Skip to content
GK24
Indian HistoryHardAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper I

In the first quarter of seventeenth century, in which of the following was/were the factory/factories of the English East India Company located? 1. Broach 2. Chicacole 3. Trichinopoly Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.1 and 2
  3. C.3 only
  4. D.2 and 3

Correct answer

A. 1 only

Explanation

The correct answer is A, 1 only. Of the three places, only Broach in Gujarat had an English factory in the first quarter of the 17th century.

The English East India Company, chartered in 1600, first set up a factory at Masulipatnam in 1611 and at Surat in 1613, after Jahangir granted a farman. From Surat the English soon opened subsidiary factories at Ahmedabad, Burhanpur, Ajmer, Agra and Broach (Bharuch), a port on the Narmada long famous for cotton cloth. By 1625 the Company's western trade ran through this Surat group. A factory here means a trading post with warehouses and the Company's agents, called factors.

B is wrong: Chicacole (Srikakulam) on the northern Coromandel coast was not an English factory in that period.

C is wrong: Trichinopoly (Tiruchirappalli) was an inland fort town, important later in the Carnatic Wars, not a factory of 1600 to 1625.

D is wrong: neither Chicacole nor Trichinopoly held an English factory then.

Exam tip: first English factories = Masulipatnam 1611, Surat 1613; the Surat group included Broach, Ahmedabad, Agra and Burhanpur.

View all
Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

Which of the following is/are important markers for the archaeologists to identify an archaeological site as a 'center of craft production'? 1. Evidence of raw materials such as stone nodules, whole shells, etc. 2. Geographical expanse of the site 3. Evidence of unfinished objects, rejects and waste material 4. Evidence of variety of pottery Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.1 and 3 only
  3. C.2 and 4 only
  4. D.3 only
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1 and 3 only

Craft centres are recognised by raw material and by the leftovers of making things. Archaeologists studying Harappan sites look for raw materials such as stone nodules, whole shells and copper ore, for tools, and for unfinished objects, rejects and waste.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2017, Paper IHard

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

  1. A.Sharaf Qai was a minister of Allauddin Khalji
  2. B.Under Giyasuddin Tughluq Muqtis were warned not to ill-treat any of their officials for small amounts taken over and above their salaries
  3. C.The Arabic work Masalik-i-Absar gives description of the functioning of Iqta system under Muhammad bin Tughluq
  4. D.Marco Polo has not mentioned about Pearl Fishery of Tuticorin in South India
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Marco Polo has not mentioned about Pearl Fishery of Tuticorin in South India

Marco Polo did describe the pearl fishery of the Tuticorin coast, so the statement that he did not is wrong.

Q3.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

Who among the following was known as 'Lokhitwadi'?

  1. A.Keshub Chandra Sen
  2. B.Gopal Hari Deshmukh
  3. C.M.G. Ranade
  4. D.Gopal Ganesh Agarkar
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Gopal Hari Deshmukh

He wrote under the pen name 'Lokhitwadi', meaning one who speaks for the welfare of the people. Gopal Hari Deshmukh (1823–1892) was a Maharashtrian social reformer and writer.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2025, Paper IHard

With reference to the history of India, the 'Katapayadi system', the 'Parahita system' and the 'Drigganita system' are associated with

  1. A.astronomy
  2. B.surgery
  3. C.chemistry
  4. D.music and dance
Show answer
Correct answer: A. astronomy

All three come from the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. Katapayadi is a way of writing numbers with letters, each consonant standing for a digit, so long astronomical tables could be memorised as verses.

Q5.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2020, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. The Satavahanas ruled over parts of western India and the Deccan 2. The Satavahanas repaired and rebuilt Sudarshana Lake Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 1 only

The Satavahanas ruled the Deccan and parts of western India, but the Sudarshana Lake was repaired by others.