Unit 12: Paper 3 — History of Asia and Oceania (HL)
Topic 12.2: The Mughal Empire and the British East India Company (1526–1858) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History (2028) Topic 12.2. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1To what extent15 marks
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To what extent do you agree that the 1857 Rebellion deserves to be called a genuine 'War of Independence' rather than a narrow military 'mutiny'?
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Unlock Question2To what extent15 marks
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To what extent do you agree with the claim that the Battle of Plassey (1757) marked the true beginning of British rule in India?
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To what extent do you agree with the claim that Aurangzeb's reign (1658-1707) represented the peak of Mughal strength rather than the beginning of its decline?
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Evaluate the claim that Akbar's policy of religious tolerance was primarily a calculated political strategy rather than a genuine belief in coexistence.
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Evaluate the claim that Humayun's 15-year exile (1540-1555) shows that the early Mughal Empire's survival was never guaranteed.
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Discuss the view that Akbar's policy of sulh-i-kul was motivated more by practical political calculation than by genuine religious tolerance.
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Discuss the view that the succession crisis after 1707 did more damage to Mughal authority than the Maratha wars.
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Evaluate the claim that Aurangzeb's decision to fight the Deccan wars was the greatest mistake of his reign.
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To what extent do you agree that Akbar's policies were more important than Aurangzeb's for the long-term strength of the Mughal Empire?
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To what extent do you agree with the claim that Babur's victory at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 was due to superior technology rather than luck or Ibrahim Lodi's mistakes?
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Unlock Question11Evaluate the claim15 marks
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Evaluate the claim that British dominance in India before 1765 was caused mainly by Mughal weakness rather than deliberate East India Company aggression.
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Discuss the view that Governor-General Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse was the single most important cause of the 1857 Rebellion.
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Evaluate the claim that the transfer of power from the East India Company to the British Crown in 1858 was primarily a punitive reaction to the 1857 Rebellion rather than a natural continuation of existing trends.
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Unlock Question14Choose1 mark
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For roughly how many years did Aurangzeb remain in the Deccan trying to defeat the Marathas after Shivaji's death in 1680?
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What was the immediate spark that triggered the sepoy mutiny at Meerut in May 1857?
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What key technological advantage helped Babur defeat Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526?
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At the Battle of Plassey in 1757, how did Robert Clive's much smaller force defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah's army of over 50,000?
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In which year did Shivaji crown himself Chhatrapati at Raigad, formally declaring an independent Maratha kingdom?
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Which Persian ruler invaded and sacked Delhi in 1739, taking the Peacock Throne and exposing the collapse of Mughal central power?
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What was the mansabdari system introduced under Akbar?
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