Previous Year Question
With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements:
The Dutch established their factories/warehouses on the east coast on lands granted to them by Gajapati rulers.
Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate.
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?
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect. The Dutch East India Company was established in 1602. According to IGNOU, the Dutch established factories at Petapuli and Masulipatam in North Coromandel in 1606 and at Pulicat in 1610. On the other hand, the rule of the Suryavamsi Gajapatis of Odisha had ended in the first half of the sixteenth century and was followed by the Bhoi rulers. Therefore, the assertion that the lands for the Dutch factories on the east coast were granted by the Gajapati rulers is incorrect.
Statement 2 is correct. Afonso/Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa in 1510, when it was under the Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur. Goa subsequently became the principal centre of Portuguese power in India.
Statement 3 is correct. In 1639, the East India Company obtained land at Madras. According to a Government source, it was obtained from Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, the viceroy/representative of the Vijayanagara Empire. Fort St. George subsequently developed there.