Match List I with List II:
| List I | List II | ||
| (A) | Portuguese | (I) | Pondicherry |
| (B) | Dutch | (II) | Panaji |
| (C) | British | (III) | Masulipatnam |
| (D) | French | (IV) | Madras |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A)-(II), (B)-(III), (C)-(IV), (D)-(I)
(A) Portuguese — this matches (II) Panaji. The Portuguese set up base in Panaji in 1510.
(B) Dutch — this matches (III) Masulipatnam. The Dutch set up base in Masulipatnam in 1605.
(C) British — this matches (IV) Madras. The British set up base in Madras in 1639.
(D) French — this matches (I) Pondicherry. The French set up base in Pondicherry (present-day Puducherry) in 1673. With the growth of commerce, towns grew around these trading centres.
Note 1: 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).
Note 2: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| – | – | – | 13-06 S3 21-06 S1* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “1.2 Changes in the eighteenth century … However, the effects of political decentralisation were uneven. In some places there was renewed economic activity, in other places war, plunder and political uncertainty led to economic decline. Changes in the networks of trade were reflected in the history of urban centres. 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. With the expansion of commercial activity, towns grew around these trading centres.…” |