DR.

VIRENDRA SWARUP MEMORIAL PUBLIC SCHOOL

Subject: History EXPLANATORY NOTES

Class: VIII (2020-2021) Chapter 4: India in the Eighteenth Century

 DR.VIRENDRA SWARUP MEMORIAL PUBLIC SCHOOL

Subject: HISTORY ASSIGNMENT

Class: VIII (2020-2021) Chapter 4: India in the Eighteenth Century

I. Timeline:
a. 1757 b. 1782 c. 1761 d. 1739 e. 1724

II. Define:
a. Chauth b. Sardeshmukhi c. Observatories

III. Give one-word for the following:

a. System of assigning land to the officers in lieu of salary.
b. Chief administrator of a province.
c. Administrative system of Mughal Empire.
d. Chief treasury official.
e. Prime Minister in Maratha administration who wielded real powers.

IV. Correct and Rewrite the following statements:

a. Peshwa is someone who governs instead of a king because the king is still a minor.
b. A war in which two or more princes claim the throne is called Guerrilla warfare.
c. Maratha Confederacy is a very large area that is part of a continent.

V. Short answers questions:

a. How did Bengal became an independent kingdom?
b. Which ruler was known as the Tiger of Mysore and why?
c. Give reason why independent states were formed in the eighteenth century?
d. The consequence of Third Battle of Panipat was advantageous for the British. Why?
e. What effect did the Battle of Plassey have on the position of the English East India
Company?

VI. Long answers questions:

a. ‘Invasion of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali were the causes for the decline of
the Mughal Empire’. Elaborate.
b. List the causes that led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire.
c. When and between whom was the Third Battle of Panipat fought? What were its
results?
d. Name the first independent Nawab of Bengal. What ere his achievements?
e. Who was Haider Ali? State his achievements.
 ANSWERS
Class: VIII
Subject: History Chapter 4: India in the Eighteenth Century

I. Timeline:
a. Battle of Plassey b. Tipu became the ruler of Mysore c. Third Battle of Panipat
d. Invasion of Nadir Shah e. Hyderabad founded by Chin Qilich Khan

II. Define:
a. One-fourth of the revenue collected by the Marathas from neighbouring areas, not
directly ruled by the Marathas.
b. One-tenth of the revenue collected from the dominions not directly under the control
of the Marathas.
c. Instruments for astronomical studies.

III. Give one-word for the following:

a. Jagirdari b. Subedar c. Mansabdari system d. Diwan e. Peshwa

IV. Correct and Rewrite the following statements:

a. Regent is someone who governs instead of a king because the king is still a minor.
b. A war in which two or more princes claim the throne is called War of Succession.
c. Subcontinent is a very large area that is part of a continent.

V. Short answers:
a. Bengal became an independent kingdom under Murshid Quli Khan, who was
appointed as Diwan of Bengal by Aurangzeb. In 1717, he was made Subedar
of Bengal by Farrukhsiyar. He remained Governor of Bengal from CE1717 TO 1727.

b. Tipu ruled Mysore for 17 years. He was an efficient ruler and brave general. He had
to fight against the combined strength of Nizam of Hyderabad, the Marathas and the
English. He died in 1799, while defending his capital Seringapatam in the final Anglo-
Mysore War. Thus, Tipu Sultan is known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’.

c. Independent states were formed in the eighteenth century because the later Mughal
rulers were so weak that they could not hold the provinces of the empire together.
These provinces were under Governors who were mostly engaged in wars. They took
advantage of the situation of misrule and misgovernance by the central authority and
declared independence.

d. The consequence of Third Battle of Panipat was advantageous for the British
because it gave the English East India Company the chance to consolidate their
power in India.
e. The English defeated Siraj’s army in the Battle of Plassey (1757). From then
onwards, the English East India Company functioned as king-makers in Bengal
politics. Finally, the English established their full sway in 1765 when Robert Clive
set up the Dual Government in Bengal.

VI. Long answers:

a. In 1739 Nadir Shah, the ruler of Iran, invaded India and defeated the Mughal army.
This was followed by Ahmad Shah Abdali’s invasions between 1747 and 1761. Abdali
invaded India repeatedly and annexed Multan and Punjab. This further weakened
the Mughal Empire. Nadir Shah took away the priceless Kohinoor diamond and Shah
Jahan’s Peacock Throne. The Mughal Empire was on the verge of collapse and
hugely diminished in size, restricted to the area around Delhi.

b. Causes that led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire:

1. Weak Successors of Aurangzeb.
2. Rivalry among the Nobles.
3. Crisis in Jagirdari and Mansabdari System.
4. Invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali.
5. Wars of Succession.
6. Aurangzeb’s Policies.
7. Weak Military Administration.

c. Third Battle of Panipat was fought between Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Marathas in
1761. Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Afghan invader, gave a crushing defeat to the forces
of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao. It put an end to the Maratha power and their dream of
ruling the whole of India. It allowed the East India Company to gain power and
become supreme in India.

d. Murshid Quli Khan was the first independent Nawab of Bengal. His achievements
were as follows:-
1. He established an efficient administration and effectively reorganized the revenue
system.
2. He introduced the new system of land revenue collection, on the basis of contracts,
Known as the Ijara system.
3. He reorganized the Zamindari and for this he is very well remembered in the
History of Bengal.

e. Haider Ali was an ordinary soldier in the Mysore army but became the ruler of Mysore
in 1761.
Achievements:
He won many battles against the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad and was able to
route his adversaries in two consecutive Anglo-Mysore Wars.