Final Flashcards
From whom did Babar learn his military tactics?
Uzbeks
Why did the Rajputs get artillery technology late?
Because they were men on horseback unable to discern proper use of mobile guns, often lost touch with artillery.
When did Babar attach the Bajaur Fort?
1519
What year did Babar battle with the Sultan of Delhi?
Seven years after he besieged Bajaur - 1526.
Why did Babar put artillery on barges in the Ganges?
When he moved further to east in order to combine forces with governor of Bengal against Afghan rebels in Bihar.
Why was Humayun lucky in gaining the throne?
Powerful minister had sponsored another prince and Humayan returned just in time to stake claim as his father’s favourite son.
What happened to Humayun in 1556?
He died after falling down steps of his library at Purana Qila in Delhi.
What administrative innovation is Humayun known for?
Used four elements as categories of classification: fire for army, water for the department of irrigation, earth for agriculture and revenue, and air for religion and science.
According to your readings, why was King Akbar eager to discuss new ideas?
He could not read.
Why did your author say that India entered a new age under the Mughals?
Unification of India under the Great Mughals.
What challenge did Akbar face in 1557?
A Hindu usurper, Hemu, who called himself Vikramaditya almost succeeded in putting end to Mughal rule
Which of the following made Akbar popular with Hindus?
He abolished the jizya (poll tax imposed by Islamic subjects on all non-Islamic subjects)
How old was Akbar when he conquered Bengal?
34
Who promised Akbar Samarkand for his help?
Shah of Persia
What was one reason that the lords of fiefs did not report income to the central administration?
Officers had to recover own salary as well as expenses for troops and military establishment from income derived from fiefs.
How did Akbar do away with his annual tax rate calculations?
Took data from the decade to determine average demand
What did the adoption of a hierarchical classification system of officers do?
Provides degree of rationality for practice of moving officers from one fief to another
Why did Akbar not what to be seen as similar to a Hindu king?
Did not want to be upholder of eternal law; wanted to be lawgiver in own right
What is one reason that orthodox Muslims resisted Akbar’s ideas?
Muslim thought juxtaposes the omnipotence of Allah with complete subjection of man under divine will - incompatible with Akbar’s new ideas
What term did your reading use to describe the Mughal transfer of power from one generation to the next?
Dynastic Darwinism.
How did Shah Jahan receive his name?
Conquered sultanate of Ahmadnagar on the Deccan.
When did Shah Jahan ascend the throne?
1627
Who built the famous Red Fort in Delhi?
Shah Jahan
Why did Aurangzeb give up the Mughal ambition of reclaiming Samarkand?
He lost Kandahar to the Persians who snatched it while he was on campaign in distant cities.
When was Vijayanagar lose the battle of Talikota?
1565
What administrative structural change occurred during Aurangzeb rule?
Tried to integrate ruling class of southern conquered states into his imperial elite
When was Surat sacked by Shivaji?
1664
What was Aurangzeb’s son –Akbar’s dream?
Wanted to depose Aurengzeb with help of Rajputs and Marathas and restore tolerant policy of namesake.
What were vassals, chieftains, headmen, and petty kings called in the Mughal system?
Landlords - zamindars.
What were two of the points of cohesion in revolts against the Mughals?
Revenue demand became oppressive and zamindars revolted. Ties of kinship like those between the Jats, religious solidarity like those binding the Sikhs, or a quasi-national feeling like that of the Marathas all served as common bonds to lend cohesion to rebellious spirit.
According to your readings, Baji Rao attack on Delhi demonstrated what?
Power.
What was one reason the Mughals did not build a navy?
Relies on collection of land revenue over control of trade.
What became the largest source of income for the Portuguese crown?
Pepper
How much did the Portuguese king spend on his Naval trade with India each year?
50,000 cruzados
What was one tool the Portuguese used to control the Indian Ocean trade?
Projected Mediterranean practices - fortified outposts served as customs stations. Ransacked and attacked Asian merchants if they did not have letters of protection.
What was one way the Portuguese king raised money associated with the Indian trade?
Bought pepper at cheap fixed rate in India and sold it at high fixed price in Europe
Why did the Portuguese Indian pepper trade collapse?
Other ships from Mediterranean brought for cheaper.
How did the Indian rulers with port cities hope to deal with the Portuguese monopsonistic practices?
Appearance of European competitors - could be played off against Portuguese.
What is one way the Dutch introduced new Indian commodities into the European market?
Huge merchant marine engaged in Baltic Sea Trade
Which was established first?
East India Company founded in London 1600, in Dutch 1602. Portuguese came before either of them.
What Indian commodity was the Dutch most interested in?
Textiles
What became a new source for the Dutch ships in the Indian Ocean?
Court of Sultan of Golcanda
English entrepreneurs (“interlopers”) were involved in what aspect of Indian trade?
Intra-Asian trade
The British East India Co. practice of leasing ships produced which effect?
Specialization and division of labour made it much more flexible and efficient.
Why did the British begin to build up the village of Calcutta?
Not as important so nobody would guess
How did the French East India Company raise investment money?
Dignitaries of France contributed money
The French viceroy De la Haye, hoped to cooperate with the British to oust the Dutch from India. What was the outcome of his attempt to do so?
Suffered defeat
Why did the French East India Company almost go bankrupt in the early eighteenth century?
Interruption of trade due to European wars
What helped pave the way for BEI Co. rule in Bengal?
Granted free trade and free coinage
With the decline of the Mughals, large Indian traders were subject to confiscations and even imprisonment. Why were the Europeans not subject to the same treatment?
Armed ships and fortified factories
What was one of the first outcomes of increased trade with Bengal for the British?
Increase in money sent to Bengal because great Mughal could not get share of revenue from Bengal easily. Later the British extracted the silver they had put in Bengal
What was the fear of Alivardi Khan’s successor?
The the British East India Company would grow into a state within a state and now it would take over the state itself.
Who was the first to assert his independence from the Mughal emperor?
Nawab of Awadh
Which event lead to European military intervention in India?
British vs French wars in India
Who first trained Indian troops in European military tactics?
Joseph Francois Dupliex
What was one factor that made Robert Clive and his British forces victors at Plassey?
One of his young officers scores sudden success with field artillery. Then Mir Jaffar changed sides as well.
How did Robert Clive get offered the administration in Bengal?
Great Mughal thought he could restore some of his authority in Bengal by entrusting British with civil administration of that province so as to curb the influence of the new nawab who would be left with military command only
When did the dream of Inde française die?
1760
After the Maratha Afghan war of 1761, the nawab of Oudh was the beneficiary. But who really ended up benefiting?
British
Why was Madhav Rao’s attention turned away from concerns over the British?
Had to turn attention to challenger in Southern India - Haider Ali of Mysore
Who was the architect of the British Empire in India?
Warren Hastings
What was one advantage the British got from the Peace treaty of Salbei?
Protect British in west so they have free hand in the south
According to your readings, what was the main outcome of Mahadaji’s death?
Nobody left in India who could aspire to a position of supremacy
When did British rule in S. India begin?
1792
What did the battle of Waterloo and the battle for Seringapatam in 1799 have in common?
Arthur Wellesley performed a “dress rehearsal” for Waterloo at head of Nizam’s forces
According to your readings, what was a major factor that lead to the British success in India?
Trading company
What fate did Warren Hastings suffer that Lord Cornwallis did not?
Warren had to suffer consequences of centralized command in India by those who do not support British politics
Which groups made up the Committee of Secrecy in London?
Three members of Board of Control and three directors of company
What year did the BEI Co. political mandate end?
1784
What was one of the reforms proposed to government revenue brought by Philip Francis?
Land revenue should be settled permanently and property on which revenue assessed should be heritable and freely alienable
What was one judicial innovation Hastings instituted in India?
Eighteen new courts and tried to reform rules of civil procedure and appeal to higher court
What did Sir William Jones accomplish when in India?
Translated and codified Indian legal tradition
What was appalling to British jurist in the India legal system?
Mutilation of thieves and other drastic penalties
How did zamindars become true landlords?
Lord Cornwallis’s order of permanent settlement of land revenue
Why did Lord Wellesley establish Fort William College?
Wanted young servants of company to be subject to instruction in Indian languages so that they may be competent rulers without need of interpreters
What was a difference between the British collection of land revenue and the previous system?
Mughal treasury used to the idea that budget depended on rains and other vagaries of men and nature. British revenue officers held that if revenue correctly assessed it could also be collected without any deficit
What was the debate between the Anglicists and the Orientalists about?
English education for Indians vs. cultivation of oriental languages.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj religious sect. Why did he go to London?
Emissary of the great Mughal
What was the college in Bombay named?
Elphinstone College
In the early period of Company rule, which school did you have to attend if you wanted to be part of the Indian civil service?
Haileybury College in England
Besides solders, what one major group involved in “The Mutiny” according to your readings?
Disgruntled landlords and peasants, some disinherited princes.
Where did “The Mutiny” begin?
Delhi
What was one indication of the personal interest the Queen had in her new Imperial holding?
Took Hindi lessons, incited Indologist to lecture royal court
At the highest level India was ruled with British interest in mind. How was this balanced at the lower levels in the early days of Crown rule?
Decisions about India were made in England by select specialists
What was one reason that the English did not respect the Babus?
“Un-Indian”
What was the percentage of Muslims in the United Provinces?
17%
What was the extant of land called the Bombay Presidency?
Western India from Sindh to Kanara
What was one difference between Sikh rule and British rule in the Punjab?
Sikhs collected revenue in land, took share of 2/5 of the produce. British wanted revenue in cash and introduced assessment based on long term rather than sharing risks of each harvest with peasantry
What was the Railroad system designed to do in India?
Rapid troop movement
When did the Indian National Congress met for the first time?
1885
Several “new religious movements” began in India at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries teaching “All Religions are Equal”. Why were these seen as suspicious by Muslims?
Seen as subtle threat to Islamic identity
What was Mahatma Gandhi’s first job after completing his education in London?
Tried to practice law
Who was most responsible for the division of British India into two nations?
M. A. Jinnah
Which of the following happened when Nehru began talking about collectivizing the agricultural sector?
Substantial increase of agricultural production due to extension of cultivated area
What did Nehru’s grain price policy do?
Collapsed due to drought in mid-60s
Why did Communist China accuse India of still being Imperialists?
Clinging to imperialist heritage with regard to Himalayan boundary
Why did Indian solders finally leave Sri Lanka in 1987?
Rajiv Gandhi defeat in elections made easier for lndia to withdraw from Sri Lanka as the new government wasn’t committed to the accord
Who is the head of the Indian Air force?
President of India
What rare production did the Mughals achieve?
Rare sequence of competent rulers
Why did Baber leave Samarkand?
Uzbeks forced him out
Which below lists the Three Gunpowder Empires of Asia?
Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal
When was Baber victorious in India?
1526
What was striking innovative about Baber’s army?
Artillery weapons with strategy of cavalry warfare
Who was Baber’s ancestor?
Timur
Who deprived Humayun of his empire?
Afghan Sher Shah
How old was Akbar when his father died?
13
How did Hemu attempt to usurp Akbar’s thrown end?
Battle
Whom did Akbar marry?
Daughter of Rajput maharaja of Amber
Which year did Akbar conquer Bengal?
1576
Why didn’t Akbar retake the Mughal’s home land?
Didn’t want to risk Indian empire
Which river was the western boundary of Akbar’s realm?
Helmand river
Why was Kandahar lost by Akbar’s successors?
Indulging in excursion to northwest
What was the southern boundary of Akbar’s realm?
Gujarat
Akbar compared himself with the Suleiman Kanumiin what way?
Lawgiver
Akbar’s rule was administered by which?
Military elite
Why was a stable currency necessary for the Mughals?
Intensity of central rule directly dependent on accurate assessment of revenue and on its cash transfer to centre
What was one major problem with Akbar’s revenue collection?
Regional variations
After reforming the fiefs and military ranks bureaucrats managed things. What major role did Akbar perform?
Interfered only in case of major appointments and transfers
What is one reason Akbar’s automatic administration system broke down?
Stream of silver changed price level, conquest of new territories and the absorption of elites into imperial ranking system
How does your author describe the tax burden on the Indian population under Akbar?
Tolerable
Akbar’s put forth new ideas of kingship. How did his subject receive these?
Criticized by Muslim, understood by Hindu
What is one reason that the orthodox Muslims resisted Akbar’s religious ideas?
Akbar’s emphasis on greeting “allahu akbar” coupled with decree by which he reserved himself finals decisions in matter of faith
Which religious doctrine lasted long past Akbar?
Idea of divine grace which was bestowed on Mughal dynasty and constituted it’s charisma
What effect did the Mughal dynastic Darwinism have on the empire?
Stabilized it
What changes did Nur Jahan bring to the Mughal court?
Introduced Persian culture and Persian entourage
How did Aurangzeb come to the throne of the Mughals?
Imprisoned father
In which years did Aurangzeb rule?
1658-1707
What was a major problem in Aurangzeb’s expansion of the elite ranking system?
Created a top-heavy system
What is one reason Shivaji was successful against the powerful Mughal army?
Master in guerrilla tactics and swift cavalry warfare, built a series of fortified strongholds on the mountains of the western Deccan
Shivaji claimed to fight for Hindus against the Muslims. When did he hold the coronation of a Hindu king ceremony?
1674
Who was the last Mughal ruler?
Bahadur Shah Zafar
When did Baji Rao hold the high office of minister?
1720-1740
What did Baji Rao’s lightening capture of Delhi prove?
Marathas, though able to destroy Mughal empire, are unable to hold it on their own
Baji Rao’s general Gaekwar became the Maharaja of which area?
Baroda
When was Delhi sacked by Nadir Shah?
1739
How were the Mughals different than the Egyptian rules regarding Portuguese sea power?
Mughals stayed on land; Egyptians dispatched several fleets to break Portuguese stranglehold
What did the Mughals hope to obtain from the foreign trade?
Precious metals
The Mughal rulers liked foreign trade but which part of India’s elite did not?
Small local rulers along the coast who were interested in trade themselves
What was the outcome of the naval battle in 1508?
Combined Gujarati and Egyptian forces won over the Egyptians
What two important events in Europe happened in 1499?
War between Turkey and Venice; return of first Portuguese fleet from India
In what year did the Portuguese king’s administration of the pepper trade go bankrupt?
1560
Why did Indian merchants ship goods on Dutch ships?
Lots of room, and high investment
What business were the British country traders in?
Textile
What year did the British block the Mughal trade with S.E. Asia?
1686
Why were the French reluctant to invest in the French East India Company?
Not personal, for government
One of the innovations that Murshid Quli Khan brought about was which of the following?
Efficient system of administration cash revenue
The great web of Indian trade under the Mughals fell apart because of what reason?
Decay of political stability
What is one reason that increases in British silver in Bengal did not create inflation?
Transferred funds to Bengal. Increasing cash base of land revenue tied down money in countryside
Why did the British build factories in the interior of Bengal?
Agents of company established direct contact with weavers and so influenced process of production
With the decline of the Mughal Empire, who was the second to declare its independence?
Bengal
What innovation did the French introduce that decimated the Indian cavalry?
Infantry
When did Robert Clive capture Arcot?
1751
The famous battle in 1761 at Panipat was won by whom?
Babar
When did Haider Ali usurp the Mysore throne?
1761
Which event in 1771 allowed the British to dominate the decade in India?
Warren Hastings became governor of Bengal
What was the outcome of the 1779 battle between Raghunath and Nana Phadnavis?
Raghhunaths army with forces of governor of Bombay were defeated by Marathas
As the general administrator of the Mughal Empire, Mahadaji needed money. Why?
Had to maintain large army to control turbulent regions of northern India
Who laid the ground work for British revenue settlement in South India?
Tipu
What did the British accomplish by making friends with the rulers of Gwalior, Indore, and Baroda?
Isolated Baj Roa 2
Why was Maharaja Ranjit Singh successful when the Tipu Sultan was not?
Avoided confrontation with British
What changed for the Governor General of India with the Regulating Act of 1784?
Gave autocratic powers
What was on reason that the educated Indian elite did not participate in the Mutiny of 1857?
Fear of chaos or restoration of old order
Composed of British civil servants and Indian notables, what was one outcome of the Imperial Legislative Council?
Convenient alibi for executive to pass any law thought needed for its purposes
Why did Lord Irwin hold a Round Table Conference in London?
Pact with Gandhi
Indian Muslims took sides with the British against the nationalists. Why did they switch sides during WWI?
Didn’t like British fighting Turkish caliph
Why did the British finally make a statement about its war aims for India during WW II?
Congress participation in provincial government came to abrupt end
In which year was the “Pakistan Resolution” put forward by the Muslim League?
1933
Why was Indira Gandhi first selected by the Congress Party to be the successor to Lal BahdurShastri?
Forestall Morarji Desai
How did Rajiv Gandhi become prime minister?
Mom wanted to be succeeded by son
Why was the Indian army humiliated in 1962?
Defeat in border war with Pakistan
India had early on declared its general opposition to Nuclear weapons. Why did it not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968?
China blasted atomic bomb
Where is India’s air force Central Command located?
Allahabad
Where is India’s Southern Naval Command located?
Kochi
How much of India’s GDP was spent on education in the year 2001-2002?
4.3%
What percentage of schools do not have electricity in India?
60%
When did India launch its first satellite?
1975
How many space missions did India launch by 2012?
100
