UPSC CSE Prelims
Question 2
The staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were
View correct answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Correct Option: D
Explanation: In mid-eighteenth-century Bengal the Company exported textiles-especially cotton and silk-along with saltpetre and opium. These were important commercial products in its Asian and European networks.
Option-wise Analysis:
A: Incorrect - Raw cotton featured in trade, but oil-seeds do not identify the standard core export basket asked here.
B: Incorrect - Sugar, salt, zinc and lead omit the chief textile and saltpetre trades.
C: Incorrect - Copper, silver and gold largely describe bullion or other movements rather than this Bengal export basket.
D: Correct - Correct-cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium match Bengal’s key Company exports.