Modern History PYQ 12 of 709 · Advent of European Companies

With reference to the French East India Company's activities in India, consider the following statements:

  • 1. The *Compagnie des Indes Orientales* was founded by Louis XIV in 1664 and was given a 50-year monopoly of French trade in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
  • 2. The company set up Pondicherry in 1674 as the central hub of French power in India.
  • 3. The Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 allowed the French to keep their territories in India without any interference from the Dutch.
  • 4. The French East India Company successfully set up permanent colonies in Madagascar in its early years.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. AOnly one
  2. BOnly two
  3. CAll four
  4. DOnly three

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (d) Only three

Explanation

Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct; 4 is wrong.

  • 1: the French East India Company (*Compagnie des Indes Orientales*) was founded in 1664 under Louis XIV, planned by his minister Colbert, with a monopoly of French trade in the East.
  • 2: François Martin founded Pondicherry in 1674, and it became the centre of French power in India.
  • 3: the Dutch took Pondicherry in 1693, but the Treaty of Ryswick (1697) gave it back to the French.
  • 4 is wrong: the French settlement at Fort Dauphin in Madagascar failed and was given up in 1674.
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