NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory provides solutions to all questions given in NCERT Textbook. Our expertly crafted solutions provide detailed, step-by-step answers to all textbook questions, making it easier for students to grasp complex concepts. By using our solutions, students can enhance their understanding, improve their problem-solving skills, and boost their confidence in the subject.

Chapter	From Trade to Territory
Textbook	NCERT
Type of Material	NCERT Solutions
Class	8
Subject	Social Science – History
Section	Our Past – III
Useful for	Class 8 Studying Students
Session	2024-25
Solutions provided	Yes
Intext Questions	Solved
No. of Intext Questions	3
No. of Exercise Questions	12
Total Questions Solved	15
Important Link	NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science

Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory NCERT Solutions

INTEXT QUESTIONS SOLUTIONS

Page – 15

Q. 1. Imagine that you are a young Company official who has been in India for a few months. Write a letter home to your mother telling her about your luxurious life and contrasting it with your earlier life in Britain.

Ans. Dear Mom, How are you? Hope this letter finds you in pinkest of your health. I am also enjoying my stay in India as a company official. The weather in India is little harsh but now I am tuned to this climate and started enjoying the luxury.
The officer of the company is treated like a king by Indian sub-ordinates. I have a troop of helpers to assist in my all-day chores. In London, everyone is treated equally and no one is there to work for you. I lived in a one-room apartment in London. Here I have been allotted a bungalow with numerous servants at my service. This shows how luxurious life we lead here. I earn thousands of pounds here
which I can send you so that you can purchase a reasonable house in London. Now you do not need to live a poor life anymore. I am sure you will be pleased to know all this. Our condition will also change for the good.
With love and affection
Your son
John

Page – 18

Activity

Q. 2. Imagine that you have come across two old newspapers reporting on the Battle of Seringapatam and the death of Tipu Sultan. One is a British paper and the other is from Mysore. Write the headline for each of the two newspapers.
Ans. (i) Headlines in the British newspapers: An Ally of French Government is Dead.
(ii) Headlines in the newspaper from Mysore: Tiger of Mysore sacrificed his life for motherland.

Q. 3. Imagine that you are a nawab’s nephew and have been brought up thinking that you will one day be king. Now you find that this will not be allowed by the British because of the new Doctrine of Lapse. What will be your feelings? What will you plan to do so that you can inherit the crown?

Ans. (i) I have been brought up with a dream that I will be the king one day as my mama does not have his biological son; he adopted me at the age of five and gave me all the privileges of a prince. Now, this British company has adopted a new policy of Doctrine of Lapse which allows only a biological
son to be the king in the absence of a natural heir, the kingdom will lapse and become the part of the British empire.
(ii) This is an unjust rule. I must raise my voice against British policy. One has the natural right to inherit ancestral property. The interference of the British cannot be tolerated by us. I will form an alliance with the other princes who all are deprived to inherit their throne due to these flimsy policies and together we will give a tough fight to the British. We should fight against the autocratic British empire.

EXERCISE QUESTIONS SOLUTIONS

Let’s Imagine

Q. 1. You are living in England in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. How would you have reacted to the stories of British conquests? Remember that you would have read about the immense fortunes that many of the officials were making.

Ans. We, the English men are highly cultured people. It becomes our duty to civilise those people who have not seen the light of civilisation. So, I am in favour of the British conquests. This is the only way we can administer the uncivilised people. Indeed, I am very proud to hear the stories of British conquests all over the world. I wish I could be part of the conquest. It brings glory to our nation as well as a fortune to the brave soldiers by increasing the wealth and might of our country.

Q. 2. Match the Columns

S. No	Column I		Column II
(i)	Diwani	(a)	Tipu sultan
(ii)	Tiger of Mysore	(b)	Right to collect land revenue
(iii)	Faujdari adalat	(c)	sepoy
(iv)	Rani Chennamma	(d)	Criminal court
(v)	Sipahi	(e)	Led an anti- British movement

Mark the correct option:
(A) (i-b), (ii-a), (iii-d), (iv-e), (v-c).
(B) (i-b), (ii-e), (iii-d), (iv-c), (v-a).
(C) (i-c), (ii-d), (iii-a), (iv-e), (v-b).
(D) (i-a), (ii-b), (iii-c), (iv-d), (v-e).
(E) (i-c), (ii-b), (iii-a), (iv-e), (v-d).

Ans. Option (A) is correct.

Q.3. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of ___________
(b) Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of ___________
(c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of ___________
(d) Maratha kingdoms were in ___________part of India.

Choose the correct option:

(A) (a) southern, (b) Mysore, (c) Lapse, (d) Plassey
(B) (a) Plassey, (b) Mysore, (c) Lapse, (d) Southern
(C) (a) Mysore, (b) Lapse, (c) Plassey, (d) southern
(D) (a) southern, (b) Lapse, (c) Plassey, (d) Mysore

Ans. Option (B) is correct.

Q. 4. State whether True or False:
(a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century.
(b) The English East India Company was the only European company that traded with India.
(c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab.
(d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories conquered.

Ans. (a) True, (b) False, (c) True, (d) False.

Let’s Discuss

Q. 5. What attracted European trading companies to India?

Ans. European trading companies were attracted to India because of the following reasons:
(i) Trading with India was highly profitable for European traders.
(ii) The European trading companies purchased goods at cheaper rate and sold them in Europe at higher prices.
(iii) The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe.
(iv) Indian spices such as- pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon were in great demand in Europe.

Q. 6. What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company?

Ans. (i) Siraj-ud-daulah one of the strongest Nawab of Bengal who refused to grant trading concessions to the Company and demanded high tributes from the company to acquire trading rights.
(ii) Nawab denied the right of the company to mint coins.
(iii) He stopped company from extending its fortification.
(iv) Nawab accused the company of deceit and claimed that company was depriving Bengal government from huge amounts of revenue and undermining the authority of the Nawab.
(v) The Company refused to pay taxes and wrote disrespectful letters and tried to humiliate the Nawab and his officials.
(vi) The Company declared that the unjustifiable demands of the local officials ruined the trade of the company and they can make maximum profit only if the duties were removed.
(vii) The Company believed that to expand trade they need fortification. These conflicts led to confrontations and finally culminated into the famous battle of Plassey.

Q. 7. How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?

Ans. (i) The Diwani solved the major problem that the company had faced earlier. It allowed the company to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.
(ii) Assumption of Diwani slowed the outflow of gold from Britain and stopped after the Battle of Plassey. Revenues from India were used to finance the expenses of the company.
(iii) These revenues were used to purchase cotton and silk textiles from India and maintain Company troops and expenses of the fort and Calcutta office of the company.

Q. 8. Explain the system of ‘Subsidiary Alliance’.
OR
Explain subsidiary alliance.

Ans. It was formulated by Lord Wellesley under which Indian kingdoms were given British protection provided they agreed to maintain British troops on their soil at their own expense. It had the following stages:
(i) The East India Company provided military assistance to Indian states by signing an alliance.
(ii) The signatory Indian states were compelled by Company to accept the permanent stationing of British forces.
(iii) The local rulers of the Indian states were forced to cede a part of their territory if they were unable to pay annual charges. Awadh and Hyderabad were annexed under this policy.

Q.9. In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers? AI

Ans. (i) Before the arrival of Britishers, the Indian territories were divided into kingdoms ruled by different rulers. They had their own administrative policies. The whole country was not under the single blanket of administration.
(ii) The British divided the territories into administrative units called Presidencies. There were three presidencies Bengal, Madras and Bombay.
(iii) Each presidency was ruled by a Governor. The supreme head of the administration was the Governor General.
(iv) In 1772, a new system of justice was established. In each district there were two courts, a criminal court (Faujdari Adalat) and a civil court (Diwani Adalat).
(v) Maulvis and Hindu pandits interpreted Indian laws for the European district collectors who presided over civil courts. The criminal courts were still under a quazi and a mufti under the supervision of the collectors.
(vi) The principal figure in an Indian district was the collector and his main job was to collect revenues and taxes and maintain law and order in his district with the help of judges, police officers and darogas.

Q. 10. Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army.

Ans. The following changes occurred in the composition of the Company’s army:
(i) Company started recruiting peasants into their armies and trained them as professional soldiers.
(ii) They stopped recruiting cavalry.
(iii) They started recruiting soldiers armed with Muskets and Matchlocks.
(iv) They began to develop a uniform military culture.
(v) They started European-style training, drill and discipline.
(vi) They ignored caste and community feelings.

Let’s Do

Q. 11. After the British conquest of Bengal, Calcutta grew from a small village to a big city. Find out about the culture, architecture and life of Europeans and Indians of the city during the colonial period.

Ans. (i) The colonial city of Calcutta was a centre of administration, a port and a European residential enclave. The European were well off and the Indians were in a pitiable state.
(ii) The areas in which Europeans lived had spacious Bungalows and splendid apartments.
(iii) The European people enjoyed facilities such as domestic water supply, electricity, sewage links, etc. But their use was restricted to the natives.
(iv) Later, Calcutta started growing along with European towns coming up in the north and southwest of Park Street. Calcutta included the area for the elite British owners/managers surrounded by a small middle-income area/low income areas where the factory labour lived.
(v) Calcutta emerged as a cultural hub of India. Dramas, group theatres, Indian classical music, religious and social festivals, enriched its cultural heritage.
(vi) Calcutta was famous for its cuisine-Rice and fish curry, rasogolla, sandesh, mishthi, roti, etc.
(vii) During the colonial period, many grand marvels of architecture were created in Calcutta. These were adorned with Gothic, Roman, Oriental and IndoIslamic motifs. Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial, National Library of India, Academy of fine arts, etc., are some such examples

Q. 12. Collect pictures, stories, poems and information about any of the following-the Rani of Jhansi, Maharaja Sindhia, Haidar Ali, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord Dalhousie or any other contemporary ruler of your region.

Ans. Student needs to attempt via project report.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the motives of Britishers who originally came as a small trading company and were reluctant to acquire territories.
  Learn about the process of annexation of Indian states adopted by the East India Company from 1757 to 1857 and how variety of political economic and diplomatic methods were used to extend their influence before annexing an Indian kingdom.
• Know about various policies that were adopted for the annexation of Indian territory like subsidiary alliance, paramountcy and doctrine of lapse.
• Understand the spread of British court and military after the defeat of last major Indian rulers like Tipu Sultan, the Marathas; and Bahadur Shah Zafar who was the last Mughal emperor.
• Know about the Internal rivalries among the local Indian rulers that helped them to win small battles.
• Learn about the various administrative reforms adopted by governor generals for smooth administration.

Also access

• NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside
• NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 2 From Trade to Territory
• NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 1 How, When and Where

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Topics covered in NCERT Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 1

1.1	Introduction
1.2	East India Company Comes East
1.3	Company Established Trading Company in Bengal
1.4	Annexation of Indian States
1.5	Administrative Reforms by the company

By referring to NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 2, students can quickly clarify difficult concepts. These solutions also ensure that students learn the correct answers to the exercise questions in their Class 8 Social Science NCERT textbook.

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