Modern Indian History: Colonial Trade & Expansion PYQ.
UPSC Prelims previous year questions on Colonial Trade & Expansion (Modern Indian History) — real questions with answers and explanations.
2 questions · sorted by year
2025Multi-statement (How Many Style)Colonial Trade & Expansion
Consider the following fruits:
I. Papaya
II. Pineapple
III. Guava
How many of the above were introduced in India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
A.Only one
B.Only two
C.All the three
Explanation: * All three fruits were introduced: The arrival of Portuguese traders along Indian shores in the late 15th and 16th centuries acted as a major catalyst for the global exchange of agricultural items from the Americas (the New World). * Item I (Papaya) was introduced by the Portuguese via trading routes crossing Malacca and the Philippines, noted by travelers in Daman by 1623. * Item II (Pineapple) was brought from Brazil by Portuguese sailors during the 16th century, and is explicitly documented in Abul Fazl's Ain-i-Akbari in the 1590s under the traveler's moniker Kathal-i-Safari. * Item III (Guava) was similarly introduced into Indian soil and food culture via Portuguese maritime logistics during this era. * Therefore, all three fruits are valid historical introductions.
Who of the following rulers of medieval India gave permission to the Portuguese to build a fort at Bhatkal?
A.Krishnadevaraya
B.Narasimha Saluva
C.Muhammad Shah III
D.Yusuf Adil Shah
Explanation: * (a) Krishnadevaraya is correct: Emperor Krishna Deva Raya (reigned 1509–1530) of the Tuluva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire maintained highly friendly commercial and strategic relations with the Portuguese, benefiting from their import of war horses. In 1510, the Portuguese Governor Afonso de Albuquerque requested permission to construct a fortified outpost at the strategic port of Bhatkal, which Krishna Deva Raya officially granted.