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Question 63 of 73 · Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule
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In the early 17th century, Hooghly (Hugli) in Bengal was used as a base for piracy and slave-raiding in the Bay of Bengal by the:

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Answer: Option B — Portuguese

Detailed Solution

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the Portuguese settlement at Hooghly (Hugli), on the Hugli river in Bengal, became a base for piracy, slave-raiding and illegal trade in the Bay of Bengal.

How the Portuguese came to Hooghly:

  • Portuguese traders had been active in Bengal since the early 16th century, at the ports of Chittagong ("Porto Grande") and Satgaon ("Porto Pequeno").
  • Around 1579-80, Akbar allowed the Portuguese captain Pedro Tavares to set up a settlement at Hooghly.
  • Hooghly soon grew into the main port of Bengal, and Satgaon declined as its river silted up.

Their misconduct:

  • Portuguese pirates, often working with the Arakanese (Magh) raiders of Chittagong, attacked the coastal villages of Bengal.
  • They kidnapped people and sold them as slaves in the markets of South-East Asia and elsewhere.
  • They forcibly converted some people to Christianity.
  • They evaded customs duties and charged heavy tolls on shipping.
  • They also offended the Mughals by giving no help, and even showing hostility, during political troubles.

Mughal action:

  • Shah Jahan ordered Qasim Khan, the governor of Bengal, to drive the Portuguese out.
  • After a siege of about three months, Hooghly was captured by the Mughals, and thousands of Portuguese were taken prisoner to Agra.
  • Later, the Mughal governor Shaista Khan took Chittagong from the Arakanese (1666), which ended the pirate menace in the region.

Other European settlements on the Hugli:

  • Dutch: Chinsurah.
  • Danes: Serampore.
  • French: Chandernagore.
  • English: Calcutta.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The Dutch, Danes and French had trading settlements on the Hugli, but the piracy base was Portuguese.

Quick tip

Remember: Portuguese at Hooghly = piracy and slave-raiding (with the Arakanese); driven out by Shah Jahan's governor Qasim Khan; Chittagong taken by Shaista Khan (1666).

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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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