Study Guide—Introduction and Part I 

Name: Leon Fried

1. Which countries are located on the subcontinent today?

India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

2. Where did the Mughals come from and which regions did they conquer?

Came from Central Asia, and conquered Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Later conquered northeastern Bengal as well. 

3. List three challenges to Mughal authority in the 1700s.

1. Invasions by foreign forces

2. Rise of regional rulers

3. Growing presence of European trade companies on eastern and western coasts

4.  a. Who owned the British East India Company?

British traders, later owned by individual shareholders as a joint-stock corporation

b. Where were the Company’s major ports located?

Bombay, Calcutta, Madras

c. What goods did the Company trade?

Bullion, spices, coffee, textiles, and other goods

5. Why did the British East India Company think the province of Bengal was valuable?

They shipped the majority of their exports from Calcutta, the capital of Bengal. 

6. How did the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 affect Indians?

Indian peasants were left without any rights to the land they had been on for generations, now had to pay rent. 

7. Provide a definition of the following concepts.

Direct rule: where the occupant collected taxes, structured legal system, and led war

Indirect rule: influencing areas without formally governing them

8. Why did the sepoys start the Great Revolt of 1857?

They weren’t happy with the injustices they had been facing for years from the British

9.  a. Who else participated in the Great Revolt? 

The entire Bengal Army (130k men) and many civilians

b. Why did they join?

They shared the same distasteful opinions of the British and were tired of their advances. 

10. After the British Crown took control, what promise did Queen Victoria make to Indians?

She said that all her subjects in India, regardless of their race, religion, or caste (a social ranking), would be treated equally under the law.