Arrange the following European trading companies' settlement in chronological order.
A. French in Pondicherry.
B. British in Calcutta.
C. Dutch in Masulipatnam.
D. British in Bombay.
E. Portuguese in Panaji.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → E, C, D, A, B
(E) Portuguese in Panaji — 1510.
(C) Dutch in Masulipatnam — 1605.
(D) British in Bombay — 1661, when Bombay was given to the Company by the English king, who had got it as part of his wife’s dowry from the king of Portugal.
(A) French in Pondicherry — 1673.
(B) British in Calcutta — 1690, when Company agents settled there.
Note: This question is taken from the chapter ‘Colonial Cities’ which was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT and has been deleted from subsequent editions of NCERT, including the NCERT book (2026-27).
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “…Company agents settled in Madras in 1639 and in Calcutta in 1690. Bombay was given to the Company in 1661 by the English king, who had got it as part of his wife’s dowry from the king of Portugal. The Company established trading and administrative offices in each of these settlements. 1.2 Changes in the eighteenth century … The European commercial Companies had set up base in different places early during the Mughal era: the Portuguese in Panaji in 1510, the Dutch in Masulipatnam in 1605, the British in Madras in 1639 and the French in Pondicherry (present-day Puducherry) in 1673.…” |