50 Gk MCQs about Portuguese East India Company

The Portuguese East India Company, established in 1628 by King Philip III of Portugal. Its primary goal was spice trade and protect Portuguese colonial interests in India, especially Goa, Diu, and Cochin. However, the company struggled due to corruption, poor administration, and competition from other European powers. It failed to gain significant influence and was dissolved in 1633. The arrival of Vasco da Gama led by Gujarati Pilot named Abdul Majid at Calicut in May 1498 which change the course of Indian History.

Q.1 When was the Portuguese East India Company founded?
A) 1498
B) 1505
C) 1628
D) 1595
Answer: C) 1628

Q.2 The Portuguese East India Company primarily aimed to compete with which European power in Asia?
A) Dutch
B) British
C) Spanish
D) French
Answer: A) Dutch

Q.3 Which city was the first major Portuguese settlement in India?
A) Diu
B) Goa
C) Cochin
D) Calicut

Answer: C) Cochin

Q.4 Who was the first Viceroy of Portuguese India?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Afonso de Albuquerque
C) Francisco de Almeida
D) Pedro Alvares Cabral
Answer: C) Francisco de Almeida

Q.5 Which year did the Portuguese capture Goa?
A) 1498
B) 1505
C) 1510
D) 1521
Answer: C) 1510

Q.6 The Portuguese East India Company was modelled after which company?
A) British East India Company
B) Dutch East India Company
C) French East India Company
D) Danish East India Company
Answer: B) Dutch East India Company

Q.7 Which Portuguese explorer was the first to reach India?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Pedro Álvares Cabral
C) Afonso de Albuquerque
D) Francisco de Almeida
Answer: A) Vasco da Gama

Q.8 In which year did Vasco da Gama first reach India?
A) 1492
B) 1498
C) 1500
D) 1502
Answer: B) 1498

Q.9 Which Portuguese governor is known as the “founder of the Portuguese colonial empire in India”?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Francisco de Almeida
C) Afonso de Albuquerque
D) Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
Answer: C) Afonso de Albuquerque

Q.10 Which was the most important Portuguese colony in India?
A) Diu
B) Cochin
C) Goa
D) Bassein
Answer: C) Goa

Q.11 Which of the following was NOT a part of the Portuguese colonial empire in Asia?
A) Malacca
B) Macau
C) Sri Lanka
D) Java
Answer: D) Java

Q.12 Which Indian ruler did the Portuguese defeat to capture Goa?
A) Sultan of Bijapur
B) Mughal Emperor
C) King of Vijayanagar
D) Nawab of Bengal
Answer: A) Sultan of Bijapur, Ismail Adil Shah

Q.13 What was the main reason for the decline of the Portuguese East India Company?
A) Competition from the Dutch
B) Internal corruption
C) Loss of naval superiority
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above

Q.14 What did the Portuguese East India Company mainly rely on for its protection?
A) Diplomacy
B) Forts
C) Naval power
D) Local alliances
Answer: C) Naval power

Q.15 Which religious order played a key role in Portuguese missions in India?
A) Dominicans
B) Jesuits
C) Franciscans
D) Augustinians
Answer: B) Jesuits

Q.16 Which treaty granted Portugal control of the Indian Ocean trade?
A) Treaty of Tordesillas
B) Treaty of Zaragoza
C) Treaty of Alcacovas
D) None of the above
Answer: A) Treaty of Tordesillas

Q.17 What was the name of the Portuguese fort built in Cochin?
A) Fort Aguada
B) Fort St. Angelo
C) Fort Emmanuel
D) Fort William
Answer: C) Fort Emmanuel

Q.18 Which Portuguese explorer discovered Brazil during his voyage to India?
A) Pedro Alvares Cabral
B) Afonso de Albuquerque
C) Vasco da Gama
D) Francisco de Almeida
Answer: A) Pedro Alvares Cabral

Q.19 Which modern-day Indian state was part of Portuguese India until 1961?
A) Gujarat
B) Kerala
C) Goa
D) Maharashtra
Answer: C) Goa

Q.20 Who was the first Portuguese governor of Goa?
A) Francisco de Almeida
B) Afonso de Albuquerque
C) Vasco da Gama
D) Joao de Castro
Answer: B) Afonso de Albuquerque

Q.21 Which Indian spice was one of the most valuable commodities for the Portuguese East India Company?
A) Black Pepper
B) Cardamom
C) Cinnamon
D) Saffron
Answer: A) Black Pepper

Q.22 Which European power eventually replaced the Portuguese as the dominant force in the Indian Ocean trade?
A) British
B) Dutch
C) French
D) Spanish
Answer: B) Dutch

Q.23 Which Portuguese explorer captured the city of Malacca in 1511?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Francisco de Almeida
C) Afonso de Albuquerque
D) João de Castro
Answer: C) Afonso de Albuquerque

Q.24 In which year did the Dutch take over the Portuguese stronghold of Cochin?
A) 1605
B) 1663
C) 1701
D) 1750
Answer: B) 1663

Q.25 Which sea route did the Portuguese East India Company control during its peak?
A) Red Sea
B) Cape of Good Hope
C) Panama Canal
D) Strait of Gibraltar
Answer: B) Cape of Good Hope

Q.26 Which local Indian ruler allied with the Portuguese to fight the Zamorin of Calicut?
A) King of Cochin
B) Sultan of Bijapur
C) Raja of Travancore
D) King of Mysore
Answer: A) King of Cochin

Q.27 What was the Portuguese policy of “Cartaz” in Indian Ocean trade?
A) Tax on local merchants
B) A trade license issued to ships
C) Prohibition of local trade
D) Religious conversion of traders
Answer: B) A trade license issued to ships

Q.28 Which city served as the capital of Portuguese in India from 1530 onward?
A) Cochin
B) Goa
C) Daman
D) Surat
Answer: B) Goa

Q.29 Which Portuguese explorer led the first successful circumnavigation of Africa to reach India?
A) Vasco da Gama
B) Ferdinand Magellan
C) Bartolomeu Dias
D) João de Castro
Answer: A) Vasco da Gama

Q.30 Which modern-day African country was home to key Portuguese trading posts such as Sofala and Mozambique?
A) Kenya
B) Tanzania
C) Mozambique
D) Angola
Answer: C) Mozambique

Q.31 The Portuguese missionary St. Francis Xavier was active in which Indian region?
A) Gujarat
B) Bengal
C) Goa
D) Kerala
Answer: C) Goa

Q.32 What was the outcome of the Battle of Diu (1509) for the Portuguese?
A) Defeat by the Ottoman Empire
B) Victory over the combined Muslim fleet
C) Treaty with local rulers
D) Abandonment of Indian trade
Answer: B) Victory over the combined Muslim fleet

Q.33 In which century did the Portuguese first establish their presence in India?
A) 14th century
B) 15th century
C) 16th century
D) 17th century
Answer: B) 15th century

Q.34 Which city did the Portuguese seize from the Sultan of Gujarat in 1535?
A) Surat
B) Bombay
C) Diu
D) Bassein
Answer: C) Diu

Q.35 What was the primary motivation behind Portuguese exploration to India?
A) Religious conversion
B) Gold
C) Spices and trade routes
D) Establishment of colonies
Answer: C) Spices and trade routes

Q.36 Which Portuguese stronghold was known as the “Pearl of the Orient”?
A) Diu
B) Goa
C) Malacca
D) Cochin
Answer: B) Goa

Q.37 Which explorer is credited with discovering the sea route from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope?
A) Christopher Columbus
B) Vasco da Gama
C) Bartolomeu Dias
D) Ferdinand Magellan
Answer: B) Vasco da Gama

Q.38 In which region of India did the Portuguese face stiff resistance from the Marathas?
A) Bengal
B) Gujarat
C) Maharashtra
D) Kerala
Answer: C) Maharashtra

Q.39 Which of the following was a major reason for the decline of Portuguese power in India?
A) Lack of military strength
B) Internal revolts in Portugal
C) The rise of the Dutch and British
D) Scarcity of resources
Answer: C) The rise of the Dutch and British

Q.40 What was the term used for the mixed-race communities in Portuguese India?
A) Mesticos
B) Mulattos
C) Creoles
D) Anglo-Indians
Answer: A) Mesticos

Q.41 Which Indian city was briefly controlled by the Portuguese before the British took over in 1661 as part of a royal dowry?
A) Calcutta
B) Pondicherry
C) Bombay
D) Madras
Answer: C) Bombay

Q.42 The Estado da India was the term used for which of the following?
A) The Portuguese trading network in Asia
B) The Portuguese naval fleet
C) The Portuguese administrative unit in Goa
D) The Portuguese monarchy’s Indian policy
Answer: A) The Portuguese trading network in Asia

Q.43 Which was the last Portuguese possession in India that was annexed by India in 1961?
A) Diu
B) Daman
C) Goa
D) All of the above
Answer: C) Goa

Q.44 Which governor of Portuguese East India company introduced the policy of Blue Water?

A) Nino da Cunha
B) Martin Alfanso D’Souza
C) Francisco de Almeida
D) St. Thomas
Answer: C) Francisco de Almeida

Q.45 Which governor of Portuguese East India company introduced the policy of Imperialism?

A) St. Francis Xavier
B) Alfonso d Albuquerque
C) Francisco de Almeida
D) St. Thomas
Answer: B) Alfonso d Albuquerque

Q.46 Which Portuguese transferred his capital from Cochin to Goa?

A) Vasco da Gama
B) Alfonso d Albuquerque
C) St. Ignatius of Loyola
D) Nino da Cunha
Answer: D) Nino da Cunha

Q.47 Which famous religious figure worked in the Portuguese colony of Goa in the 16th century?
A) St. Ignatius of Loyola
B) St. Thomas
C) St. Francis Xavier
D) St. Augustine
Answer: C) St. Francis Xavier

Q.48 The Portuguese forces fought the Marathas in which 1739 battle?
A) Battle of Vasai
B) Battle of Cochin
C) Battle of Surat
D) Battle of Bassein
Answer: D) Battle of Bassein

Q.49 Where was the first factory established by Portuguese in India?
A) Surat
B) Cochin
C) Goa
D) Bassein
Answer: B) Cochin

Q.50 The Battle of Swally (1612) was fought between the Portuguese and which European rival?
A) Danish East India Company
B) French East India Company
C) British East India Company
D) Dutch East India Company
Answer: C) British East India Company

These were the 50 Gk MCQs about Portuguese East India Company. Hope you like it.

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