(b) Only Two
Explanation:
• In 1502, the Portuguese demanded an exclusive right over trade at Calicut to which the Zamorin, the king of Calicut, did not yield.
• The Vasco da Gama declared war on all ships plying in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
• He introduced an expedient under which those ships which carried a cartaz duly signed by the Portuguese authorities, namely the royal factor, were not to be attacked.
• This certificate was first issued in 1502. It was a sea-pass or trading license introduced by the Portuguese.
• They declared trade in spices, drugs, dyes including indigo, copper, silver and gold, and arms & ammunition and war horses as royal monopoly.
• Ships engaged in the trade of other commodities had to take a permit or cartaz from Portuguese officials.
• Its aim was to control and enforce the Portuguese trade monopoly over a wide area in the Indian Ocean and to ensure that merchants paid the tax in Portuguese trading posts.
• Indian merchants, rulers and all those engaged in maritime trade, had to take cartaz from the Portuguese.
• Rulers like Akbar, and his successors, Nilam Shah of Ahmednagar, Adil Shah of Bijapur, kings of Cochin, the Zamorins of Calicut and the rulers of Cannanore purchased passes from the Portuguese to send their ships to various places.

(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation:
• In 1602, the State’s General of the Netherlands amalgamated many trading companies into the East India Company of the Netherlands. This company was also empowered to carry on war, to conclude treaties, to take possession of territory and to erect fortresses.
• After their arrival in India, the Dutch founded their first factory in Masulipatnam (in Andhra) in 1605. They went on to establish trading centres at different parts of India and thus became a threat to the Portuguese. The Dutch got drawn into the trade of the Malay Archipelago.
• The Battle of Bedara (November 1759) was fought between the British Army and the Dutch Army. In this battle, the latter force was decisively defeated by the British forces.
• The Dutch were not much interested in empire building in India; their concerns were trade. In any case, their main commercial interest lay in the 23 Spice Islands of Indonesia from where they earned a huge profit through business.

(a) Sultan of Golconda
Explanation:
• The English Company’s position was improved by the ‘Golden Farman’ issued to them by the Sultan of Golconda in 1632.
• On a payment of 500 pagodas a year, they earned the privilege of trading freely in the ports of Golconda.

(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
Explanation:
• Statement 1 is correct: Britain witnessed a stable government except for the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The formal British rule in India was begun in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when the Nawab of Bengal surrendered his dominions to the British East India Company. During those times Britain was ruled by efficient monarchs. But at that time France witnessed French Revolution in 1789 and afterward the Napoleonic Wars. Likewise Dutch and Spain witnessed the 80- year’s war in the 17th century.
• Statement 2 is correct: Britain established its own central bank (The bank of England) to sell its government debt to other money markets to raise the money used to fund its war. So Britain spends much more money on its military than other rival countries. Britain’s rival France could not match the expenditure of the English, between 1694 and 1812, first under the monarchs, then under the revolutionary governments, and finally under Napoleon Bonaparte, France simply went bankrupt with its outdated ways of raising money.
• Statement 3 is not correct: Britishers feared a reaction among the people if too much interference took place with their religious beliefs and social customs. The English wanted the perpetuation of their rule in India and not a reaction among the people. So Britain was less interested in spreading religion in India, as compared to Spain, Portugal, or Dutch.
• Statement 4 is correct: The arrival of new steam technology in the early nineteenth century leads to the development of an advanced navy for the British, which enabled them to defend and conquer colonies. Till then it would take anywhere between six and eight months to travel to India by sea. Steamships reduced the journey time to three weeks enabling more Britishers and their families to come to a far-off country like India. The Royal Navy of Britain was not only the largest but also the most advanced of its times when compared to the other European powers.

(c) All the above
Explanation:
The Advent of the French
The French, although harbouring a desire for East Asian commerce since the early 16th century, arrived on the Indian coasts relatively late.
• Trading company: In 1664, during the reign of Louis XIV, Minister Colbert established the Compagnie des Indes Orientales (French East India Company), which received a 50-year monopoly on French trade in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
• The company was reorganised as the ‘Perpetual Company of the Indies in 1720 and strengthened under the governance of Lenoir and Dumas.
• Rivalry with the Dutch: The French company faced setbacks during wars with the Dutch and the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession, leading to the abandonment of factories in Surat, Masulipatnam, and Bantam.
• Pondicherry: It was founded in 1674 and became the nerve centre of French power in India.