.

(iii)At least one government school be opened in every district.

(iv)Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid.

(v)The Indian natives should be given training in their mother tongue also.

(vi)Provision was made for a systematic method of education from primary level to the university level.

(vii)The government should always support education for women.

Statement 1 is incorrect. It was during Lord Ripon’s time, the first Factories Act was adopted in 1881.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Act dealt primarily with the problem of child labor. It lay down that children below 7 years could not work in factories, but it did not provide the entire child labor  prohibition and it suggested the fencing of dangerous machinery.

Statement 3 is correct. It provided four holidays for all the workers in the month.

All the pairs are correctly matched

Vernacular press act was Proposed by Lord Lytton, then viceroy of India (governed 1876–80), the act was intended to prevent the vernacular press from expressing criticism of British policies—notably, the opposition that had grown with the outset of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80).

Lord Dufferin was the Governor General and Viceroy of India from 1884 to 1888). He had succeeded Lord Ripon in December 1884 and was known as one of the most successful diplomats of his time. Foundation of Indian National Congress by A O Hume in 1885 and Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885 are two important events of his period. The Third Anglo-Burmese War resulted in the annexation of upper Burma. As a result, his tenure saw the final extinction of Burma as an independent power.

Lord William Bentinck served as Governor General of India between 1828 to 1835. His tenure is known for the social reforms such as Abolition of Sati in 1829, Suppression of Thugi, and Suppression of Infanticide etc.