2022 · Modern HistoryPrevious Year Question
Q59.
With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements: 1. The Dutch established their factories/warehouses on the east coast on lands granted to them by Gajapati rulers. 2. Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate. 3. The English East India Company established a factory at Madras on a plot of land leased from a representative of the Vijayanagara empire. Which of the statements given above are correct?
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3
Answer

B

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Dutch founded their first factory in Masulipatam (Andhra Pradesh) in 1605. The Gajapati rulers were from Odisha (c. 1435–1541 CE) — they did not grant lands on the east coast to the Dutch for factories. Statement 2 is correct: Alfonso de Albuquerque acquired Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510, making it the first bit of Indian territory under Europeans since Alexander. Statement 3 is correct: The East India Company established a factory at Madras in 1639 on land leased from the Nayakas — representatives of the Vijayanagara Empire.