Question

UPSC Prelims 2018 Question:

The staple commodities of export by the English East Indian Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were

1. Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium
2. Sugar, salt, zinc and lead
3. Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea
4. Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 4: Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium

Detailed Solution

Explanation:

The English East India Company (EIC) was founded in 1600, and it came to control both trade and territories in India, as well as a trade monopoly with China.
Goods the EIC exported from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century included spices, cotton cloth, silk, saltpetre, tea, and opium, all in such massive quantities it made its investors enormously rich, caused wars with competitors, and changed cultural practices worldwide.
- Opium had a great market in China.

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.

Subject: History | Miscellaneous(pol)

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