UPSC World History – Chapter 6: Imperialism and Colonialism in Asia (20 MCQs)

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UPSC World History – Chapter 6: Imperialism and Colonialism in Asia (20 MCQs) – 20 questions, subject: History. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

Hong Kong was ceded to Britain by the:

Correct Answer: D [Treaty of Nanking]

Explanation:

1842.

2.  

The Open Door policy in China (1899) was put forward by:

Correct Answer: C [the United States]

Explanation:

US Secretary of State John Hay sent the Open Door notes in 1899, asking equal trading rights for all powers in China.

3.  

The Taiping Rebellion was led by:

Correct Answer: C [Hong Xiuquan]

Explanation:

Hong Xiuquan, who claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus, led the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) and set up the Heavenly Kingdom at Nanjing.

4.  

The American naval officer who forced Japan to open its ports was:

Correct Answer: A [Commodore Perry]

Explanation:

1853.

5.  

Which Asian country defeated a European power in the war of 1904–05?

Correct Answer: D [Japan]

Explanation:

Russia defeated.

6.  

Which country remained independent as a buffer between British and French colonies?

Correct Answer: C [Siam]

Explanation:

Siam (Thailand) survived as a buffer between British Burma and Malaya and French Indochina, helped by reforming kings Mongkut and Chulalongkorn.

7.  

The Philippines was taken from Spain in 1898 by:

Correct Answer: A [the United States]

Explanation:

After the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States by the Treaty of Paris.

8.  

Indentured Indian labour was first sent to Mauritius in:

Correct Answer: D [1834]

Explanation:

Indentured Indian labourers began reaching Mauritius in 1834, the year the British abolition of slavery came into force.

9.  

The book Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism was written by:

Correct Answer: D [Lenin]

Explanation:

Lenin wrote Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism in 1916 (published 1917), calling imperialism the last stage of capitalism.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. The Meiji Restoration took place in 1868.
2. Japan annexed Korea in 1910.
3. Japan gained Taiwan after defeating Russia in 1905.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2 are correct: the Meiji Restoration was in 1868 and Korea was annexed in 1910; Taiwan came from China in 1895.

11.  

Assertion (A): The British began to recruit indentured labour from India in the 1830s.

Reason (R): The abolition of slavery left plantation owners short of labour.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

The abolition of slavery (Act of 1833, in force 1834) left planters short of labour, so they recruited indentured Indians from the 1830s.

12.  

The "Three Principles of the People" were put forward by:

Correct Answer: D [Sun Yat-sen]

Explanation:

Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People – nationalism, democracy and people's livelihood – guided the 1911 Revolution and the Kuomintang.

13.  

Singapore was founded as a British settlement in 1819 by:

Correct Answer: C [Stamford Raffles]

Explanation:

Stamford Raffles of the East India Company founded Singapore as a British trading settlement in 1819.

14.  

French Indochina included:

Correct Answer: B [Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos]

Explanation:

The Indochinese Union (1887) joined Cochin-China, Annam, Tonkin (present Vietnam) and Cambodia; Laos was added from 1893.

15.  

The word "girmitiya", used for indentured labourers, comes from:

Correct Answer: A [the English word "agreement"]

Explanation:

girmit.

16.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Meiji Restoration
2. Treaty of Nanking
3. Russo-Japanese War
4. Boxer Rebellion

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [2-1-4-3]

Explanation:

1842, 1868, 1900, 1904.

17.  

The Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) ended the war between:

Correct Answer: B [China and Japan]

Explanation:

The Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) ended the Sino-Japanese War; China ceded Taiwan and recognised Korea's independence.

18.  

The First Opium War was fought between:

Correct Answer: D [Britain and China]

Explanation:

1839–42.

19.  

Recruitment of Indian indentured labour was stopped in:

Correct Answer: B [1917]

Explanation:

(b) Correct; formally ended 1920.

20.  

The system in which a headman recruited workers from his own area for the plantations of Ceylon and Malaya was called the:

Correct Answer: B [kangani system]

Explanation:

Under the kangani system a headman (kangani) recruited labourers from his own area for the plantations of Ceylon and Malaya.

➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U05 · World History (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-world-history

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