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Question 68 of 73 · Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule
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SSC · Railway

Colin Mackenzie, who collected a vast number of manuscripts and inscriptions and surveyed south India, was appointed the first Surveyor General of India in:

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Answer: Option A — 1815

Detailed Solution

Colin Mackenzie, a Scottish engineer and surveyor who collected a vast number of manuscripts and inscriptions, was appointed the first Surveyor General of India in 1815.

About Colin Mackenzie:

  • He was born in 1754 on the Isle of Lewis, in Scotland.
  • He came to India in 1783 as an engineer in the English East India Company's army.
  • He took part in the wars against Tipu Sultan, including the capture of Seringapatam.
  • He carried out a detailed survey of Mysore after the fall of Tipu, and of other parts of south India.

His collection:

  • NCERT notes that Colin Mackenzie became famous as an engineer, surveyor and cartographer.
  • He spent years collecting local histories and surveying historic sites, in order to better understand India's past and make the governance of the colony easier.
  • NCERT notes that he visited Hampi (Vijayanagara) in 1800 and prepared the first survey map of the site.
  • Much of the initial information he received was based on the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and the shrine of Pampadevi.
  • He collected thousands of manuscripts, inscriptions, coins, drawings and local histories (kaifiyats), in many languages, with the help of Indian assistants such as Kavali Venkata Borayya and his brothers.
  • His collection is now in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library in Chennai and the British Library in London.

The Survey of India:

  • The Survey of India, the national mapping agency, traces its origins to 1767, when the Company set up a survey department in Bengal.
  • The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was started by William Lambton in 1802, at Madras.
  • George Everest, after whom Mount Everest is named, was a later Surveyor General (1830-1843).
  • Mackenzie died in Calcutta in 1821.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗1767 was when the survey department was set up in Bengal.
  • ✗1802 was when the Great Trigonometrical Survey began.
  • ✗1857 was the year of the Revolt.

Quick tip

Remember: Colin Mackenzie = first Surveyor General of India (1815); surveyed Hampi in 1800 (NCERT); Great Trigonometrical Survey = William Lambton (1802).

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Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danes and French in India, the growth of the East India Company, and the battles, wars and treaties through which British power expanded, including the Battles of Plassey and Buxar, the Anglo-Mysore, Anglo-Maratha and Anglo-Sikh wars, and policies such as subsidiary alliance and the doctrine of lapse. Typical questions ask which battle was fought in which year and between whom, which treaty ended which war, and which Governor-General introduced a policy. For example, the Battle of Plassey (1757) was fought between Robert Clive and Siraj-ud-Daulah, and the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave the Company the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Practise the arrival of Europeans and expansion of British rule questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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