12 important questions on History for ICSE students

1. Between whom was the battle of Plassey fought?

The battle of Plassey was fought between the Nawab’s army under General Mir Jafar.

On the other side a handful of English army was led by Robert Clive.

In the battle, which was no better than a skirmish, the Nawab’s army was routed by Robert Clive.

2. What was the ‘Plassey Plunder’?

In the years after the battle of Plassey the English East India Company undertook a policy extracting as much money as possible from Bengal.

At the same time the money in the form of wealth was transferred from Bengal to London.

This drain of wealth was known as the ‘Plassey Plunder’.

3. Who was defeated in the battle of Bedara and by whom?

After Plassey Mir Jafar was installed as the new Nawab of Bengal.

But he also could not rule peacefully because of the interference by the English Company.

Under the circumstances Mir Jafar entered into a conspiracy with the Dutch against the English.

But the plan failed through and the Dutch were defeated by Clive in the battle of Bedera in 1759.

4. State two importance of the grant of Diwani to the English.

One importance of the grant of Diwani was that for the first time the English Company’s rights were established on legal footing.

Another importance of the grant of Diwani was that henceforth the English company had access to the treasury of Bengal.

5. When was colonial rule established in South India? What was its difference with Bengal?

In 1768 by an agreement signed between Nizam Ali and the English the latter received the grant of Northern Sarkars.

English received the grant against a yearly payment of 9-lakh of rupees as tribute to Nizam Ali of Hyderabad.

The difference with Bengal was that in case of Bengal the grant was made by the Mughal Emperor, but in case of Northern Sarkar the grant was made by a regional Nawab.

6. Why was the wealth procured by the English in India was transferred to Britain?

The English Company, after Plassey, could not bring capital from Britain to purchase goods in India.

Thus started the process of procurement of wealth in India itself and its transfer to Britain.

7. What is a colony?

A colony is one where people from one country settle in another area belonging to a different country.

But in the European colonies the people never transferred their residence.

The European countries established colonies with the sole motive of trade and commerce. And in this process eventually established total control over the colonies.

8. What was the ‘Industrial Revolution’?

Industrial Revolution was a thorough change in the methods of production and transportation.

It also involved the general substitution of power-driven machinery for hand labor.

This came to be known as the Industrial Revolution which took place in England first.

45. What led to the first Carnatic war?

The centre of the Anglo-French rivalry in India was the carnatic, the name the British had given to the coromondal coast.

In the wake of the Anglo-French rivalry in Europe the English First fired the shot when they attacked the French ship.

The French at Pondicherry retaliated by the siege of Madras, the English settlement. This was how the first Carnatic war started.

9. What led to the second Carnatic war?

In the second Carnatic war the English and the French got involved in the internal affairs of Hyderabad and carnatic.

As they supported the rival claimants to the thrones an armed struggle because inevitable.

This was how the English and French clashed in the second Carnatic war.

10. What led to the third Carnatic war?

With the beginning of the Anglo-French war in Europe in 1756 both the English and the French crossed their sword in India.

The struggle came to an end with the defeat of the French by the English in the battle of Wandiwash in 1760.

11. What was the Northern Sarkar ai.d Carnatic?

The region in the river basin of the Krishna and Godabari, north of Madras (present Chennai) came to be called Northern Sarkar by the English.

The European called the Coromondal Coast (the eastern coast of the Indian Peninsula), south of the Northern Sarkar as the Carnatic.

12. State two importance of the battle of Buxer.

One importance of the battle of Buxer was that the defeat of Mir Kasim of Bengal proved once again the weaknesses from which the native powers of India suffered.

Another importance of the battle of Buxer was that the defeat of Mir Kasim brought an end to the independent nawabship of Bengal.