MCQs Based On Modern History- (37)

Correct Option: 3. Lord Wellesley.
Explanation: Lord Wellesley served as Governor-General from 1798–1805 and was instrumental in launching the attack against Tipu Sultan in 1799.
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War:
Main Opponents:
British East India Company, allied with: The Nizam of Hyderabad and The Marathas
VS.
Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore
Causes:
Tipu’s Alliance with the French: Tipu Sultan sought military help from Napoleon and tried to restore French influence in India, which alarmed the British.
British Fear of French Involvement: The British feared a Franco-Mysore alliance, especially during the Napoleonic Wars.
Refusal to Join the Subsidiary Alliance: Tipu refused Wellesley’s offer to join the British Subsidiary Alliance system.
Aggressive British Expansionism: Lord Wellesley, the then Governor-General of India, was determined to eliminate Tipu and consolidate British power.
Results:
Death of Tipu Sultan — End of resistance from Mysore.
Mysore partitioned:
-Half of Tipu’s territories were annexed by the British and their ally, the Nizam of Hyderabad.
-The Wodeyar dynasty (Hindu royal family) was restored to the throne.
-Mysore became a Subsidiary Ally — effectively a British puppet state.
-Elimination of French Threat: The British eliminated French influence in South India.
-Rise of British Power: This victory cemented British supremacy in southern India.
Significance:
-This war marked the end of a strong indigenous resistance in South India.
-It was a turning point in the British conquest of India, paving the way for future expansion.
-It demonstrated British military dominance and strategic diplomacy through alliances.

Correct Option: 4. He chose to die fighting.
Explanation: Tipu Sultan refused to accept humiliating peace terms and declared it was “better to die like a soldier” than live as a dependent.

Correct Option: 4. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.
Explanation: Tipu Sultan was killed in 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War while defending Seringapatam.

Correct Option: 3. Returned to the original Hindu dynasty.
Explanation: The British restored Mysore to the descendants of the Hindu Wodeyar dynasty, under a Subsidiary Alliance.

Correct Option: 2. Treaty of Bassein.
Explanation: After being defeated by Holkar, the Peshwa signed the Treaty of Bassein with the British on 31 December 1802.
Key Facts: Treaty of Bassein
Date:
-31 December 1802
Location:
-Bassein (now Vasai), near Mumbai
Signatories:
-Peshwa Baji Rao II (leader of the Maratha Confederacy)
-British East India Company, represented by Lord Wellesley (Governor-General)
Background: Why was it signed?
Maratha Infighting:
The Maratha Confederacy was divided and weakened by internal conflicts.
Yashwant Rao Holkar defeated a combined army of Peshwa Baji Rao II and Daulat Rao Sindhia in October 1802 (on Diwali day).
Flight of the Peshwa:
After the defeat, Baji Rao II fled to the British for protection.
Opportunity for the British:
Lord Wellesley saw this as a perfect moment to bring the Marathas under British influence without a direct war.
📜 Main Provisions of the Treaty:
Subsidiary Alliance:
-The Peshwa accepted a British army contingent stationed in his territory.
-He would pay for their maintenance.
No Foreign Relations Without British Consent:
The Peshwa agreed not to negotiate or go to war with any other Indian or European power without British permission.
Cession of Territory:
The Peshwa ceded valuable territories to the British for the upkeep of the subsidiary force.
British Control Over Maratha Affairs:
Though the Peshwa remained the nominal head, real political and military power shifted to the British.
Consequences:
-For the British:
Gained strategic military control in western India.
Marked the beginning of British dominance over the Maratha Confederacy.
Sparked the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) when other Maratha chiefs (Sindhia, Bhonsle) resisted British expansion.
-For the Marathas:
The unity of the Maratha Confederacy was broken.
Other chiefs viewed Baji Rao II’s act as betrayal and submission.
Led to long-term subjugation of Maratha states under British influence.
📌 Historical Significance:
Considered by many historians as the nail in the coffin of Maratha independence.
British power transitioned from influence to direct control in western and central India.
Wellesley called it a “crisis of affairs” that gave the British a chance to establish dominance without full-scale war at first.