Lesson Y8-U02-L02

The British in India Company to Raj Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 8

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U02-L02, The British in India Company to Raj: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 8: Year 8: Empire, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What name is given to the period of direct British government rule in India?

    • The Protectorate
    • The Raj
    • The Viceroyalty
    • The Commonwealth

  2. In which year did the Raj begin?

    • 1858
    • 1600
    • 1757
    • 1877

  3. How did the East India Company help secure victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757?

    • Burning enemy warships
    • Poisoning army water supplies
    • Bribing the enemy commander
    • Assassinating the Nawab

  4. What term described Indian soldiers serving in the East India Company's army?

    • Sepoys
    • Samurais
    • Cavaliers
    • Janissaries

  5. Which rumour helped trigger the Indian Rebellion of 1857?

    • Royal family exile
    • Greased rifle cartridges
    • Tax on salt
    • Ban on religion

  6. What imperial title was given to Queen Victoria in 1877?

    • Prime Minister
    • Queen of Bengal
    • Empress of India
    • Duchess of Delhi

  7. Who governed India directly on behalf of the British monarch after 1858?

    • The Prime Minister
    • The Viceroy
    • The Governor-General
    • The East India Company

  8. What did Dadabhai Naoroji call the wealth taken from India to Britain?

    • Trade surplus
    • Drain of wealth
    • Imperial tax
    • Colonial tribute

  9. Which British politician's 1835 'Minute on Education' aimed to create an Indian class that was English in tastes?

    • Dadabhai Naoroji
    • Robert Clive
    • Thomas Cromwell
    • Thomas Macaulay

  10. What right was granted to the East India Company in Bengal in 1765?

    • Diwani
    • Raj
    • Swaraj
    • Sepoy

  11. Which major famine in India was worsened by East India Company tax demands?

    • Bombay Famine
    • Deccan Famine
    • Punjab Famine
    • Bengal Famine

  12. Which 1858 Act abolished East India Company rule in India?

    • British Raj Act
    • Government of India Act
    • East India Company Act
    • Indian Councils Act

  13. What was the primary military purpose of building railways in India?

    • School transport
    • Moving troops
    • Pilgrim travel
    • Famine relief

  14. What flooded India in the 1800s and ruined traditional handloom weavers?

    • American raw cotton
    • Chinese silk
    • Synthetic nylon
    • Machine-made British cloth

  15. Why should we question a source claiming British rule brought civilisation to India?

    • It was biased
    • It was fictional
    • It was neutral
    • It was modern

  16. What controversial practice regarding food continued during Indian famines?

    • Crop burning
    • Food hoarding
    • Exporting grain
    • Free rationing

  17. Which of these was a major economic cost of British rule for India?

    • Railway networks
    • Telegraph lines
    • Wrecked textile industry
    • Postal service

  18. What major 1857 event forced the British government to take direct control of India?

    • Opium War
    • Indian Rebellion
    • Battle of Plassey
    • Boxer Rebellion

  19. How do modern historians generally describe the overall impact of the Raj?

    • Purely beneficial
    • Mixed effects
    • Totally disastrous
    • Completely neutral

  20. What key change in 1757 shifted the East India Company from trader to ruler?

    • Battle of Plassey
    • Battle of Trafalgar
    • Battle of Buxar
    • Battle of Waterloo

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